Federal, state, and local agencies heavily regulate medical waste disposal. Laws and regulations dictate exactly how staff must dispose of pharmaceutical waste, sharps, infectious materials, human flesh, blood products, and other materials. Failure to do so is more than just a violation of public health and safety. In fact, errors can affect the entire organization in hefty ways. Let’s discuss the hidden costs of inefficient medical waste management and how they can impact your organization.
High Medical Waste Disposal Fees
Keeping medical waste disposal costs down requires an efficient program in which all employees are trained in proper waste segregation. First and foremost, they must understand the importance of properly disposing of medical waste, never placing it in a general refuse container. However, your program must also provide guidance on never placing general refuse in biohazard waste disposal containers. While not illegal in some cases, this mishandling leads to an increased volume of medical waste that must be appropriately handled, stored, removed, and treated. This is where the hidden fees lie.
In many cases, medical waste collection services charge additional fees for extra pickups and for handling a higher volume than initially agreed upon. Over time, these additional costs can add up significantly and impact your bottom line.
Legal Fees and Regulatory Costs
While not necessarily “hidden,” the legal fees and regulatory costs of non-compliance with federal, state, and local laws are steep. Surely, you expect regulatory agencies to assess a fee if you fail to comply. Still, you may not realize that these fines are often “per day” or “per violation,” meaning that your $37,500 fine can quickly run into six figures when an audit finds that it’s gone on for days or weeks.
Furthermore, with an ample number of agencies regulating healthcare facility waste disposal, you may be surprised to find that once you receive a notice of violation from one, several more may follow.
Operational Disruptions
If your organization is recognized as non-compliant with medical waste disposal regulations, authorities may shut down a portion of or your entire facility until they deem it safe for operations to resume. At a time when you could be facing steep fines, you’ll also be dealing with a lack of income.
Unfortunately, if a shutdown occurs, your staff will also be affected. Depending on the length of the shutdown, you may find it challenging to convince them to return.
Lost Production & Staffing
Mishandling medical waste is a risky business, exposing staff, patients, customers, visitors, and the general public to infectious materials. If you allow this to occur and staff are affected, you’ll experience lost production, low staffing, and difficulty filling necessary positions as potential employees opt for a safer workplace.
Reputational Damage
While the financial costs of legal fees, fines, shutdowns, and staff loss are consequential, the reputational damage that results from improper handling of medical waste is even more long-lasting and significant.
News reports depicting teams in hazmat suits and reporting on “negligent acts” and “illegal dumping” will tarnish even the most pristine reputation. This report from the Los Angeles Times concerning hospitals in Santa Clara County, California, is a perfect example. The image of human waste, now evidence, laid out on a white sheet displays the specific types of waste the hospital mishandled. The article goes on to detail the severity of the violation. After reading these reports, anyone in the Santa Clara County area will think twice before utilizing or supporting an organization that has allowed this to happen.
Best Practices for Medical Waste Management
Don’t allow your organization to incur these hidden costs of inefficient healthcare waste management. Instead, stay on top of medical waste compliance in just a few easy steps.
Know the Costs
Start by understanding the legal penalties for non-compliant medical waste disposal. Familiarize yourself with:
- Who regulates medical waste disposal?
- What type of medical waste is regulated?
- How can you stay compliant?
- What are the consequences of non-compliant medical waste disposal?
Find answers to these questions and more in our article that outlines the legal repercussions of non-compliant medical waste disposal.
Perform Self-Audits
Conducting a medical waste compliance audit in your facility is a necessary step in identifying areas of non-compliance within your medical waste management system. Some regulatory compliance agencies have the authority to audit your organization without warning. Prepare ahead of time by organizing a team and conducting your own audits regularly.
If you’re not sure where to start, check out our guide to performing medical waste disposal audits.
Train Staff in Compliance
You cannot manage an entire medical waste disposal department on your own. To maintain strict adherence to the laws, you must involve ALL staff within your facility. Do this by developing an effective medical waste compliance training for your staff. Start by identifying knowledge gaps during your medical waste audit, then implement relevant information into a program that hits all key training topics. Don’t forget to update and repeat the training regularly to keep staff understanding fresh.
For help with developing a medical waste disposal staff training program, check out our handbook.
Developing and maintaining a compliant medical waste disposal program ahead of time will save you significantly in the long run. For more help and resources, check out our blog, where we regularly post helpful guides and cost-effective medical waste solutions! forget to update and repeat the training regularly to keep staff understanding fresh.
We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!
Established in 2008, MedWaste Management fills a need for compliant and safe medical waste disposal in the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to share valuable and practical information to help you stay safe, informed, and healthy!
Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to help!
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Tammy McKinney, RN, is a healthcare writer and seasoned registered nurse. With experience in acute care, long-term care, rehabilitation, drug & alcohol, and hospice & palliative care, she combines her medical understanding with her love for writing to educate and inform the public on various health-related topics. You can contact her directly on LinkedIn!
