CareFusion says it plans to rebrand Vestara’s EcoRex product, which includes hardware and software to identify, sort and segregate hazardous and non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste for proper disposal, as the Pyxis EcoStation.
According to CareFusion, the problem of pharmaceutical waste is likely to reach a dangerous level, as US hospitals buy more than four billion vials, bottles and ampoules each year and generate more than 84,000 tons of hazardous waste annually.
Pharmaceutical waste has been found in 80% of sampled water streams, contaminating drinking water, a recent US Geological Survey revealed.
US hospitals may be fined up to $37,500 per infraction, per day by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste, according to CareFusion.
“Pharmaceutical waste management is a challenging issue, with many of the nation's hospitals remaining non-compliant due to complex handling requirements specific to each medication classification and varying regulations at federal, state and local levels,” said Tom Leonard, president of Dispensing Technologies at CareFusion.
“CareFusion can now help in a way that protects their employees, the environment and their bottom line.”
The Pyxis EcoStation system uses barcode technology for drug identification and a database of more than 180,000 National Drug Code products to categorise and separate pharmaceutical waste at the point of disposal.
By automating the identification and sorting of different types of residual drugs, the system eliminates human error and potential cross contamination inherent in manual sorting of pharmaceutical waste, CareFusion said.