Resources for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Hospital Finds Recycling Cure

www.eweek.com

You think you've got waste management issues? As the director of environmental services at the 294-bed Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Dennis Owens is responsible for all waste handling—from regulated medical waste to retired IT assets.

Memorial Hospital, in Pawtucket, R.I., is a teaching and research hospital affiliated with the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. Until two years ago, the disposal of technology equipment that had reached its end of life at the hospital was probably the easiest part of Owens' job: Desktops, printers, monitors and other electronics were dumped in a state landfill, "a perfectly legal thing to be doing at the time," said Owens.

After regulations changed, Owens had to find a company that could help the hospital get rid of equipment safely and securely and in a more environmentally conscious way.

"In health care, one of the big issues is HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] regulations because of all the patient information that's on the machines," said Owens. "And also, just the general idea of being responsible about the environment and not letting [electronics] go just anywhere.

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