What is it about?
This article presents national recommendations to help pharmacy technicians in Portugal handle hazardous medicines more safely. These medicines, including many used in cancer treatment, can pose occupational risks when they are prepared, transported, administered, or disposed of without adequate protection. Using a modified Delphi process with experts from Portuguese hospital pharmacies, the study developed a consensus-based set of recommendations covering occupational health surveillance, protective equipment, engineering controls, preparation techniques, quality assurance, administrative safeguards, environmental contamination, and waste management.
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Why is it important?
This article is important because Portugal did not yet have formally endorsed national recommendations specifically focused on the safety of pharmacy technicians handling hazardous medicines. By bringing together expert consensus, the study provides a structured framework that can help harmonise practices across hospitals, reduce occupational exposure, improve institutional safety policies, and support safer working conditions for professionals who routinely handle high-risk medicines.
Perspectives
From my perspective, this article is an important step towards recognising and protecting the professionals who work closest to hazardous medicines in hospital pharmacy settings. Pharmacy technicians play a central role in the safe preparation and handling of these medicines, but their occupational safety depends on more than individual responsibility. It requires clear national guidance, adequate staffing, continuous training, suitable facilities, appropriate protective equipment, and institutional commitment. I see this work as particularly relevant because it translates expert knowledge into practical recommendations that can support safer, more consistent practice across Portugal. It also reinforces the need to value pharmacy technicians as essential members of healthcare teams and to ensure that their safety is treated as a core component of medication safety and quality of care.
PhD João José Joaquim
Instituto Politecnico de Coimbra
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: National recommendations for the safe handling of hazardous drugs by pharmacy technicians in Portugal: A modified delphi study, Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice, April 2026, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/10781552261441848.
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