Disposing of IV bags?

[PJMommy]

All of our mixed drips and piggyback meds come with a patient label that has all the specifics on it: med record #, pt name, drug concentration, flow rate, etc. We have such hassles disposing of these.... First we were told to peel off the label (yeah, right....since they don't peel nicely - more like 100 little pieces) and dispose in shredder. Then we were to drain the bag and disconnect tubing and walk empty bag to the one and only special disposal dumpster on the unit for IV bags. Compliance is terrible -- most of us just say "to heck with it" and toss in garbage, hoping today isn't the day the hospital's attorney doesn't dig through trash, trying to bust someone for an alleged HIPAA violation.

So, what do you all do with your labeled IV bags???

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Wow, I never thought of labeled bags being a way to gain private info.

We just toss ours in the garbage in the patient rooms.

I'll have to bring this up . . or not. :)

steph

[CathRN]

In my hospital, the only time that the patient information is on the bag is if it a special mix and comes from the Rx that way. The rest of the time, we get it out of the pyxis. I never thought of gaining paitent info from the IV bag. We have always just thrown them in the trash can in the patient's room.

[jbanana]

Try carrying a black magic marker in your pocket. Just mark over pt. identifying info before disposing of the bags.

[Nurse Ratched, RN]

Try carrying a black magic marker in your pocket. Just mark over pt. identifying info before disposing of the bags.

That's what we do. :)

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

We also have to eliminate patient information off of med packages/IV bags. We have the option of peeling off the label and placing it in the "shred bucket or obscuring the name/ID number on the bag. The most effective we've seen is scribbling over the name with a wax pencil (basically a fancy crayon), but they are generally not available around the unit. I usually scratch the name out with my sharpie marker or just scribble over it with a regular pen until I can't see the name/ID number any more.

[rntg]

We also have to eliminate patient information off of med packages/IV bags. We have the option of peeling off the label and placing it in the "shred bucket or obscuring the name/ID number on the bag. The most effective we've seen is scribbling over the name with a wax pencil (basically a fancy crayon), but they are generally not available around the unit. I usually scratch the name out with my sharpie marker or just scribble over it with a regular pen until I can't see the name/ID number any more.

I never thought of any of those being a problem. We are so careful to throw some stuff in the shredder, and don't even think of the med bag labels or IV bags. I don't think I want to open that can of worms at work either. I am sure they will figure that out on their own. We already spend half on day on nonpatient related tasks.

[AmyB]

We actually asked one of the hospital's HIPAA compliance people what to do with our IV bags with patient info on it. She gave us a "duh" look and told us that of course we were supposed to peel the labels off. Now I do my best to remember each time.

[sharann, BSN, RN]

All our trash go in red bio trash. Is this safe enough? We through out anything but glass and sharps in them.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I noticed when i used the black marker that i could still see the name and MR number.

I used to peel off the labels (ours evidently aren't that bad) and stick them to a scrap piece of paper. Then i would put that paper in the shred box. (the whole day's worth of labels, which stayed in my coat pocket.)

We now have a box in our OR specifically for the labeled bags. I don't know how they are destroyed, but there's no complaints so far.

[rjflyn, ASN, RN]

I guess this is another reason to work in the ER. Its a rarity that any IV's have more than a pts last name on them since most get labeled by us as we mix/hand them. The rare instance is when we have to order the med from pharmacy. Then typically the pt is getting admitted with it still up. We to throw everthing in to red bag that get incinerated on site. I do know that when I worked elsewhere the landfill would go through non-red bag trash to spot check we were disposing of things in there proper place.

rj:rolleyes:

[estrogen]

In my hospital, the only time that the patient information is on the bag is if it a special mix and comes from the Rx that way. The rest of the time, we get it out of the pyxis. I never thought of gaining paitent info from the IV bag. We have always just thrown them in the trash can in the patient's room.

I think it's a JCAHO violation if you don't have your IV bags labeled. If ours don't come labeled from pharmacy - i.e. NS, or the stuff out of the Pixys, we have to label it ourselves before it's hung.