Quest Diagnostics Agrees to Pay a $5 Million Settlement Over Improper Waste Disposal, Privacy Concerns

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced that a $5 million settlement has been agreed with Quest Diagnostics to resolve allegations it illegally dumped hazardous and medical waste and disposed of the unredacted personal health information of patients in regular trash dumpsters. An investigation was conducted into the business practices of Quest Diagnostics that involved 30 inspections at four Quest Diagnostic Laboratories and several of its patient service centers in the state to determine if Quest Diagnostics was complying with California’s Hazardous Waste Control Law, Medical Waste Management Act, Unfair Competition Law, and civil laws that prohibit the disclosure of the personal health information of Californians.

The inspections included reviews of the contents of compactors and dumpsters at Quest facilities which found hundreds of containers of chemicals including reagents and bleach, and electronic waste and batteries. The dumpsters also contained medical waste such as specimen containers that included blood and urine, hazardous waste such as flammable liquids, solvents, and batteries, and unredacted medical information.

Quest Diagnostics was notified about the findings of the inspections and hired an independent environmental auditor to review its waste disposal policies and procedures, which have now been modified. Staff training on the updated policies and procedures has been provided across its four laboratories and more than 600 patient service centers in the state to ensure full compliance with California laws.

Read the source article at The HIPAA Journal