Managing a healthcare business comes with many gratifications. Every day, your services help people in your community. However, running a healthcare practice also involves many moving parts, requiring attention to detail, strong managerial skills, and multiple legal compliances. Learn about the importance of waste management in healthcare, and make sure your healthcare business operates toward success.
HIPAA Compliance: Disposing Of Old Records
Complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is one of the many legal requirements of a healthcare business. HIPAA makes sure that patients get to exercise their rights and have protection through policies pertaining to information disclosure and their sensitive records—protected health information (PHI).
Failure to properly dispose of old patient records is one of the most common HIPAA violations in medical offices. Making sure your facilities are adequately managing their waste and adhering to HIPAA regulations when disposing of PHI can save your business from many repercussions like costly fines and lawsuits.
Workplace Health And Safety: Hazardous Waste
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), healthcare workers encounter multiple exposures to infectious diseases while working in healthcare. Bloodborne pathogens are one of the biggest health and safety risks in medical offices. Any encounter with the pathogens leads to serious ailments and the possibility of death.
Therefore, OSHA enforces strict hazardous waste protocols to mitigate the risks of exposure to and interactions with bloodborne diseases. For instance, professionals must wear personal protective equipment (PPE), like gloves and aprons, when handling items exposed to bodily discharge. Professionals must dispose of any items that interact with bodily fluids—from patient bedsheets to sharps—into a contained and enclosed trash. Later, this trash can will go to an incinerator or chemical plant for proper disposal.
Patient And Staff Relationships: Protective Sanitation
Along with the gratification of helping others, healthcare workers can make their job even more fulfilling in many ways. Building relationships with patients is one way to make working in healthcare a wonderful experience. Patients can share life lessons, eye-opening stories, and human connections that make helping them even more meaningful, enhancing the importance of healthcare work.
However, an unkempt and unsanitary space can do more harm to your patients, ruining their trust in your team. With proper waste management, your medical office can remain sanitary and a comfortable place where clients feel safe. The more enjoyable their experience in your medical facilities, the greater their trust in your team and services is. Overall, keeping your medical office well-maintained improves retention rates and allows your staff to build meaningful relationships with patients.
Waste management plays an important part in healthcare and influences many different aspects of running a medical facility. Guarantee future success for your healthcare enterprise by making sure your waste management is in order.