Sharps, Home-Generated Medical Waste, and Patient Instruction
Sets out how the Agency handles sharps and medical waste that its staff generate while caring for patients, under the California Medical Waste Management Act (Cal. Health & Safety Code §117600 et seq.) and the Cal/OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard; how staff carry limited quantities of medical waste to the office under the materials of trade exception (up to 35.2 pounds, with a log the receiving facility keeps for two years); how the Agency confirms its generator status with the local enforcement agency; and how staff teach patients and caregivers to dispose of the patient’s own home-generated sharps, which may never go in the trash or recycling (§118286).
- Policy number
- CA-HH-IC-03
- Version
- 1.0
- Main rule
- Cal. Health & Safety Code §117600
- Library
- California home health · 58 policies
- Category
- Infection control
- Sections
- 18
In short
- Drop every needle you use into your own sharps container at once. Never use the patient’s trash.
- Put items soaked with blood in a red biohazard bag and tie it.
- Carry no more than 35.2 pounds of waste, and sign the waste log when you bring it to the office.
- Teach patients never to put their needles or lancets in the trash or recycling.
- Do not take a patient’s own sharps container away. Show the family the local drop-off or mail-back options.
What's inside
18 sections. The full text comes with the One-time Policy Pack.
- Terms of Reference
- 1. Purpose
- 2. Scope
- 3. Definitions
- 4. Policy Statement (Cal. Health & Safety Code §117600)
- 5. Generator Status and Registration
- 6. Sharps and Medical Waste Generated During a Visit
- 7. Carrying Medical Waste to the Office
- 8. The Patient’s Own Sharps (Home-Generated Sharps Waste)
- 9. Other Waste in the Home
- 10. Spills
- 11. Responsibilities
- 12. Records and Compliance Monitoring
- 13. Staff Training
- 14. References
- 15. Related Policies and Forms
- 16. Approval
- 17. Revision History
An inspector may ask
- What happens to a needle your nurse uses in a patient’s home?
- How do your staff carry used sharps containers back to the office, and where is the log?
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