The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released the updated 2024 List of Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings. The list is designed to assist employers in identifying drugs that are hazardous to the health and safety of workers who handle these drugs. This new document updates the 2016 list by adding 25 drugs, 12 of which have manufacturer’s special handling information. Seven drugs will also be removed from the list. Since the initial publication of the list in 2004, it has increased awareness among workers in healthcare settings and their employers about the health risks posed by working with hazardous drugs and provides them with measures for protecting their health. 

“This list is an invaluable resource for millions of workers in healthcare settings who may potentially be exposed to hazardous drugs in the course of their work,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “The updates to the list published today completes a suite of tools that we encourage workers and their employers to use to manage risk and be protected from potentially hazardous exposures.” 

Updates in the 2024 list include a reduction to two tables and reorganization on how drugs are placed in a table. This document also notes those drugs with approval under a biologics license application (BLA) and updates the American Hospital Formulary Services (AHFS) classification and drug nomenclature of various drugs. 

Drugs reviewed for this update were those with new approvals or new safety-related warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, from January 2014 through December 2015.  

This document is part of a suite of tools developed to assist with identifying hazardous drugs and handling them appropriately: 

This publication is part of NIOSH’s efforts to provide resources and tools to support healthcare employers and workers health and safety.  

For more information, visit the NIOSH Hazardous Drug Exposure in Healthcare website.