Medical Waste Articles

Medical facilities, ranging from small medical offices to large healthcare facilities, are regulated medical waste generators. That means that they are responsible for handling that waste responsibly and in compliance with federal and state regulations. Facilities are responsible for their medical waste from the time it is generated straight through until it is treated and is no longer hazardous to the public or the environment. This “cradle to grave” liability comes with strict rules on creating and keeping records of the medical waste management process. So what do you need to know about record keeping requirements to keep your practice/facility on the right side of those rules?

For the administrator or office manager who is in charge of keeping all the medical waste management ducks in a row for her employer’s clinic or practice, keeping on top of employee medical waste compliance training is essential to that process. After all, failing to meet training requirements can have consequences. Poor training can endanger employees and the environment, and it can cost your employer dearly should a lapse in training standards result in citations and fines. So what do you need to know to ensure that everyone gets all the training they must have to keep your employer in line with federal and state requirements?

“Taking out the trash” is a lot less simple when it includes cast-off wound dressings, hypodermics used on patients with potentially infectious diseases, and tumors and other excised tissue. Different types of medical waste get handled according to their content and risk levels, but many people working in healthcare are unaware of what actually happens to the waste.

Facility-acquired infections are a big problem in healthcare circles, and preventing them is an issue that looms large for healthcare facilities – and not just for larger hospitals and nursing facilities. Small medical offices, clinics and other outpatient facilities must also be on guard against facility-acquired infections.

Medical waste disposal is serious business. Without its correct segregation, storage, containment, handling, and disposal, medical waste can potentially transmit infectious diseases or other hazardous risks to healthcare workers, the public, waste handlers, and the environment.

Most healthcare teams are keenly aware of the threat posed to humans and the environment by medical and hazardous waste, which requires them to follow certain protocols for its disposal. What you may not realize, however, is that you remain accountable for your waste until the very end of its lifecycle. Called “cradle-to-grave,” this responsibility is one companies need to take very seriously.

The average neighborhood pharmacy generates a good amount of medical and pharmaceutical waste, and the amount and types of waste they generate has been steadily increasing in recent years as their roles in their communities expand. While those roles were once largely limited to filling prescriptions and selling over-the-counter medications and other health-related merchandise, many are branching out to provide other services.

With one-third of medical waste generated every year coming from private clinics and practices, that’s a whopping 1.9 million tons requiring safe disposal. Managing medical waste is one of the least pleasant aspects of practice administration but one of the most essential, which means it's likely one of your priorities. When the medical team resists complying with your hard-won methods, your waste management vendor treats you like just another number, and you find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, it’s time to identify a service provider who works for you. Here’s what you should be looking for.

Congratulations, you finally got a handle on how to properly package your facility’s medical waste! Then you learn your state’s laws are just slightly different from federal regulations. Or you discover some staff members, even after careful training, aren’t complying with proper disposal. Now what?

Dealing with medical waste is one of the details of daily life in the medical environment that often flies under the radar of medical staff. However, it cannot escape the attention of office managers or administrators who are in charge of seeing that it is handled in compliance with state and federal disposal regulations. Typically, one of the more difficult aspects of managing this process is the day-to-day task of ensuring that the various categories of medical waste are properly disposed of by the clinical staff members who generate them. If this is an issue in your workplace, here are some steps you can take that may help to resolve it: