Traditional methods of removing fluid medical waste from the operating room are being replaced in many places by fluid management systems that collect and discharge contents directly into the sanitary sewer.
Fluid management systems can replace single-use disposable plastic suction canisters, chemical solidifiers (itself an exposure risk), and significantly reduce waste disposal costs. Additional available safety features include smoke evacuation, precise vacuum control, fluid measurement, air filtration, and enclosed processing which further reduces occupational exposure risk.
Fluid management systems save hospitals an average of $51,000 per year and reduce the risk of occupational exposure to potentially infectious and hazardous material and during collection, transport, and disposal of fluid medical waste.
While the upfront cost of such systems is higher than the costs of single-use disposable plastic suction containers, long-term benefits include:
- Return-on-investment in between one and three years
- Less occupational exposure risks during collection, transport, and disposal
- More efficient operating room cleanup and disposal procedures
- Fewer disposable medical plastics in regulated medical waste
Practice Greenhealth offers tools and resources that help our members identify fluid management systems that will meet their needs. Our goal is to provide step-by-step resources that make it simpler for any hospital to design, implement, and measure the success of implementing fluid management systems while also supporting patient care and staff health and safety.
