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At hospitals and on the curb, pandemic leads to more medical waste

April 24, 2020

Local hospitals are running through personal protective equipment at alarming rates in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. That fact ultimately translates to excessive amounts of garbage contaminated with bodily fluids containing the virus, COVID-19. All of this used gear, whether it’s masks, gloves, booties, bed linens, or disposable gowns becomes what is termed medical waste, and must be disposed of safely. That means tossing all of it into an autoclave and literally scorching it […]

How doctors can keep their families safe after providing COVID-19 care

April 24, 2020

The rise in COVID-19 cases creates anxiety among physicians and other health professionals who worry they might carry the virus home to their families. This remains top of mind for many people in the medical field, leaving them wondering: How do I keep my family safe after caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic? Many physicians are struggling to understand what disinfection is necessary before coming home, or if they should remain in a […]

How to Properly Wash Your Hands

April 10, 2020

One of the best ways to keep you and your family healthy is by properly washing your hands. Despite being taught to wash our hands as children, many of us don’t know the proper techniques for washing our hands correctly, or how often we should be performing this important task. We’ll walk you through the proper steps as laid out by the leading health organizations around the globe such as the Centers for Disease Control […]

OCR will ease restrictions on telehealth tech during COVID-19

April 1, 2020

The privacy watchdog won’t impose penalties on providers who use non-HIPAA-compliant remote communications technology during the public health emergency. The HHS Office for Civil Rights announced on Tuesday that during the coronavirus pandemic it will use discretion when enforcing HIPAA-compliance for telehealth communications tools. Why It Matters Even though some of those technologies may not fully comply with HIPAA requirements, OCR says it “will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the regulatory requirements under the […]

How to Respond Effectively to Covid-19 Waste Generation

April 1, 2020

The covid-19 pandemic threatens to create large amounts of new waste, particularly for resource managers at organizations that aren’t in the healthcare sector. Manufacturers, businesses, governments, schools, universities and others that don’t normally deal with potentially infectious waste may be unsure how to respond safely and responsibly. As the novel coronavirus continued spreading, Environment + Energy Leader asked Wade Scheel, director of government affairs for the environmental and regulated waste management solutions company Stericycle, for […]

Nobody Predicted This

April 1, 2020

I don’t recall seeing the coronavirus listed in any predictions for garbage and recycling in 2020. Nor, I suspect, did any solid waste plans have contingencies for managing garbage and recycling in a pandemic. After all, we have so little experience in this area. As I write this, no one really knows when this will be over. We are trying to figure out how to react, what changes to make in our programs and what […]

The COVID-19 pandemic is generating tons of medical waste

April 1, 2020

Garbage contaminated with bodily fluids or other infectious materials is becoming a bigger concern for hospitals as they brace for a surge in patients sick with COVID-19 in the US. Patients and health care workers are quickly going through medical supplies and disposable personal protective equipment, like masks. Eventually all that used gear piles up as medical waste that needs to be safely discarded. In Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus first emerged, officials didn’t just […]

The first days on the front line

April 1, 2020

The first case of the COVID-19 virus in the U.S. was diagnosed on Jan. 20. By March 26, the United States became the epicenter of the pandemic as domestic cases surpassed those in China and Italy for the first time. In the process, the steady uptick of domestic infections set in motion the nationwide closure of countless businesses and schools, cancelation of travel, and shelter in place orders. As life has abruptly been put […]

Healthcare Waste Institute’s FAQs Regarding COVID-19

March 13, 2020

The Healthcare Waste Institute (HWI) developed this FAQ to provide information about the evolving Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. What is COVID-19? Coronavirus is a group of viruses named for the way they look under a microscope (“corona” meaning “crown”). The novel (or new) coronavirus, identified in 2019 during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China, causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The first case of […]

Patient Lawsuits for HIPAA-Related Breaches

March 5, 2020

HIPAA-related lawsuits came to the attention of Alexander Wolff when a fellow attorney called him with a case a few years ago. The plaintiff was a woman and friend of a man who was dating a nurse. The nurse, who worked at a hospital where the plaintiff received healthcare, was suspicious that the plaintiff and man were having an affair, so she accessed the woman’s chart. The nurse sent the man screen shots of the […]

Articles by Waste Medic

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