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Patient Safety

Hand Washing 

Always wash your hands before and after you handle your medicines. 

  1. Gather the soap and a clean towel (or paper towels). 
  2. Wet your hands with warm water. 
  3. Put soap on your hands. 
  4. Rub your hands together quickly for at least 30 seconds. 
  5. Clean between your fingers. 
  6. Rinse your hands in warm water. 
  7. Dry your hands on the towel. 
  8. Turn off the faucet with the towel. 
  9. If you touch anything, sneeze, or feel your hands are not clean, wash them again. 
  10. If you do not have water, use an alcohol-based antibacterial hand cleanser. 

Drug Reaction 

If you have a drug reaction or other problems, call our pharmacy or a local emergency room. If it is an emergency, call 911. 

Needle-Stick Safety 

If your medicines need you to use injections (shots) or draw blood, you should: 

  • Never replace the cap on a needle. 
  • Throw away needles right away after use in a sharps container. 
  • Think about the safe handling and disposing of needles before using them. Read the section on disposing your waste. 
  • Tell your doctor about all needle sticks or sharps-related injuries right away

Disposing Your Waste 

You need to follow rules to remove waste if you use needles, such as syringes, lancets, or needles used to inject medicine or draw blood. Special care must be taken to get rid of these items to protect you and your loved ones. 

Using Your Sharps Container 

After using your needle, lancets, and other sharp objects, place them in a sharps container. Your pharmacy team can help you get one of these. 

  • Do not put sharp objects in the trash, unless they are in a sharps container. 
  • Do not flush them down a toilet. 
  • Use a hard plastic or metal container with a screw-on top if you do not have a sharps container. Before throwing it away, use heavy-duty tape to seal the lid. 
  • Do not use clear plastic or glass containers. 
  • Containers should be disposed of when they are three-fourths of the way full. 

Disposal Rules 

Check with your waste collection service or public health department to learn more about getting rid of sharps containers. 

 

Sidebar content

  • Pharmacy Services
    • Department of Pharmaceutical Care
    • Drug Information and Medication Use Evaluation
    • How to sign up for our prescription mail service
    • Investigational Drug Services
    • Pharmacy Poison Control
    • Pharmacy Technician Training Program
    • Specialty Pharmacy Services
      • Filling a New Specialty Pharmacy Prescription
      • Refill Your Specialty Medications
      • Diseases Specialty Pharmacists May Monitor
      • Medications Specialty Pharmacists May Manage
      • Frequently Asked Questions about the Specialty Pharmacy
      • Specialty Pharmacists
      • Specialty Pharmacy Patient Rights and Responsibilities
      • Patient Safety and Disposing Unused Medications
    • Transfer Your Prescriptions

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Iowa City, IA 52242
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1-800-777-8442
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