OSHA Review: Top 5 Ways to Stay OSHA Compliant
Whether you work in a medical lab, private practice, hospital setting, funeral home, or veterinary office, there are a set of rules in place to help maintain OSHA compliance. Whether you work in a medical lab, hospital, tattoo parlor, or a veterinary office, there are a set of rules in place to help maintain OSHA…
Read More5 Easy Ways Medical Professionals Can Avoid Injury
Working in the healthcare industry often involves a degree of risk. Healthcare workers can be exposed to dangers in the form of injuries, bloodborne pathogens, allergies, and more. In fact, according to OSHA, a hospital is statistically one of the most dangerous places a person can work. According to a Philadelphia workers compensation lawyer, “as…
Read MoreRed Bags’ Medical Waste Equipment 101
Proper medical waste disposal relies on the right equipment. Medical waste disposal plans help identify and reduce risks of infections in patients and healthcare workers, but any good plan requires proper equipment to make the plan functional to prevent lapses, mistakes, and health risks. Healthcare facilities and other institutions that deal with hazardous or medical…
Read MorePersonal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Why It’s a Must for Worker Safety
As an employer, you must perform a hazard assessment of your workplace to determine if hazards require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Every person that stays in or visits a healthcare environment is at risk of acquiring an infection, but for healthcare workers, the risk is even greater. Workers are more susceptible to…
Read MoreICYMI: Plastics As Medical Waste, Sharps Safety Protocol, Expired Medications, and More
Food allergy awareness, plastics as hazardous waste, expired medication, and more on the Red Bags blog for the month of May. Here’s what you missed in medical waste disposal and management this month on the Red Bags blog… Epinephrine Auto Injectors: How Do We Dispose of Them? May is Food Allergy Awareness Month, and for…
Read MoreWhat’s the Difference between a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) and SDS (Safety Data Sheet)?
Is there a difference between MSDS and SDS? If you work with chemicals, hazardous materials, medical waste, or any other materials with physical, chemical and toxic properties, then you need material safety data sheets (MSDS), or as they’re now known, safety data sheets (SDS). Is there a difference between the two? Here’s what you need to…
Read More5 Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal Best Practices
Here are some best practices for pharmaceutical waste disposal. Pharmaceutical waste management is a long and complicated topic that falls within the hub of hazardous waste management. If you manage a healthcare facility, hospital, assisted living facility, or even a pharmacy, it’s imperative to understand different pharmaceutical waste classifications and how to dispose of pharmaceutical…
Read MorePharmaceutical Waste Management & Disposal: Tips & Best Practices
Pharmaceutical waste management is complex. Here’s what you need to know. Managing pharmaceutical waste is both an environmental and compliance issue. Pharmaceutical manufacturers and retailers, as well as healthcare facilities, must adhere to laws and regulations to ensure safety and liability. Proper waste management is key to minimizing environmental impact and reducing risk associated with…
Read MoreExpired Medications: Keep or Toss?
Are expired medications safe for use? Patients often have questions about drug expiration dates: can they take a medication if it has reached the drug expiration date? Are there recommendations about the best way to store medications? Are there certain drugs that should never be used past their expiration date? There’s actually mixed info out…
Read MoreMay is also Hepatitis Awareness Month. How Is Your Sharps Safety Protocol?
Sharps related injuries are unfortunately still too common. Prevention and training are key factors to mitigating risk of hepatitis. May is designated as Hepatitis Awareness Month in the United States. During the entire month, the CDC works to shed light on this hidden epidemic by raising awareness of viral hepatitis and encouraging safety, vaccination, and…
Read MoreIs it Time to Classify Plastics as Hazardous Wastes?
Plastics are chemically inert, that’s a common belief. Yet in 2013, in the science journal Nature, a group of scientists started a call to classify plastics as hazardous wastes. Their argument? Plastics, like the typical hazardous waste we all know, also pose harm to human health and the environment, and that applying hazardous waste disposal…
Read MoreMay Is Food Allergy Awareness Month: Epinephrine Auto Injector Disposal
May is Food Allergy Awareness Month, a time to create awareness among the general public, and reduce the number of deaths caused by food allergies. Eating with caution is a way of life for nearly 15 million Americans living with food allergies. Living with a life-threatening medical condition is no doubt challenging, especially for children,…
Read More