Articles by: Waste Medic

OSHA Wants Input on Protecting Health Care Workplace Violence

OSHA is requesting feedback as it considers developing a standard aimed at preventing workplace violence in the health care and social assistance industries. The agency is accepting until July 3 comments regarding a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act panel report on the potential standard, as well as other documents related to options OSHA is considering. The panel met multiple times from March 1 to May 1, discussing control measures and hazard assessments related to […]

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Pill Bottle Recycling Program Targets Pharmaceutical Plastic Waste

A new pill bottle recycling program aims to eliminate plastic waste generated by the pharmaceutical industry by offering customers a solution for disposing of empty pill bottles. The nationwide pill bottle recycling program comes from Cabinet Health and enables anyone in the United States to request a recycling bag with a prepaid shipping label to send their empty, plastic pill bottles for recycling or upcycling. The program comes at a time when numerous industries are […]

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Rising Demand for Chemotherapy Containers: Ensuring Safe and Effective Treatment

The rising demand for chemotherapy containers reflects the increasing prevalence of cancer and the growing need for safe and effective treatment options. Chemotherapy is a crucial component of cancer therapy, and the containers used to store and administer chemotherapy drugs play a vital role in ensuring the safety and efficacy of the treatment. Here are some key considerations to ensure safe and effective treatment with chemotherapy containers: Container Design and Materials: Chemotherapy containers should be […]

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OSHA Compliance in the Workplace

Workplace health and safety are top of mind for employers, especially after a recent incident at a Mars factory, where workers fell into a vat of chocolate. To prevent such accidents, it’s important for businesses to incorporate Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance into the DNA of company operations and management — and to work with brokers, insurers and consultants to handle complex situations. OSHA compliance is a critical organizational element and its management […]

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What We Can Do about Pharmaceutical Waste

The medicine is still perfectly good. Millions of uninsured or underinsured people need the drugs. Yet the pharmaceutical industry incinerates billions of dollars’ worth of unopened, unused, and unexpired drugs each year in America. This pharmaceutical waste leads to both economic and environmental challenges. The good news is the problems companies create when they destroy unused medicine aren’t difficult to solve. Pharmaceutical Waste Why is there so much waste in the system? There are several […]

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When Safety Precautions are Faithfully Followed, Sharps Injuries are Lower

Arlington, VA — Hospital units that consistently follow standard safety precautions experience nearly 40% fewer needlesticks and other sharps injuries than other units, a new study has found. According to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, around 385,000 sharps injuries – involving syringe needles, scalpel blades and other sharp objects that come into contact with body fluids – occur annually among the 5.6 million health care workers in the United States. Researchers […]

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FDA to Require Mail-Back Envelopes for Unused Opioids Disposal

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that opioid analgesics manufacturers are to be required to make pre-paid mail-back envelopes available to dispose of unused opioid analgesics. It issued a notice to all opioid analgesics manufacturers to submit the proposed modification to the Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (OA REMS) within 180 days of the date of the notification letter. The regulatory authority expects to receive approval for the modified REMS […]

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How Data Transparency in Hospitals Propels Safety Initiatives

Hospitals across the country eagerly await the release of The Leapfrog Group’s Safety Grades in the spring and fall each year. Leah Binder, president and CEO of the organization, spoke with Becker’s about why her organization’s A-F grades are important. “We believe our safety grade report has an enormous impact on accelerating change in hospitals,” she said, noting when hospital leaders look at these grades it “gives momentum to safety improvement efforts.” Once a hospital […]

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May is National Nurses Month

National Nurses Month is an annual event that takes place in May to recognize the important work that nurses do in our communities. Nurses play a crucial role in providing quality care to patients, and their dedication and commitment to their profession are truly admirable. However, the work of nurses also carries some safety risks, including exposure to hazardous materials such as medical waste. Medical waste is any waste generated in healthcare facilities, such as […]

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NC Nurses Rally Over Patient Safety, Unsafe Working Conditions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (FOX Carolina) – Registered nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville are holding a rally to highlight their patient safety concerns and other unsafe working conditions. National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) said nurses at Mission Hospital want to bring awareness to increased incidents of workplace violence, broken hospital equipment and unsafe staffing levels. “HCA is at it again with prioritizing profits over patient care,” said Hannah Drummond, RN in the emergency department […]

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