How should hazardous drugs be stored in relation to other inventory?

Hazardous drugs need to be stored separately from other inventory to minimize the risk of contamination and exposure. By keeping these drugs in a designated area, the potential for cross-contamination with non-hazardous medications is reduced, thereby protecting both healthcare workers and patients.

Storing hazardous drugs separately also helps in adhering to regulatory requirements and guidelines established by organizations like the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This segregation is critical for ensuring proper safety protocols are followed in environments where compounding and handling of medications occur.

While access control and secure storage measures such as locked drawers are important for hazardous drug storage, they do not address the fundamental need for physical separation from other inventory, which is key to preventing inadvertent exposure.