Regulated Medical Waste Reduction
Páginas: 6 págs.Introducción:
10 Steps to Implementing a Regulated Medical Waste Reduction Plan
Hospitals are saving hundreds of thousands of dollars by improving their waste segregation and implementing Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) reduction programs. RMW is often the most expensive waste stream to manage. While the primary objective of RMW management is to minimize the risk of disease transmission from handling RMW, every facility has an opportunity to reduce its RMW
thereby reducing risk and cost.
Many hospitals routinely throw from 50-70% of their waste into the biohazardous waste stream, although a large portion of hospital waste is very similar to that of a hotel or office building?mostly paper, cardboard and food waste. Hospitals often pay up to 10 times as much to dispose of infectious
versus solid waste. Case studies prove that with comprehensive education, hospitals can realistically aim to decrease red bag waste to a mere 6-10% of their waste stream. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that only 2-3% of hospital waste truly needs to be disposed of as infectious waste.
The tremendous opportunities for cost and volume reductions do not come from the ?gray areas? where it is difficult to determine whether the item is ?significantly contaminated? or not. Staff should ask the question whether the waste is potentially infectious (see definition below) and should know which container to throw the waste in- a red bag, clear bag or in a recycling container. If staff is not clear on where to throw the item, then they should err on the conservative side and dispose of it in a red bag. The significant opportunities for RMW reduction come from eliminating the coffee cups, packaging, paper towel waste, clean blue wrap and pizza boxes that get tossed in! To help you get started in implementing a Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) Reduction Plan, H2E recommends the following ten-step process.
10 Steps to Implementing a Regulated Medical Waste Reduction Plan
Hospitals are saving hundreds of thousands of dollars by improving their waste segregation and implementing Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) reduction programs. RMW is often the most expensive waste stream to manage. While the primary objective of RMW management is to minimize the risk of disease transmission from handling RMW, every facility has an opportunity to reduce its RMW
thereby reducing risk and cost.
Many hospitals routinely throw from 50-70% of their waste into the biohazardous waste stream, although a large portion of hospital waste is very similar to that of a hotel or office building?mostly paper, cardboard and food waste. Hospitals often pay up to 10 times as much to dispose of infectious
versus solid waste. Case studies prove that with comprehensive education, hospitals can realistically aim to decrease red bag waste to a mere 6-10% of their waste stream. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that only 2-3% of hospital waste truly needs to be disposed of as infectious waste.
The tremendous opportunities for cost and volume reductions do not come from the ?gray areas? where it is difficult to determine whether the item is ?significantly contaminated? or not. Staff should ask the question whether the waste is potentially infectious (see definition below) and should know which container to throw the waste in- a red bag, clear bag or in a recycling container. If staff is not clear on where to throw the item, then they should err on the conservative side and dispose of it in a red bag. The significant opportunities for RMW reduction come from eliminating the coffee cups, packaging, paper towel waste, clean blue wrap and pizza boxes that get tossed in! To help you get started in implementing a Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) Reduction Plan, H2E recommends the following ten-step process.
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