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Articles by Waste Medic

Back to basics… what is HIPAA?

What is HIPAA? HIPAA is an acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Among other measures, the Act led to the establishment of federal standards for safeguarding patients´ “Protected Health Information” (PHI) and ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of PHI created, maintained, processed, transmitted, or received electronically (ePHI). When the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed by Congress in 1996, the establishment of federal standards for safeguarding PHI was not […]

Can your at-home COVID-19 test go in the trash?

Can you throw your at-home, rapid COVID-19 test in the trash, or is it considered hazardous biological waste? Unlike at hospitals, at-home tests can be thrown in the normal trash, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Miami Herald in January. However, some states have taken different stances. In Delaware, schools should treat the kits as infectious waste, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Schools have been directed […]

5 Top Safety Issues for Hospitals to Address in 2022

As the healthcare industry enters the pandemic’s third year, many leaders are working to reinvigorate staff and patient safety efforts. Below are five of the most pressing safety issues for hospitals and health systems to address in 2022, based on expert insights, research findings and trends reported in the past year. 1. Foundational safety work. First and foremost, healthcare organizations must ensure they have a strong foundation to refine safety efforts and sustain improvements, according […]

Unions: 2021 Hosted a Record Number of Workplace Safety Complaints vs. Hospitals

Newly totaled data from 2021 shows Washington healthcare workers filed a record number of workplace safety complaint forms, an increase touted by healthcare worker unions as reason for safe-staffing standards legislation. Members of UFCW 21, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and the Washington State Nurses Association filed 8,649 safety complaint forms in 2021 – the total number of forms submitted between workers of all three unions in 2019 was 2,865. These forms detail staffing complaints and violations, […]

Family Medicine Practice Notifies Patients of Data Breach 1 Year Later

Entira Family Clinics, a family medicine practice based in Minnesota, sent data breach notification letters to impacted individuals via the Maine Attorney General’s Office on January 13, 2022. The Maine Attorney General’s Office said that the breach impacted nearly 200,000 individuals associated with the family medicine practice. In the letter, Entira wrote that it had “recently discovered” a data breach that occurred within Netgain Technology, a cloud hosting provider. However, Netgain discovered the breach in […]

Walmart Sued for Illegal Toxic Waste Disposal

California officials have sued Walmart for allegedly dumping hazardous waste improperly at municipal landfills over the past six years.Since February 2015, the retail giant has illegally disposed of waste including alkaline and lithium batteries, insect killer sprays and other pesticides, aerosol cans, toxic cleaning supplies, electronic waste, latex paints, and LED lightbulbs, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by the district attorneys for 12 counties, said in the complaint. According to results from Walmart’s own […]

Biochem Owner Accused of Mismanaging Medical Waste: ‘The Most Egregious Violations We Have Seen’

Biochem Technical Services LLC (Biochem) and its owner, Raoul Keith Mangrum Jr., are accused of violating the state public health code involving mismanagement of medical waste. The waste includes body tissue samples, contaminated bandages and laboratory equipment. A complaint was filed in Oakland County Circuit Court on Dec. 10 on behalf of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Materials Management Division. EGLE alleges that Mangrum removed medical waste from his clients’ […]

Providers Want More Training, Resources on Managing Medical Waste

Healthcare providers and administrators want more training and resources on waste management, a new survey has found. The survey was conducted by Stericycle, a provider of medical waste management, reaching 500 healthcare workers, 350 of whom are clinicians and 150 of whom are administrators. The findings were put into Stericycle’s first report on healthcare workplace safety. More than half of providers and administrators feel their organization should spend more labor and funds on biohazardous waste […]

Detroit Man Apologizes for Stockpiling Medical Waste in Storage Units

A Detroit man who is being sued by authorities for stockpiling medical and laboratory waste in rental storage units apologized when contacted by phone this week, saying he was overwhelmed by the business he started. “I didn’t do any of what I did maliciously. I was just trying to make some money,” said Raoul Mangrum Jr., who, as owner of Biochem Technical Services LLC, allegedly violated state waste disposal laws in a manner that drew […]

OSHA: What To Expect In 2022

COVID-19 created great upheaval throughout the economy and the legal compliance world as well. The pandemic has been a great disruptor and has brought rules, regulations and related agency guidance that have served to overwhelm even the most conscientious and attentive employer. The welcomed arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, and now the perhaps less welcome OSHA vaccine mandate, simply add to an employer’s compliance burden. While OSHA is busy attempting to implement its vaccine/testing mandate, it […]