| Sumario: | Significance & Background: Radiopharmaceuticals pose unique challenges in healthcare due to their dual nature as both pharmaceutical agents and radioactive materials. They are an increasingly vital tool in oncology, expanding treatment options for patients with a range of cancers. Their use often spans multiple departments--including nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, and even the emergency department when complications arise--crossing traditional care boundaries and introducing variability in practice. This variability, combined with siloed workflows, can compromise patient and staff safety and hinder effective care coordination. Moreover, radiopharmaceuticals require strict adherence to regulatory safety standards, making consistent, cross-disciplinary compliance essential. Purpose: The decentralized location of radiopharmaceutical policies across separate departments revealed significant gaps in staff knowledge, education, and preparedness when caring for patients receiving radiopharmaceutical therapies. Additionally, alerts within the electronic medical record lacked standardization, leading to confusion and limited awareness among staff regarding precautions and handling requirements in departments other than those providing administration. Interventions: A collaborative work group, including nursing, radiation safety officers, nuclear medicine, quality and safety, and regulatory leaders assessed practice gaps and implemented targeted interventions across a large systems educational institution. The workgroup led by the NPPDS created education designed to support clinical and non-clinical staff, particularly in the care of patients who re-enter the healthcare system within 48 hours of receiving radiopharmaceutical treatment. In parallel, the team is creating a standardized, system-wide policy for radiopharmaceutical care. In-person staff education was provided to units that may be exposed to these patients. Results: Implementation of standardized radiopharmaceutical care and education has led to improvements in safety and staff preparedness across the system. Staff have reported that in-person education was helpful in reducing anxiety and increasing knowledge. As the policy is still in a developmental stage, incident reporting related to exposure concerns will continue to be evaluated after policy developed and published. Discussion: Fragmented policies and siloed workflows increase the risk of exposure incidents and confusion among staff unfamiliar with therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. A unified, system-wide policy reduces variability and establishes clear expectations for patient handling and safety precautions.
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