The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to publish a final rule soon that will govern how skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and other health care providers can dispose of unused pharmaceuticals. The rule will ban the practice of disposing of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals down a drain.

Provider Magazine  reports Jennifer Hilliard, an attorney in the health care practice of the law firm Arnall Golden Gregory, is warning that by mid-August, SNFs will need to implement “major changes to how they dispose of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals” due to the new rule. The precise date of implementation has yet to be stated.

Discussing the timeline of implementation, Holly Harmon, Associate Vice President of Quality and Clinical Affairs at AHCA, said the six-month compliance window could pose a challenge but that a “positive” aspect of the rule is that assisted living communities are not included.

VHCA-VCAL will share additional information on the impact of the rule for staff training, needed policies and procedure changes, and how to handle the waste.