Sharps utilization and disposal in British Columbia physicians' offices.
To determine the pattern of sharps utilization and disposal in British Columbia physicians' offices, a questionnaire was mailed to all office-based physicians belonging to the British Columbia Medical Association (BCMA). 1,167 physicians (25%) responded. Over 166,000 sharps per month were used by responding physicians, a per physician use of 95 per month. 67% of physicians used a specific plastic container for sharps disposal and 22% used a recycled container. 40% of the used containers were returned to a hospital or laboratory for disposal; 29% contracted out to a waste removal company, 18% placed with regular office garbage and 4% taken directly to a landfill or incinerator. Most offices (64%) had access to an autoclave or chemclave but few physicians (2%) sterilized their sharps waste prior to disposal. The recommended options for discarding used sharps containers in the office setting are: return to a hospital or laboratory for processing with their infectious waste; removal by a waste disposal service; or sterilization followed by disposal with regular garbage.
Division of Medical Microbiology, University of British Columbia, University Hospital, Vancouver.
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D001955:British Columbia; D006801:Humans; D008506:Medical Waste; D008511:Medicine; D009339:Needles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009817:Office Management / Q000592:standards*; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013038:Specialization; D013242:Sterilization / Q000592:standards; D013525:Surgical Instruments / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D008506:Medical Waste