System, method, and device for medical waste tracking

1 . A method comprising:

receiving, with an opening in a housing of a medical waste tracking device of a plurality of medical waste tracking devices on a same network, a package for a medical device, wherein the opening in the housing of the medical waste tracking device includes a base configured to move to connect the opening to an interior of a receptacle configured to hold medical waste including the package for the medical device and the medical device;

in response to the package for the medical device being received in the opening, automatically reading, with a sensor of the medical waste tracking device, first identifying information from a first information element encapsulating the first identifying information on the package for the medical device;

in response to the sensor of the medical waste tracking device reading the first identifying information from the first information element encapsulating the first identifying information on the package, controlling, with at least one processor, the base to move to connect the opening to the interior of the receptacle to deposit the package into the interior of the receptacle, wherein the first identifying information is associated with a first time including a time of deposit of the package into the interior of the receptacle and representing a start of use for the medical device for indwelling treatment of a patient;

generating, with at least one processor, based on the first identifying information and a current time, a dwell time indicating an amount of time that the medical device is used for treatment of the patient, wherein the dwell time is determined based on a difference between the first time including the time of deposit of the package into the interior of the receptacle and representing the start of use for the medical device for indwelling treatment of the patient and the current time;

before the medical device is received at one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, determining, with at least one processor that the dwell time satisfies a threshold dwell time associated with the medical device, wherein the threshold dwell time corresponds to a dwell-time limit for the medical device based on a time of package disposal to a time of medical device disposal or lack thereof;

providing, with at least one processor, in response to determining that the dwell time satisfies the threshold dwell time, an alert to a user, wherein the alert includes a recommendation to at least one of remove and replace the medical device that is in use for treatment of the patient;

in response to the medical device being received at the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, automatically reading, with a corresponding sensor of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, second identifying information from a second information element encapsulating the second identifying information on the medical device;

in response to reading the second identifying information from the second information element encapsulating the second identifying information on the medical device, controlling, with at least one processor, a corresponding base of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices to deposit the medical device into a corresponding receptacle of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, wherein each of the first identifying information and the second identifying information includes a same unique device code associated with the medical device, wherein the first identifying information further includes a first indicator indicating that the first identifying information is associated with the package for the medical device, wherein the second identifying information further includes a second indicator indicating that the second identifying information is associated with the medical device, and wherein the deposit of the package into the interior of the receptacle of the medical waste tracking device is linked to the deposit of the medical device at the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices with the same unique device code at different ones of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices on the same network; and

providing, with at least one processor, based on the second identifying information, an indication that the medical device is not in use for treatment of the patient.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

associating, with at least one processor, the medical waste tracking device with at least one of a room and the patient assigned to the room.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor of the medical waste tracking device reads the first identifying information from the first information element via a short range wireless communication protocol.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor of the medical waste tracking device includes at least one of the following: an optical sensor, an acoustic sensor, or any combination thereof, and wherein the sensor of the medical waste tracking device reads the first identifying information from the first information element with the at least one of the optical sensor and the acoustic sensor.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, with a wireless communication device of the medical waste tracking device, the first identifying information to a computing device.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

establishing, with a corresponding wireless communication device of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, a communication connection with the medical device before the medical device is received at the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices;

forwarding, with the corresponding wireless communication device of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, when the medical device is in use, information received from the medical device to the computing device.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, with at least one processor, based on the first identifying information and the second identifying information, that an amount of time that the medical device was in use satisfies a threshold; and

providing, with at least one processor, in response to determining that the amount of time that the medical device was in use satisfies the threshold, a prompt to the user, wherein the prompt includes a request for the user to input a reason for removal of the medical device.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, with at least one processor, based on at least one of the first identifying information and the second identifying information, that the medical device includes a catheter;

determining, with at least one processor, based on the first identifying information and the second identifying information, that an amount of time that the catheter was in use satisfies a threshold;

incrementing, with at least one processor, in response to determining that the amount of time that the catheter was in use satisfies the threshold, a count associated with a number of catheter insertion attempts for an insertion site of the patient.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, with a corresponding scale of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, a weight of a fluid received at the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices; and

determining, with at least one processor, an amount of fluid loss associated with the patient based on the weight of the fluid.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, with at least one processor, based on the second identifying information, a type of the medical device; and

providing, with the at least one processor, based on the type of the medical device, a prompt to the user, wherein the prompt includes a request for the user to dispose of the medical device with a different medical waste tracking device of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the corresponding base of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices is configured to move to connect the corresponding opening of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices to a first subdivision of the interior of the corresponding receptacle or a second subdivision of the interior of the corresponding receptacle, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining, with the at least one processor, based on the second identifying information, a type of the medical device; and

controlling, with the at least one processor, the corresponding base to move to connect the corresponding opening to the interior of the corresponding receptacle that includes the first subdivision of the corresponding receptacle or the second subdivision of the corresponding receptacle, based on the type of the medical device, to deposit the medical device into one of the first subdivision of the corresponding receptacle or the second subdivision of the corresponding receptacle.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

disabling, with the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, a communications capability of the medical device received at the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices.

13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

establishing, with a wireless communication device of the medical waste tracking device and a corresponding wireless communication device of the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices, at least one of the following: (i) a communication connection between the wireless communication device and the corresponding wireless communication device, (ii) a communication connection between the wireless communication device and a computing device and a communication connection between the corresponding wireless communication device and the computing device, or any combination thereof.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the medical waste tracking device or the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices includes the at least one processor.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is included in a computing device external to the medical waste tracking device and the one of the plurality of medical waste tracking devices.