The management of hospital medical waste. How to increase efficiency through a medical waste audit.
Medical waste is a nightmare for hospital administrators, cutting across department boundaries and incorporating legal, financial, and community concerns. In this two-part article the author provides a stepwise approach to effective waste management. The first part gives background information on waste generation, storage, and disposal and delineates the framework of a medical waste audit. This audit is put to the test in the second part, where data from a pilot trial at an actual hospital are presented and discussed.
Studnicki
J
J
College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa.
D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004526:Efficiency; D005431:Florida; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D015274:Interdepartmental Relations; D008284:Maintenance and Engineering, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008330:Management Audit / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008506:Medical Waste / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011872:Radiology Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D013597:Systems Analysis; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency
D008506:Medical Waste