To dispose of pharmaceutical waste properly, this is what you’ll need to know.
In the healthcare industry, there are a lot of responsibilities that have to be handled by the medical staff. Some responsibilities can be exhilarating, such as saving people’s lives. Other tasks, on the other hand, aren’t as thrilling, and one of those tasks is the disposing of pharmaceutical waste.
This waste needs to be disposed of the right way, and while that doesn’t seem like a big deal, the results of proper disposal are actually a vital part of keeping your facility safe. This isn’t anything like taking out the trash at home. When you dispose of pharmaceutical waste properly, you do your part to preserve the safety of people, your facility, and the environment. To dispose of pharmaceutical waste properly, this is what you’ll need to know.
Spilled Medications Aren’t Automatically Harmless
If a medication has been dropped or spilled on the floor, don’t assume that it can’t harm you. These medications can still be potentially dangerous. Because of this, you can’t just clean them up as you would with standard trash. You need to follow all of the regulations in your area when cleaning up any medical waste that is on your floors.
Patients Might Leave Personal Medications Behind When They are Discharged from Medical Facilities
Patients who need to spend time inside of a medical facility might have personalized medications that they keep with them. Once these patients are discharged, you may think that they would take their medications with them. While this can happen, it doesn’t always turn out to be the case. Sometimes, patients leave their personalized medications at your facility. In this scenario, the medications that they left behind are now your problem. This means you’ll need to dispose of them just like you would with any other kind of pharmaceutical waste.
Prepared Medications Are Not Always Fully Administered
You’ll have to be prepared just in case prepared medications have not been fully administered. This is something that can happen with any medication, typically injections or IV bags. For whatever medication still remains, you need to classify it as pharmaceutical waste and dispose of it accordingly.
There is a Unique Subset of Hazardous Wastes
If you weren’t aware, there are some hazardous wastes that fall inside of a unique subset of wastes. These wastes include nicotine, arsenic trioxide, warfarin, and physostigmine. You have to handle these wastes with special care. You’ll even have to manage and dispose of the packaging properly.
Choose AEG Environmental as Your Medical Waste Management Company
Our team can handle any type of waste you put in front of us. Don’t risk your safety and health! If there has been a hazardous mess of any kind, call us today and get the best medical waste management services available!