Escaf M, Shurtleff S
Can J Infect Control. 1996 Spring;11(1):7-11.
As hospitals face severe financial constraints, the need to review programs to ensure cost-effectiveness is critical. Waste management practices have come under scrutiny because inappropriate waste disposal is very costly. The Wellesley Hospital in Toronto, Ontario conducted a waste audit in July 1993 and found that 18.5% of waste was being disposed of as biomedical waste. Because the hospital pays nine times more to dispose of biomedical waste than it does landfill waste, a goal was set to reduce biomedical waste to 8% of total waste. A program, which included redefining biomedical waste, reviewing waste practices throughout the hospital, educating staff and monitoring outcomes, resulted in biomedical waste levels decreasing to 7.9% of total waste within 18 months. Savings realized were approximately $67,000. This program is easily reproducible.
由于医院面临严峻的财务限制，审查各项计划以确保成本效益的需求至关重要。废物管理做法受到了审视，因为不当的废物处置成本非常高昂。安大略省多伦多市的韦尔斯利医院于1993年7月进行了一次废物审计，发现18.5%的废物被作为生物医疗废物处置。由于该医院处置生物医疗废物的成本是填埋废物的九倍多，因此设定了一个目标，将生物医疗废物减少到总废物的8%。一个包括重新定义生物医疗废物、审查全院的废物处理做法、培训员工和监测结果的计划，使得生物医疗废物水平在18个月内降至总废物的7.9%。实现的节约约为67,000美元。该计划易于复制。
