Comparative analysis of cost of biomedical waste management across varying bed strengths in rural India

Background: The quantum of waste generated from medical care and activities is a global matter of concern. Improper management of biomedical waste has a grave health impact on the community, health care professionals and the environment. It is mandatory by law that every medical organization that generates waste should have a system, process and resources in place for segregating biomedical waste within the organization for proper disposal. The present articles deals with understanding the various costs associated in biomedical waste management process which will help the health care organization to prioritize their spending and focus on areas that require spending to achieve compliance in process of biomedical waste management. Material and methods: Descriptive cross sectional study was carried out, to study the compliance of biomedical waste management at three different hospitals with respect to Bio-Medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011. A retrospective study was conducted to analyze cost data for a 1-year time period. Cost involved in BMW management was analyzed and classified as capital and recurring costs. The study was undertaken in Udupi taluk, taluk comprises of 11 hospitals (1 Government and 10 private hospitals), the hospitals were selected using convenient sampling as taking permission to conduct the study was difficult. Only three hospitals permitted to carry out the study. Results: Compliance was found to be better in accredited hospital than non-accredited hospital. This could be attributed to strict adherence to standard operating procedures and Regular training of staff. Cost involved in BMW management was analyzed as capital and recurring costs. Since most of the hospital outsource final disposal, Capital costs are significantly less compared to recurring costs. Among the recurring costs, maximum expenditure is on Consumables like color-coded bags. Cost per bed per day for handling BMW was calculated and it was found to be higher in smaller hospitals. Conclusion: Cost of biomedical waste management forms a significant part of hospital expenses. We analyzed both the capital costs and the operating costs and it was found that operating costs had a bigger impact on the hospital bottom line. The costs were found to be higher in the smaller hospitals. The larger hospital would be procuring items in higher volumes, which would enable them to bargain for a lower cost. If the government or the common biomedical waste management facility can provide color-coded bags to hospitals at a uniform pricing irrespective of the bed strength, it would enable them to bring down the operating costs significantly.