Don’t bring surplus supplies into patient care rooms if they will need to be disposed of after the patient is transferred or discharged.

Disposal of unused medical supplies is common during patient transfers. To minimize waste, suggested practices include centralized supply carts, as-needed room restocking, and keeping emergency medications available but unopened.

Sources:

Morrow, J., Hunt, S., Rogan, V., Cowie, K., Kopacz, J., Keeler, C., Billick, M. B., & Kroh, M. (2013). Reducing waste in the critical care setting. Nursing leadership (Toronto, Ont.), 26 Spec No 2013, 17–26. https://doi.org/10.12927/cjnl.2013.23362. PMID: 24860948.

Wohlford, S., Esteves-Fuentes, N., & Carter, K. F. (2020). Reducing Waste in the Clinical Setting. The American journal of nursing, 120(6), 48–55. PMID: 32443125.

Yu, A., & Baharmand, I. (2021). Environmental Sustainability in Canadian Critical Care: A Nationwide Survey Study on Medical Waste Management. Healthcare quarterly (Toronto, Ont.), 23(4), 39–45. PMID: 33475491.