Hospitals & Healthcare Systems

Our Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal Compliance Service Reduces Your Risk

As a hospital, multisite medical center, or integrated delivery network (IDN), your facility generates a substantial amount of pharmaceutical waste — some hazardous, some nonhazardous — that requires proper disposal. Generally, hospital pharmaceutical waste is composed of pharmaceuticals that have been partially dispensed, but not completely used.

The focus of our Rx Waste Compliance Service is to help you achieve and maintain Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT) and Joint Commission (TJC) compliance, while reducing the risk associated with handling dangerous compounds.

The Joint Commission (TJC) has approximately 20 standards that apply to pharmaceutical waste, so it is important to choose a company that both understands waste regulations and has healthcare experience.

Our Hospital Pharmaceutical Disposal Service Is Customized to Your Needs

Our Rx Waste Compliance Service is designed to help your hospital or medical center with all its drug disposal needs:

• Categorize your pharmaceutical waste according to how it is to be disposed, a process called 'characterizing your waste'
• Separate hazardous and non-RCRA drug wastes
• Transport your pharmaceutical wastes
• Properly dispose your pharmaceutical wastes

Pharmaceutical Formulary Characterization

Stericycle conducts an initial waste characterization to determine the appropriate designation for your wastes. As the leading company in processing pharmaceutical returns and recalls, Stericycle has unique capabilities in pharmaceutical characterization of your formulary. Our proprietary database profiles more than 450,000 National Drug Code (NDC) numbers, and our waste characterization includes a review of drugs identified by:

• EPA (40 CFR §262.11 and 261.3)
• DOT (49 CFR § 173)
• National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• State regulations

Once the initial characterization is complete, we’ll implement a process to update your hospital’s waste characterization on an ongoing basis as new drugs are added to your formulary.

Rx Waste Compliance Staff Training and Education

Our Rx Waste Compliance experts provide extensive training throughout your hospital as required by EPA (40 CFR §265.16) and DOT (49 CFR §172.702 and §172.704) to help ensure your medical center’s compliance with the pharmaceutical waste disposal program during the implementation process.

Our customized modules target environmental services (EVS) departments, clinicians, pharmacists, and nurses including unit-to-unit training for all departments that produce pharmaceutical waste, including all shifts.

We use both classroom and unit-to-unit training during implementation of our Rx Waste Compliance Service.

Implementation of Pharmaceutical Disposal Service

An important part of the Stericycle Rx Waste Compliance Service is setting up the Rx waste reusable container system in your pharmacy and patient care areas. This set up is done on-site and includes:

• A walk-through with hospital staff to determine the location, type and number of containers needed for each department or unit
• A recommendation for the proper sets of containers for each area
• State-of-the-art disposable and reusable containers, color-coded for a user-friendly disposal process
• Instructional charts for sorting of medicines by container type
• Consultation on the regulatory aspects of the program

Transport and Disposal of Your Drug Waste

In the program's final step, Stericycle handles all aspects of the transportation, treatment, and disposal of the hazardous and nonhazardous Rx waste you generate.

We provide replacement DOT-approved shipping containers and complete documentation and tracking of the waste.

Ongoing Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal Support

Upon completion of service installation, our professional service group of Healthcare Compliance Specialists provides AfterCare; ongoing support to help your facility maintain compliance with EPA/DOT regulations and TJC standards.