Dentists question new waste handover method

South Korea: Dentists have raised concerns about recent changes to the medical waste handover method following an announcement by the Ministry of Environment.

The Ministry announced with effect from October 1, a beacon tag will be need to be attached to a dedicated container used to transfer medical waste to incinerators.

The sticker-type electronic tag is said to be an improvement to the existing waste handover method as it eliminates “blind spots in medical waste management”, according to the Ministry.

The new method is meant to compensate for the shortcomings of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) recognition method used in the safe disposal of medical waste under the Waste Management Act – a method that has been practiced since 2008.

The beacon tag is a small communication device measuring about 10cm in width and 5cm in height. Designed to automatically recognise the discharger information through a portable reader attached to the wall of the medical waste discharger, the device replaces the signature of the emitter when receiving and handing over waste.

Under the new stipulation, each medical institution must purchase a beacon tag individually and install it in a processing facility.

However, this new policy has thus far been poorly received by medical and dental practitioners, unhappy about resulting excessive cost and administrative burden.

Dentists, in particular, feel they have not been consulted on the issue prior to the announcement, apart from the electronic public hearing held through the website of the Ministry of Environment.

“The request from the dental community for easing various regulations has been disregarded, and administrative work has been added,” said an unnamed dentist in Seoul, “However, it is unfair to say that the medical institution has to bear the costs associated with it.”

Despite objections from the medical practitioners, the Ministry of Environment responded that it had no choice but to change the policy.

Citing the existing RFID method, the Ministry said that a collection and transport company can input the amount of handover/takeover without a site visit, which presents a blind spot for waste disposal. The introduction of beacon tags, it claims, will ensure on-site visits by collection and transport companies are properly monitored.

“We are still collecting enquiries related to beacon tags. Also, no support measures are currently in place,” said an official from the Ministry of Environment. “However, we are in the midst of gathering internal feedback on aspects that can simplify the work of the system.”

The Ministry said it plans to come up with appropriate countermeasures through discussion and cooperation with the medical association and other related organizations.

“In the case of the introduction of beacon tags by the Ministry of Environment,” said Ho-taek Song, Director of Materials and Standards of the Association of Health Associations, “there were some gaps in the process of collecting opinions in advance of introducing the new policy, which included the public hearings.”