Risk of exposure to HIV infection for clinical pharmacists

The increased risk for exposure of clinical pharmacists to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is described, and their role in minimizing the risk to themselves and others is delineated. Increasingly, pharmacists are becoming involved in patient-care activities that place them at risk for HIV exposure. These activities include participation on cardiac resuscitation teams, monitoring concentrations of drugs in patient samples that they themselves may collect, administering intravenous drugs, and performing a wide variety of primary-care duties in such outpatient settings as anticoagulation, diabetes, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-oncology clinics. Pharmacists can protect themselves against HIV infection by following established infection control procedures; at the same time, they must exercise responsibility for the safety of their associates, of pharmacy technicians, students, and residents, and of other health-care workers. In many institutions this responsibility is shared with nurses. As educators, pharmacists must play a leading role in the dissemination of correct, up-to-date information about HIV infection, body substances precautions, and new product use and availability in both the hospital and the community. The expanded role of pharmacists places them at higher risk for HIV infection but also creates opportunities for them to exercise leadership in the fight against AIDS.