Medical Waste

Medical Advancements and the Environmental Challenge: The Rising Issue of Medical Waste

December 21, 2023

Medical advancements have undeniably improved human health, but they’ve also given rise to an environmental challenge that is less discussed: medical waste. Comprising materials such as infectious waste, sharps, pathological waste, pharmaceutical waste, chemical waste, and nuclear waste, the disposal of medical waste is a complex issue that often adds to pollution. Current disposal practices primarily include incineration and landfilling. However, these methods are often inadequate and contribute to environmental pollution. The increasing use of […]

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The environmental impact of the healthcare industry

December 21, 2023

The rapid advancement in medical technology and healthcare services has undoubtedly improved patient outcomes and global health. However, the consequential surge in medical waste poses a significant threat to the environment. Medical waste, also known as healthcare waste or biomedical waste, is generated during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunisation of humans [and animals]. The improper management of medical waste can lead to severe environmental pollution and pose health risks to both humans and ecosystems. While […]

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7 cancer leaders on their goals for 2024

December 21, 2023

A new year means new goals and strategies for cancer centers across the nation. Here, seven leaders share with Becker’s their top priorities for cancer care in 2024: Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.  Ken Chaij. Executive Director of Oncology Service Line at Kettering (Ohio) Health: Our overall goal is always to become a regional destination center. Within that, we are also focusing on our clinical core to become more […]

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Health care has a massive carbon footprint. These doctors are trying to change that.

December 21, 2023

Inside an operating room at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Noe Woods stands in her blue scrubs next to a black operating table. Woods, an Ob-Gyn, knows this room well. “I’ve operated in this room many times over the last 14 years. I’ve probably taken out uteruses, polyps, ovaries, ectopic pregnancies,” Woods said. Operating rooms are central to what hospitals do, but they’re also at the root of a problem Woods and others at the […]

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Medical Waste Management Is Critical To Patient Care

December 7, 2023

New healthcare workplace safety report raises concern over proper medical waste management and safety within healthcare organizations. Nine in ten Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) and consumers surveyed agree that medical waste management is important in delivering the best possible patient care, according to a new report. The annual Healthcare Workplace Safety Trend Report reveals how providers and administrators in the U.S. view health and safety in their organizations and its impact on peers, patients, and surrounding […]

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Quality Transformation: How Hospitals are Striking a Balance Between the Bottom Line & Better Care

December 3, 2023

Patient safety events, especially preventable ones, are on the rise at healthcare organizations. Meanwhile, frontline staff are burned out, and the current fiscal environment is exerting pressure on margins. Amid these interrelated challenges, it is difficult for health system leaders to manage competing priorities. Though many hospitals and health systems try to reduce expenses by cutting supply costs, the greatest opportunity for transformation is quality improvement. Becker’s Hospital Review recently spoke with two Vizient experts […]

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Learn How to Dispose of Your Used or Expired EpiPen

December 3, 2023

It’s common for people with severe food allergies to carry an EpiPen. This is a pen-like device prefilled with a drug called epinephrine that you inject into yourself in the event of an allergic emergency. The injection immediately opens the airways and relieves potentially life-threatening symptoms of severe allergic reactions like anaphylaxis. Having an EpiPen nearby is a precautionary measure that can save your life if you are accidentally exposed to an allergy-causing substance (an […]

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Sounding the Alarm About Disposable Plastic in Health Care

December 3, 2023

Yale’s Jodi Sherman says the health care industry must balance public health and planetary health when considering the use of disposable plastic items. To Jodi Sherman’s way of thinking, the Hippocratic Oath’s vow of doing no harm includes doing no harm to the planet — particularly when it comes to the sea of single-use plastic flooding the health care industry. Sherman, an associate professor of anesthesiology at Yale School of Medicine and of epidemiology in environmental […]

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Curtis Bay Energy Pleads Guilty to Improper Handling of Special Medical Waste

October 26, 2023

Curtis Bay Energy, the owner and operator of a medical waste incinerator facility in Baltimore, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the insufficient treatment and improper handling of special medical waste and the operation and concealment of an unpermitted discharge outlet. This sentence marks one of the largest penalties for an environmental criminal case administered by the Maryland attorney general’s office. Curtis Bay Energy has been placed on a 2-year probation and ordered to […]

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