Vestara

The EPA's RCRA inspection program of hospitals, which includes some of the most prominent healthcare organizations in the U.S., has revealed a widespread failure to manage pharmaceutical waste, resulting in fines totaling millions and civil citations. Insurance companies are also beginning to assess the liability of pharmaceutical waste regulatory non-compliance. This may result in potentially higher premiums or loss of insurance. What's more, the environment also suffers as improperly dispensed waste enters waterways raising consumer concerns.

The public relations fallout from these inspections has begun to be a nightmare for many of these healthcare organizations. Even today, with JACHO's new emphasis on hazardous materials and pharmaceuticals management there has been no practical system for managing pharmaceutical waste effectively at the point of care.

Today, hospitals and clinics are under increasing pressure from nationwide, state, and local regulators to limit their pharmaceutical waste's impact on the environment. During April 2008, the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held hearings on “Pharmaceuticals in Our Nation’s Water.” In September 2008, the Water Resources Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on “Pharmaceuticals in the Environment.” And during 2009, the EPA will be collecting information from hospitals, through mandatory questionnaires, about the disposal of unused pharmaceuticals to better understand current management practices and the magnitude of discharges to waters. This questionnaire requires a signature by a C-suite level executive.

As the pressure increases, hospitals are beginning to realize that the systems they have in place are inadequate, cumbersome, (or non-existent) and not compliant with the myriad of state and federal regulations.

A Vital Step in Managing Pharmaceutical Waste (pdf)
Drug Waste Management Issues and Solutions (pdf)
EcoRex - The Regulatory Compliant Solution