Sharps, Medical Waste, and Patient Instruction on Disposal
Sets out how staff handle and discard sharps and other regulated or infectious waste they generate in patients' homes, how the Agency packages, transports (in a closed and secured vehicle, as Missouri's infectious waste rule allows for home health staff) and disposes of that waste through licensed transporters and permitted facilities with tracking documents, and how staff teach patients and families to package and dispose of their own household sharps and waste under the single-family residence exemption in 10 CSR 80-7.010(1)(C)2.
About this policy
- Policy number
- MO-HH-IC-03
- Version
- 1.0
- Main rule
- 42 CFR §484.70(a) (adopted by 19 CSR 30-26.010(1)(A))
- Library
- Missouri home health · 57 policies
- Category
- Infection control
- Sections
- 18
In short
- Put used sharps straight into a closable, puncture-resistant, leakproof, labeled sharps container.
- Bring the waste you create back to the office in sealed, labeled containers, upright and secured in a closed vehicle.
- Never leave Agency sharps or bloody waste in a patient's trash.
- Teach patients to put their own needles in a rigid container with a tight lid and to seal it before it goes in the trash.
- Clean up blood spills wearing gloves, using a disinfectant, and never pick up broken glass with your hands.
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 (42 CFR §484.70(a) (adopted by 19 CSR 30-26.010(1)(A)))
- 5. Sharps Containers
- 6. Waste Agency Staff Generate in the Home
- 7. Storage and Disposal at the Office
- 8. Patients' Own Sharps and Household Waste
- 9. Spills of Blood or Body Fluids
- 10. Drugs Left With Patients
- 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 does your nurse do with a used needle and a bloody dressing after a visit?
- How is the infectious waste your staff bring back to the office stored and picked up? Show me the tracking documents.
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