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Article: Controlled substance disposal a growing problem for hospitals
- Article from:
- Drug Topics
- Article date:
- December 15, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Advanstar Communications, Inc. Dec 15, 2008. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Federal drug policy is pushing hospitals and other healthcare facilities into a comer. Unused medications are increasingly recognized as hazardous waste that should be incinerated. But the Drug Enforcement Administration's rules on controlled substance disposal are forcing many hospitals to flush unused medications.
The alternative is waste disposal under the surveillance of law enforcement personnel or someone registered with DEA. Witnessed disposal is expensive.
"That's a huge financial hit that can't be passed on to our patients," Steven Waderich, hazardous waste disposal manager at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, said. "It's the right thing to do environmentally, but it is ...