More Regulatory Complexities–Regulated Medical Waste
There are thousands of health care facilities in the United States. I imagine there are mock surveys and actual surveys everyday somewhere. And during each one, many regulations and requirements are checked for compliance. An increasing focus is being paid to regulated medical waste or RMW.
Most health care facility professionals understand the need to be familiar with the regulatory complexities of managing waste. In Environmental Services we deal with a lot of waste, including RMW.
There are many regulations and standards, including the Joint Commission’s Leadership (LD), Environment of Care (EC) and Emergency Management (EM) standards, as well as the federal Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency and many state and local rules and regulations.
Quite a few of the standards related to regulated medical waste can be found in these standards:
- LD.04.01.01
- EC.01.01.01 (EP 5)
- EC.02.02.01 (EP 11, 12)
- EC.04.01.01 (EP.01, 8, 15)
- EM.02.02.05 (EP 4)
An organization can be fined thousands of dollars per day per violation by local, state and federal authorities if it is found noncompliant with waste regulations. Many of these fines vary by state. It is very important to be familiar and understand your own state’s current and emerging regulations to avoid these costly fines and remain a compliant leader within the health care industry and their community