Acute Care Hospitals

Acute care hospitals are the most complex organizations in which to develop and maintain a pharmaceutical waste management program. Components of these programs also reach into other waste streams, including solid waste, recycling, shredding, regulated medical waste, and controlled substance management. Through our WM Sustainability Services ICS program, we can offer a total waste stream management program. If you have an interest in information regarding these additional waste streams, please contact us. Now let’s discuss where to begin managing your pharmaceutical waste.

The best place to start is with the PharmE^® Inventory Analysis service. You can either send an Excel spreadsheet of your current inventory or a 12 month purchase history from your drug wholesaler. We will indicate which items are federal hazardous waste, which are PharmE Hazardous^®, and which are non-hazardous. In addition, we now offer state-specific waste categorization at the product level in those states which have stricter definitions of hazardous waste. The PharmE Hazardous^® category is further subdivided into a number of criteria, such as those listed in the NIOSH Hazardous Drug List, and other relevant references. We also provide a hazardous materials list as required by the OSHA Hazard Communications Standard.

You will want to maintain your system by using the patented PharmE^® Waste Wizard^®, our online database which includes disposal information for over 220,000 drug products. Updated weekly with an average of 350 products, the Wizard is the most cost-effective method for keeping current with new drugs entering your facility, outdated samples, repacks, patients’ personal medications, and other non-formulary pharmaceuticals.

Implementation of this valuable information into your policies and procedures can seem overwhelming! We have multiple additional ways to assist you. Our PharmE^® Implementation Program offers assistance through a combination of web conferences, teleconferences, and on-site consulting and training. Our PharmE^® Computer-based Training Program provides six modules designed for pharmacy, nursing, and environmental services. Finally, our PharmE^® Policy and Procedure Templates save you countless hours in developing accurate and compliant documents.