Many healthcare facility leaders are unaware of how antiquated and potentially dangerous their current protocols are for disposing of medical fluid waste from canister cases. Common methods have shown to create unnecessary costs associated with expensive red bag waste disposal. In addition, the practice of opening canisters and pouring waste down the drain can expose staff to harmful infection.
A new guide from Serres, Cleaning up Fluid Disposal in Surgical Facilities, provides a much needed update to these practices for low/medium volume surgical cases and is available for download now.
The publication outlines best practices to improve upon widely accepted methods of fluid waste disposal that are both costly and inefficient:
- Eliminate airborne and splash exposure with a closed system
- Simplify connections to eliminate spills and leaks
- Reduce error and get started faster with one-time set-up
- Reduce waste to lower cost per case
- Reduce cost by optimizing shipping and storage
- Reduce footprint by reducing waste
These new best practices highlight the importance of a closed system that improves safety and efficiency, as well as reduces infection risk for both patients and staff. New equipment allows healthcare facility staff to completely avoid the process of opening surgical fluid waste canisters and pouring waste down the drain.
Besides disposing of fluid waste by pouring it down the drain, the other most common method involves disposing entire canisters of surgical fluid as red bag waste after every procedure. With the stringent regulations surrounding the disposal of medical waste, cost of disposal can be extremely high. According to most estimates, red bag waste costs 10-15x more than standard waste. Most healthcare facilities are unaware that new best practices exist to drastically reduce costs associated with disposing surgical fluid waste.
Are you ready to learn more about new workflows and technology that improves the safety, efficiency, cost and sustainability of fluid waste disposal? Click here to download the guide or click here to connect with a member of our team.
