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Identifying and Predicting Healthcare Waste Management Costs for an Optimal Sustainable Management System: Evidence from the Greek Public Sector

Author

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  • Anastasios Sepetis

    (Postgraduate Health and Social Care Management Program, University of West Attica, 12244 Athens, Greece)

  • Paraskevi N. Zaza

    (Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, 35131 Lamia, Greece)

  • Fotios Rizos

    (Department of Business Administration, University of West Attica, 12241 Athens, Greece)

  • Pantelis G. Bagos

    (Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, 35131 Lamia, Greece)

Abstract

The healthcare sector is an ever-growing industry which produces a vast amount of waste each year, and it is crucial for healthcare systems to have an effective and sustainable medical waste management system in order to protect public health. Greek public hospitals in 2018 produced 9500 tons of hazardous healthcare wastes, and it is expected to reach 18,200 tons in 2025 and exceed 18,800 tons in 2030. In this paper, we investigated the factors that affect healthcare wastes. We obtained data from all Greek public hospitals and conducted a regression analysis, with the management cost of waste and the kilos of waste as the dependent variables, and a number of variables reflecting the characteristics of each hospital and its output as the independent variables. We applied and compared several models. Our study shows that healthcare wastes are affected by several individual-hospital characteristics, such as the number of beds, the type of the hospital, the services the hospital provides, the number of annual inpatients, the days of stay, the total number of surgeries, the existence of special units, and the total number of employees. Finally, our study presents two prediction models concerning the management costs and quantities of infectious waste for Greece’s public hospitals and proposes specific actions to reduce healthcare wastes and the respective costs, as well as to implement and adopt certain tools, in terms of sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastasios Sepetis & Paraskevi N. Zaza & Fotios Rizos & Pantelis G. Bagos, 2022. "Identifying and Predicting Healthcare Waste Management Costs for an Optimal Sustainable Management System: Evidence from the Greek Public Sector," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-20, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:9821-:d:883938
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matthew J Eckelman & Jodi Sherman, 2016. "Environmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Flaviu Moldovan & Liviu Moldovan, 2024. "Sustainable Waste Management in Orthopedic Healthcare Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-13, June.
    2. Poornima A. Jayasinghe & Hamoun Jalilzadeh & Patrick Hettiaratchi, 2023. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Waste Infrastructure: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Anastasios Sepetis & Konstantinos Georgantas & Ioannis Nikolaou, 2024. "A Proposed Circular Economy Model for Hospital Bio-Waste Management in Municipal Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Tiberia Ioana Ilias & Cristian Sergiu Hocopan & Roxana Brata & Ovidiu Fratila, 2023. "Current and Future Sustainability Traits of Digestive Endoscopy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-17, November.
    5. Alla Mostepaniuk & Turgay Akalin & Mohammad Reza Parish, 2023. "Practices Pursuing the Sustainability of A Healthcare Organization: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, January.

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