Disposal
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DOCUMENTS AND OTHER MATERIALS - Description:
Disposing of documents and other materials with patient information poses the risk that unauthorized individuals will gain access to the information. VUMC has a formal policy regarding the disposal of materls with patient information: VUMC Policy 10-40.22: Disposal of Confidential and Restricted Information.
Recommended Safeguards:
- Paper documents containing patient information must be shredded, per VUMC Policy 10-40.22. Shred-It bins are located throughout the hospital and clinic.
- Shred-It bins can also be utilized to dispose of empty plastic pill vials, patient ID bracelets, and plastic bags with patient labels.
- Film, microfilm, or microfiche must be cut into small pieces or chemically destroyed.
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COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND MEDIA - Description:
Many types of electronic devices and media contain patient information. When the devices and media must be discarded, reasonable measures should be taken to make sure the information is not accessible by unauthorized individuals. VUMC Policy OP 10-40.22: Disposal of Confidential and Restricted Information formalizes these expectations.
Recommended Safeguards:
- Department managers should notify the department’s LAN Administrator when electronic equipment needs to be discarded.
- Outdated computer equipment, devices, and media must not be discarded in dumpsters or regular trash containers.
- LAN Administrators are responsible for going through proper procedures to remove any confidential information from the equipment so it is not recoverable. These methods may include, but are not limited to: overwriting or partition deletion of hard disks and overwriting, physical destruction, or magnetic erasure (degaussing) for tapes, diskettes, and other media.
- Questions about Vanderbilt’s Computer Recycling Program may be directed to VUMC Storage and Services Department (Phone No.: 936-4626).
- Questions about disposing other electronic devices or media may be directed to Network Computing Services (Phone No.: 936-0642).
