Category Archives: Biohazard Waste Disposal

Preventing zoonotic disease transmission inside of a veterinary practice

Biohazard Waste Disposal, Medical Waste Disposal, Public Safety, Regulatory Compliance

There are standards for precautions in veterinary medicine that are designed to help stop the spread of certain diseases from animals to the humans caring for them. Among these standards are guidelines that specifically target medical waste disposal at these clinics.

In 2003 there was an outbreak of African monkey-pox infection inside the United States. Of the 71 individuals who became infected with the disease, 18 were individuals working inside of veterinary clinics. As a result, authorities realized the potential risk that these workers were facing, and the immediate need for infection control methods in veterinary medicine. African monkey-pox is just one of 868 known human pathogens that are zoophytic. Others include plague, salmonellae, and Q fever.

Veterinary Medical Waste Disposal

The AVMA defines veterinary medical waste as being sharps, tissues, contaminated materials and animal carcasses. They recommend that these items be handled with care and packaged in a way that prevents spills or leaks. Sharps used for the treatment of animals need to be placed inside of puncture and leak resistant rigid containers that are able to be sealed permanently. If the waste has not been sterilized, it should be placed inside of containers that bear the universal biohazard symbol.

Sharp containers used in veterinary medicine should be found in every area where animals are being cared for. All used syringes should be placed inside of these boxes after fluids have been drawn or medicines have been injected into an animal – infected or not. You are not permitted to cut needles before disposing of them, nor should the syringe be removed by hand. If there is a need to remove the syringe from the needle prior to disposal, it should be done using the needle removal device found on many sharps containers.

As with other healthcare facilities, sharps containers should never go above 2/3 capacity and the contents should never be transferred from one box to another. The safest method for removal and replacement is with a licensed medical waste disposal company. MedWaste Management can assist you in finding permanent locations for sharps containers inside of your clinic and replace them for you on demand.

Following the guidelines for infection control is extremely important in veterinary medicine. Animals are carriers for numerous diseases, many of which can be transmitted to humans. Transmission is not just through contact with blood or other bodily fluids. In some instances these diseases are airborne, making the handling of all materials that an infected animal has come in contact with critical.

In order to secure the health and safety of the individuals working inside of your veterinary clinic, and the general population, always follow the guidelines stated for medical waste disposal in veterinary practices. Working with a professional medical waste disposal company will significantly cut the risk of infectious materials being exposed to workers and patient-owners.

Biological Waste Disposal for Clinics

Biological Waste Disposal for Clinics

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Is Your Clinic Prepared if a Zika Crisis Hits?

With the seasons about to change for the warmer across the continental United States, there is an increased chance that the mysterious Zika Virus will affect more Americans. So far this epidemic has been relatively confined to central and South America, but cases have been reported in Puerto Rico, and one Zika related death as a result. Clinic workers need to be aware of this possibility, and take special precautions to help prevent the spread.

One way that this can be done is by following the basic guidelines for biological waste disposal for clinics. The Zika virus is found in the blood, making it possible to be spread through the mishandling of any biological waste generated by a patient being treating for the illness.

What is Zika Virus Disease?

On February 1st of 2016, the WHO declared the Zika virus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. According to the CDC it is likely that the virus will continue to spread to new areas. The disease is primarily spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, but since the outbreak, scientists have discovered the possibility that the virus is spread through human to human contact of bodily fluids. This gives any biological waste generated in your clinic through the care of an infected individual the possibility of spreading to someone else.

For the majority of individuals infected, the illness itself is mild, and may even go unnoticed. Symptoms last from a few days to a week, and may include red eyes, fever, rash and joint pain. The only way to confirm the presence of the Zika virus is through blood tests.

More alarming for health care workers is the risk to an unborn fetus if a pregnant woman becomes infection. There is a link between Zika and microcephaly, a birth defect that causes the brain to grow abnormally. Some studies have also suggested that Zika is causing a rise in Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a more serious illness that can cause the lungs to stop functioning.

Knowing the heightened risk of Zika, clinics should be reevaluating their biological waste disposal procedures to ensure that the spread of this virus is limited. All sharps should be immediately deposited into a sharps container, and other biological waste placed into receptacles that are not accessible to the public. Taking the time to make sure that every possible precaution is being made ensures the safety of your clinic workers, their families, and the public.

The CDC is reporting that the Zika virus can be found in the blood of an infected person for at least a week after transmission. If not careful, healthcare workers and clinics can inadvertently help to spread the disease by not disposing of contaminated sharps, vials, and other debris which has come into contact with blood. Get your clinic in line now, before the onset of summer brings an influx of Zika to the United States.

Biological Waste Disposal for Dental Offices

Biological Waste Disposal for Dental Offices

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Biological Waste Disposal for Dental Offices

The handling of biological waste in your dental office may not seem like it should be a priority for you, but it is to a number of different government agencies for various reasons. In order to stay out of trouble with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and your local authorities, follow these basic rules for biological waste disposal for dental offices:

  • Do educate yourself and your employees on the rules and regulations surrounding biological waste and its correct handling and disposal processes.
  • Do work with a licensed and insured medical waste disposal company that is familiar with the specific needs of a dental office.
  • Do ensure that any plan devised for the management of biological waste inside of your dental office is specific to the needs of your facility.
  • Do place sharps containers in areas that are easily accessible to dental care providers as they work with patients.
  • Do make sure that all employees in your office are able to identify and segregate medical waste from common trash.

While that may all seem simple enough, you will quickly see that proper biological waste management is a lot more about what you should NOT do:

  • Don’t allow your medical waste to get mixed in with your regular trash.
  • Don’t place any sharps, including metal wires used for braces, inside of a plastic bag that can be punctured.
  • Don’t forget to label all biological waste containers with your office name, address and telephone number.
  • Don’t allow biological waste to be emptied into a container that has not been labeled for its collection.
  • Don’t let biological waste be put inside of a reusable container loosely. Always ensure that it is secured inside of a red bag or sharps container first.
  • Don’t allow biohazard containers, bags and sharps containers to become more than 3/4 full before replacing it with an empty container.
  • Don’t mistake amalgam, silver, lead foil packets and caustic cleaning agents as biological waste. These are all classified differently and need to be handled separate from the medical waste disposal containers in your dental office.
  • Don’t attempt to take on biological waste disposal management by yourself. Mistakes in practices and procedures will not only lead to large fines, they could pose a major public health hazard.

No matter how small your dental practice is, it is not wise to just wash your biological waste down the drain. Educate yourself on the local and federal regulations for medical waste, and then pass that knowledge down to all of your employees. It may seem like a lot of work for a modest office, but once you have your biological waste disposal company in place, all of your trash should end up where it belongs.

Biological Waste Disposal for Doctors Offices

Biological Waste Disposal for Doctor’s Offices

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Is Your Doctor’s Office Complying With all Biological Waste Standards?

Biological waste disposal inside of a doctor’s office is ultimately the responsibility of the facility. Managing it can be a complicated issue, especially when trying to decipher the various regulations issued by state, local and federal governing bodies. One suggestion for a smaller doctor’s office would be to designate the packaging and transport within to a small team of employees that have been given special training for this responsibility.

Why is Biological Waste Packaging and Disposal Heavily Regulated?

A doctor’s office is responsible for the safe collection, packaging and disposal of all biological and hazardous waste generated during the course of patient care. This will include red plastic bags, sharps containers, and any other biohazardous waste. If your doctor’s office does not comply with the safe containment of biological waste and its disposal, you are potentially creating a community health issue and could face fines issued by the state and federal government.

The nature of biological waste poses a health hazard, particularly from bloodborne diseases. This is a multi-pronged issue, as there is a risk to healthcare workers, handlers, the public and the environment. For this reason, OSHA, EPA, and the FDA all have created certain guidelines for the safe transport and destruction of biological waste in doctor’s offices.

Special trash receptacles are used for the collection of biological waste at its source. Red plastic bags that are used for medical waste must be tear resistant and marked clearly to distinguish it from other trash. If using reusable containers, these must be constructed to not leak, preferably using gaskets at the opening door to prevent any leakage if accidentally overturned.

The collection of sharps is always as close as possible to the source of contamination, typically exam rooms. These are disposed of immediately in a sharps container by the health care professional who handled it. The FDA also state that a sharps container not be filled to more than 3/4 of its capacity to prevent accidental injury to an employee. Having the sharps container regularly changed out will ensure that your doctor’s offices meet that standard.

All sharps containers must also be:

  • Made using a highly durable and puncture proof plastic
  • Closeable, with a tight fitting lid that does not allow sharps placed inside to be pulled back out
  • Able to stand upright or be mounted onto a wall in an upright position
  • Leak proof, both along the bottom and sides
  • Labeled as a biological waste container containing sharp objects

Special attention is given to sharps by the FDA and OSHA because of their ability to immediately pierce the skin and introduce a bloodborne pathogen directly into the handler’s bloodstream. Ensure your doctor’s office is always in compliance with these regulations to avoid any transmission of disease to one of your healthcare employees.

Biological waste disposal for doctor’s offices is complicated, and does require a lot of work to stay up to date and compliant. Your best recourse is to work directly with a disposal company that can train your employees how to transport any biological waste from its source, and who will pick it up at your facility and transport it securely to a destination where it will safely be destroyed without harming the environment.

Biological Waste Disposal for Hospitals

Biological Waste Disposal for Hospitals

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The Risk Posed to Healthcare Providers By Unregulated Biological Waste Disposal

Doctors, nurses and other employees in a hospital are so busy seeing to the care of others that they forget to take care of themselves. In a hospital environment, workers are exposed to all kinds of health threats, especially when dealing with medical waste. All healthcare workers in a hospital should be aware of the risks that medical waste raises, and avoid them at any cost.

Some of the most basic ways a healthcare worker can avoid contamination when handling medical waste is to:

  • Immediately wash their hands with soap and warm water after transporting medical waste
  • Refrain from touching the mouth, eyes, nose, face or any other bare skin while handling medical waste
  • Wash hands before using the bathroom if they have recently been in contact with medical waste
  • Remove protective clothes and wash hands before eating

Hospital employers should be providing protective clothing and gear to health workers who are handling medical waste. Hand washing areas must also be readily available and in good working order at all times. Some of the necessary equipment that may be worn by hospital workers transporting medical waste include:

  • Safety goggles
  • A face shield or mask
  • Coveralls
  • Plastic aprons
  • Protective gloves
  • Rubber boots

Additionally, biological waste disposal in hospitals necessitates continuous training of all personnel who comes into contact with it. Employees should know how to identify and separate biological waste at the source, segregate it into the correct container, and safely transport it when the container reaches capacity. Those who work with the transport and storage of biological waste will also need to know proper labeling and moving procedures as well as how to react in the event of a spillage.

Proper handling of biological waste in hospitals and following mandated work procedures helps to reduce the risk of an employee being infected with a bloodborne pathogen. This is the main concern of OSHA, one of the many government bodies overseeing biological waste for hospitals. They study the practices in place from the perspective of the employee, looking to eliminate any possibility of a hospital becoming ill as a result of their handling of biological waste in the workplace.

In order to protect hospital workers, OSHA has developed certain steps they believe to be important for the safe collection and transport of biological waste. Included in OSHA’s guidelines are the following regulations:

  • All biological waste has a final disposal area, separate inside a hospital
  • The use of puncture proof containers for sharps disposal
  • All biological waste be clearly marked
  • The outside of containers holding medical waste not be contaminated
  • Procedures are in place that ensure that containers holding biological waste can be transported without risk of contamination

Healthcare workers in a hospital are urged to follow all of these guidelines in order to maintain their own physical health and well-being. This is crucial in order for them to be able to continue providing quality care to the patients who need it.

Biological Waste Disposal for Laboratories

Biological Waste Disposal for Laboratories

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Choosing a Biological Waste Disposal Company that Fits in With What Your Laboratory Needs

Independently run medical laboratories have the responsibility of managing their own biological waste disposal needs. Even for a small laboratory, this should include partnering with a biological waste disposal service provider who at the very least will remove biological waste from the premises for you. Yet, if you find the right company to work with, you can feel confident that your medical laboratory is always in full compliance with the local, state and federal laws.

These Tips Will Help You Choose a Company That Not Only Will Keep You Compliant, But Will Provide You With a High Quality Service that Turns Biological Waste Disposal Management Into a Breeze:

  • Don’t dismiss the smaller biological waste disposal company in favor of a big name. A smaller laboratory will benefit from the personalized service that a small disposal company is able to provide. They have the time and resources it takes to help streamline your laboratory methods of practice so that biological waste disposal is efficient and cost effective.
  • Stick with a local biological waste disposal company. The feds, state and even local governments all have a say in medical waste disposal. The closer your company is to your site, the better understanding they will have of the regulations that govern it.
  • Look for a full service medical waste disposal company. These will help you from the generation of medical waste in the laboratory right up until its incineration. You want a company that helps you identify where to put sharps containers and red bag receptacles, that will help educate your employees on the safe transportation, and of course will remove the medical waste from your laboratory on a set schedule.
  • Ask about the paperwork provided to your laboratory. A reputable biological waste disposal company will have signed off paperwork at the point of pick-up that is verified by an employee of yours. In addition, you should be given detailed manifests of pick-ups of medical waste from your laboratory. If audited by a government agency such as the FDA or OSHA, you will have to show this paperwork as proof of your compliance.
  • Check the level of customer service provided by the waste removal company. Call them and see how long it takes to get to a representative. Do they help with on-going training of your employees? Will they assist you in picking out the right sized sharps containers and red bags? Biological waste disposal for laboratories can get complicated, and you really want to work with a professional company that is fully committed to excellent customer service standards.
  • Lastly ensure that they are fully licensed to dispose of biological waste generated by a laboratory. Waste management companies are also held to high standards and must be approved vendors by the state in order to operate.

Biological waste disposal is not just about avoiding fines, it is about protecting the health of your employees and the public. Keep that in mind always, and choose a company that is equally committed to the safe disposal of medical waste.

Biological Waste Disposal for Surgery Centers

Biological Waste Disposal for Surgery Centers

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5 Steps to Help Prevent the Spread of Disease in a Surgery Center

The recent Ebola breakout shocked the medical world. Not only because of the sheer number of people infected, but by the fact that medical personnel became infected as well. Improper handling of biological waste is one way in which any type of infection can be spread to workers in a surgery center.

The modern acceptance of outpatient surgeries has led to an added responsibility in small surgery centers. In order to help prevent the spread of an infectious disease found inside of organs, human tissue and blood being removed at a surgery center, these 5 steps should be followed at all times:

  1. Proper Hygiene and Personal Protective Equipment – Surgery center workers who are going to be exposed to infectious disease should be outfitted in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when performing procedures on patients. This includes the use of gloves, masks and special gowns that are disposed of after use. Removing these protective items must be done in a way that does not spread biological waste elements onto other clothing. Workers should also wash their hands with soap and water immediately after removing PPE in order to reduce the risk of spreading an infection.
  2. Ongoing Training of Staff – The continual reminder to surgery center employees about the importance of infection control is critical to mitigate the risk. Hold special training classes and keep surgeons informed of any new practices and policies that are put into place to better manage potentially infectious biological and pathological waste disposal.
  3. Partnering With a Reputable Medical Waste Disposal Company – The prompt removal of infectious biological waste will reduce the risk of contamination to workers in your surgery center. Enlist the help of a medical waste removal company that allows for a flexible schedule of pick-ups to ensure that you do not accumulate large amounts of infectious waste in your facility’s storage areas.
  4. Be Able to Identify the Different Categories of Medical Waste – A surgery center produces basic medical waste such as soiled linens, dressing and sharps, but you could also be generating pathological waste. Pathological waste includes organs, tissue, body parts and the products of conception. Talk with your disposal provider to enact a strategy for the safe and compliant removal of these items from your surgery center.
  5. Keep Biological Waste Away from Patient Areas – To avoid the spread of infection, biological waste should be contained in a receptacle that is clearly marked for its special purpose. Since non-medical individuals like patients will not understand the significance, it is important that these containers not be easily accessible in areas where patients are. To further reduce the risk of accidental contamination, the outsides of these containers should be kept impeccably clean at all times.
Biological Waste Disposal For Veterinarians

Biological Waste Disposal For Veterinarians

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How is Biological Waste Defined in a Veterinary Practice?

Veterinarians are held to the same standards as physicians and medical facilities when it comes to the safe handling of biological waste. This starts at the source of the medical waste and does not end until it has been properly disposed of in a way that does not pose any type of risk to humans or the environment. Understanding what constitutes as biological waste in your veterinary practice is the first step towards its proper collection and disposal.

It seems easy enough, as the word waste typically refers to anything that we no longer have use or need for, but waste is more complicated at the medical level. This is due primarily to the possibility of bloodborne pathogens being present in the waste which could pose the threat of spreading an infectious disease. Animal biological waste is not exempt from the special standards in place for its reintroduction into the environment.

Solid Waste

The EPA defines all solid waste as being any garbage or refuse generated inside of a veterinary office. This would include animal tissue, fluids, carcasses, laboratory chemicals, syringes, medical supply waste, certain medications, chemotherapy drugs and equipment, light bulbs, batteries and mercury found in thermometers. This is a very broad category, but the EPA further breaks it down into two sub-categories; hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste. Typical medical waste generated by the practices of veterinarians will fall under the non-hazardous category and would include things such as:

  • Animal bedding
  • Wound dressings
  • Syringes
  • Tissue samples

Where it may get confusing for a veterinarian is that while these are not considered “hazardous” wastes in the way that some solvents, drugs and batteries are, they may be considered a “bio-hazard”. Bio-hazardous medical waste is defined as material that could potentially contain infectious disease pathogens that pose a health risk those who come into contact with it. Almost all of the waste generated during routine treatment of animals in your practice should be classified as a bio-hazard to eliminate any risk of potentially spreading a bloodborne disease.

Bio-hazardous waste is also referred to as regulated medical waste and includes the following:

  • The equipment, instruments and tools of a disposable nature that have been used in the diagnosis or treatment of an animal who is suspected of having a communicable disease.
  • Tissues, blood samples and other excretions taken from a patient and used to help diagnose an infection or disease.
  • Any specimens removed during surgery of the animal.

Special disposal practices are required for the various forms of biological waste that a veterinarian is generating in their day to day practices. The complications in definitions and various procedures necessitate a professional biological waste disposal company to assist you in segregating and disposing of waste in a way that is in full compliance with local laws, yet does not interfere with patient care.

Medical Waste Disposal for Clinics

Medical Waste Disposal for Clinics

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The Importance of On-Going Training for Medical Waste Disposal in Clinics

Pathogens safety training is one of many ways to introduce medical waste disposal in a clinic. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires clinics to update compliance programs annually. This provides you with the perfect opportunity to conduct employee training, identify new sources of medical waste, and institute plans on removing it safely from your facility.

Medical clinics are subject to safety inspections by OSHA. These comprehensive walk-throughs of your facility are used to identify possible hazards to employees and help you to devise plans to reduce them. Biological waste disposal for clinics is one of the areas where OSHA inspectors will expect to see full compliance with all of their regulations. This includes consistent records of on-site training programs for workers who are exposed to any medical waste.

To ensure that your clinic is always prepared for one of these inspections, all employees of your clinic should have received the following information within the last 12 months:

  • Contact information for state and local regulators of medical waste disposal
  • The standards for the safe handling of any bloodborne pathogens
  • Identification of biohazards at work
  • The safe use of personal protective devices and equipment
  • Separation of various biological waste into appropriate containers
  • Best response methods for emergency situations
  • Effective recording and reporting of biohazard issues in the workplace

Ongoing training is an essential part of maintaining the standards set forth by OSHA for the safe disposal of biological waste in a clinic. Professional medical waste disposal companies are able to help meet that standard by working closely with you and your employees to identify flaws in the plan and come up with an effective solution for rectifying them.

Voluntary Inspections of Your Clinic

One way to help ensure that your clinic will pass scrutiny from OSHA is by conducting your own inspections on a regular basis. Walk through the steps of patient care with your employees, and follow the path of any biological waste from the source until it reaches your secured safety area. Make note of any possible means of contamination from contact and come up with solutions immediately that will protect your staff and patients.

Keeping records of these self-audits along with the details of your on-going employee training will assist you in meeting the compliance standards of OSHA. They will also ask for records and manifests of your medical waste disposal practices, which should be supplied to you monthly by the removal company that you work with.

Even though you have a professional company in charge of medical waste disposal in your clinic, they are not a part of the day to day activities which generate this waste. In order to meet all OSHA standards, it is up to the clinic’s administration to ensure that all employees are being schooled on how to handle it from the point of generation until it has been successfully removed from the premises.

Medical Waste Disposal for Dental Offices

Medical Waste Disposal for Dental Offices

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Identifying and Separating Medical Waste in a Dental Office

Dental offices are subject to the rules that govern medical waste disposal in the same manner that other health facilities are. It is considered a health imperative by a number of government agencies to properly dispose and remove biological waste from dental offices in a manner that is safe for employees, patients, and the general public.

Regardless of the type of dental practice you have, there will always be the presence of biological waste that must be dealt with appropriately. In order to accomplish this, it is important that you contract with a medical waste disposal company that understands the specific needs generated by the health services you provide.

The following biological waste is typically found generated at dental offices:

  • Blood containing swabs and dressings
  • Bodily fluids such as saliva
  • Sharps such as needles which are used to puncture the skin and administer anesthesia or medications
  • Metal wires that are used to affix teeth in place

All of these items are recognized for potentially containing virus or disease pathogens. In order to avoid the spread of these infections, all biological waste that is produced during dental care must be disposed of in accordance with federal and state guidelines.

Dental Exam Rooms and Biological Waste Disposal Success

The primary point of biological waste generation is in your dental exam rooms where the patient is being treated. Since treatment is confined to the dental chair, having your biological waste containers accessible should be an easy standard to implement. A small red bag container can be placed close to where procedures are performed, with a sharps container mounted on the wall for the collection of contaminated needles.

If your dental office works with dental amalgams, you will also need to take into consideration the special collection of those particles. Dental amalgam particles are a known source of the mineral mercury, which is found to be toxic for human consumption. Special care is taken to ensure that these particles are not released into the ground for fear that they could seep into reservoirs that are meant for drinking water.

Any scrap amalgam that is produced cannot be treated with regular medical waste. If present when autoclaved, it will present an immediate health hazard when the door is open. Dental work by-products that may contain this substance must be separated at the source and specially marked for its proper disposal.

Disposing of Extracted Teeth in a Dental Office

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has defined teeth as a bloodborne pathogen, and subjects them to the same standards as other medical waste in a dental office. They are potentially infectious and should immediately be placed inside of a medical waste container to be disposed of with other biological materials. The only exception are teeth that have been extracted and contain an amalgam filling. These should be disposed of in a container that is clearly marked for “scrap amalgam” only.

Medical waste disposal for dental offices can become complicated, depending on the type of services you are providing. In order to avoid overlooking any of the regulations that pertain to your practice, it is recommended that you partner with a waste management company that is accredited by the state and knowledgeable in the special waste disposal needs of your practice.

Medical Waste Disposal for Doctor’s Offices

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Is Your Office Throwing Money Out With Your Medical Waste?

A doctor’s office faces all types of economic challenges, including being able to meet budget constraints without compromising patient care. Having an efficient medical waste disposal plan for your doctor’s office is one way in which you can cut costs. With the right plan, not only is all medical waste being safely escorted from the source to disposal, it can be done in a way that saves your office money.

One of the problems that a doctor’s office faces with medical waste is staff members not being able to correctly identify it. As a result, items which could be recycled or reused may be thrown away, causing you to waste money on items that could be salvaged. For example, sharps containers are constructed from durable plastic, and can be recycled through a professional medical waste disposal company. This eliminates the need for you to continuously purchase special containers for this type of medical waste.

Proper sizing of biological waste bags and containers will also be able to save your doctor’s office money. Medical waste is not permitted to be in your offices for extended periods of time. Make assessments at the points of collection for medical waste that help determine the right size containers in each area. The price difference for smaller red bags may not seem like much at first, but that money quickly adds up when you start to factor in the weekly need for them.

Effective methods of transporting medical waste through your offices and storing it can help with curbing the cost of cleaning crews in your office. Time and labor are saved by using wheeled carts to transport medical waste if your doctor’s office is large, or picking up red bags from various rooms at the end of the day. Staff members can receive special training from your medical waste disposal provider to help in identifying the different types of receptacles and safely securing them in your storage area until time for a pick up.

One of the most critical ways in which medical waste disposal procedures is helping doctor’s offices save money is by guaranteeing compliance with the law. Multiple government bodies oversee the disposal of biological waste, including OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency. If you or your employees were to be caught not following procedures during a routine inspection, you could be facing serious fines for your facility.

Make sure that the company handling the removal of your medical waste is providing you with monthly manifests of your pick-ups. They too must meet the standards of various government agencies, and practice safe disposal procedures for all different types of medical waste. The manifest they give you monthly should detail what was picked up at your facility, when the pick-up took place, how much medical waste was transported and how it was incinerated at the facility. With those details on file, your office should be able to avoid having to pay any fines.

Take a closer look at your system for medical waste disposal if you are trying to cut spending in your doctor’s office. With the right company to help, you could stand to save thousands of dollars every year.

Medical Waste Disposal For Hospitals

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Medical Waste Disposal and Increased Efficiency in a Hospital

Every second counts when it comes to saving lives inside of a busy hospital. Here, efficiency is not just about cutting corners to cut costs, it is about decreasing the number of steps it takes to provide quality medical care to patients in need. One way in which you can improve on this is by implementing a medical waste disposal system that is customized to meet the demands of your hospital.

Identifying the Sources of Medical Waste inside of a Hospital

The first step towards optimizing efficiency in a hospital is by locating all of the sources of medical waste. This is a big undertaking for large hospitals, especially where there are multiple patient care areas. Following the trail of a patient, you will find that biological by-products are in the intake salon, exam areas, patient rooms and surgery suites. Each one will have its own needs in regards to medical waste disposal.

  • Intake Nurse Station – Patients will enter an emergency room in all types of physical condition. To maintain efficiency, the intake salon should have red bag containers readily available. This will allow the attending staff to quickly dispose of biological waste safely without having to lose focus on the patient.
  • Exam Areas – Rows of beds and limited space inside of an emergency room make it difficult for medical staff to move around. When looking at containers for medical waste disposal you will want those that can be kept out of the way of patients and personnel, while still being easily accessible. Sharps disposal and red bag waste will both be necessary in emergency exam areas of a hospital.
  • Patient Rooms – Each unit of your hospital will need to be observed and managed as a separate entity. What works in rooms for older patients for example may not be appropriate for pediatric patient rooms. Other special conditions may also apply when looking at a floor that is dedicated to a specialty services, such as chemotherapy suites. To maintain efficiency, personnel should look at the distance from patient beds to the medical waste containers, making sure that staff can reach them easily while conducting procedures such as drawing blood.
  • Surgery Suites – Surgical areas in a hospital generate more biological waste at one time than any other area. To maintain efficiency, seek containers that are easy to move, but that will not leak if overturned or shifted abruptly. Systems should be in place that ensure the quick removal of all medical waste from the salon after procedures are complete to prevent any type of accidental cross examination. With all the medical waste confined, it will be faster to expedite its safe removal from the surgery suite and into a secure medical waste disposal area.

A professional medical waste disposal company can assist hospital administrators in the assessment of their facility and placement of medical waste containers to improve efficiency. A key component in the disposal of medical waste is to be able to do so in a way that does not interfere with direct patient care, while at the same time protecting the health of those who may come into contact with it.