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Medical Device Reprocessing in the News...

Premier Healthcare Alliance, GNYHA Ventures Identify Reprocessing as a  Healthcare Cost-Saver, Press Release, 06/15/09:

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a letter sent to President Obama and House and Senate leaders, the Premier healthcare alliance and GNYHA Ventures, Inc., Greater New York Hospital Association’s supply chain enterprise that includes group purchasing organizations (GPOs), said that hospitals could improve healthcare quality and achieve cumulative savings of $317 billion if certain policies are enacted to create a more competitive and transparent purchasing environment. The savings are based on an analysis conducted by the two groups and projected over 10 years, to be fully realized by 2019....

Specifically, savings opportunities identified by Premier and GNYHA Ventures include...

…FDA evidence-based oversight of reprocessing - FDA currently provides oversight and regulates the reprocessing of single-use devices (SUDs). Despite FDA regulation, many hospitals do not reprocess SUDs because of the single-use label. FDA could require manufacturers to show evidence that a medical device is unable to reused, including studies that indicate reuse would render the device unsafe…. Link to full release. 

AMDR presents at CleanMed . . .

J. Michael Jones, FACHE, Director, Clinical Education and Sustainability, Health Trust Purchasing Group and Lory Olsson, Vice President of Operations for AMDR, presented "Reprocessing of SUDs and Sustainability: Positioning Reprocessing to Contribute to Your Facility's Environmental and Financial Bottom Lines" at the 2009 CleanMed conference in Chicago May 19.  This is the sixth annual international CleanMed conference devoted to catalyzing environmental improvements in healthcare.

Ascent Healthcare Solutions Receives “Champion for Change” Healthcare Environmental Excellence Award at CleanMed 2009....

Ascent Healthcare Solutions received the “Champion for Change” award at CleanMed 2009, the international conference on environmentally sustainable health care. The award was presented by Robert Jarboe of Practice Greenhealth on Tuesday in Chicago at CleanMed’s 2009 Environmental Excellence Awards ceremony. The award holds highest honors, recognizing Ascent’s environmental excellence based on accomplishments in improving the environmental performance of its hospital partners, as well as its own initiatives to become a more environmentally responsible organization.  Link to full release.

Millennium Research Group Reports: Reprocessed Device Market Booming During the Economic Crisis; Market growth to exceed 12% through 2013, according to Millennium Research Group

WALTHAM, Mass., May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group's (MRG's) US Markets for Reprocessed Devices 2009, hospitals are under significant pressure to lower spending due to the global economic crisis and the rising cost of health care within the US. Health care providers are therefore increasingly purchasing lower-priced products, such as reprocessed devices, which cost approximately 40 to 60% less than original equipment manufactured goods. As a result, market growth for reprocessed devices will exceed 12% annually through 2013…Link to full release. 

Practice Greenhealth, HealthTrust Purchasing Group and Ascent Healthcare Solutions have formed a partnership to involve clinicians in healthcare sustainability efforts....

April 15 -- Practice Greenhealth, HealthTrust Purchasing Group and Ascent Healthcare Solutions have formed a first-of-its-kind partnership to encourage clinical practices that contribute to sustainable operations in hospitals and other health care facilities. The partnership will provide an education-based program for clinicians, whose participation is critical to the overall greening efforts in the healthcare sector.

Reprocessing and remanufacturing of single use devices (SUD) stands out as a pioneering model for reducing healthcare-generated waste – for simultaneous reducing environmental waste and supply expense, while requiring no upfront capital investment. Reprocessing is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved way of reusing certain medical equipment, after the equipment is sterilized and tested for proper function.  Link to full release.

Are You Reprocessing Single-Use Devices?  Once Everyone's On Board, the Savings Go On and On...

Sheila Jobe-Lockwood, CHMM, and Tung Thanh Nguyen write for Outpatient Surgery Magazine's Going Green Guide 2009 (April), "One of the tenets of our green practices is that recycling is great, but reuse is better. Reuse keeps items out of the waste stream and lessens the demand for the raw materials and energy needed to manufacture products in the first place. That's why we began reprocessing single-use devices. In 2008 the program saved us $496,123 and diverted 5.8 tons of waste from the landfill. Those are 2 big reasons why you need to add the practice to your instrument care routine...."  Link to article. 

"Disposable Medical Devices Painting a Greener Picture. . . ."

The April 2009 issue of DOTmedbusiness News reported that ”single-use-devices (SUDs) reprocessing has been evaluated for safety and cleaning efficacy by various groups within the health care industry including the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, the American Hospital Association, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the American College of Cardiology.  Among these groups, several have introduced Industry Statements that support the use of SUDs based on reports issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)….”  Link to the full issue, see pages 27-30.

"Economy, Eco-Awareness Spur Stronger Reprocessing Interest . . . "

In March, 2009, Healthcare Purchasing News reported that "as for eco-focused initiatives, reprocessing has already gotten the thumbs up from groups like Practice Greenhealth.  In fact, the Arlington, VA-based organization lists medical device reprocessing as a best practice under its recommended strategies for reducing regulated medical waste."  HPN also reported that "not surprisingly, the top performing hospitals – from both an economic and sustainability perspective – are those that apply the practice more broadly." 

Quoting Lorra Miracle, RN, Director of Value Analysis at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, which saved nearly $300,000 on reprocessing and remanufacturing (which translated to five full-time nursing positions), "if someone isn’t reprocessing, we bring it to the committee and tell them, ‘This is your lost opportunity; you need to do something about it.’”  Link to the full article.

AMDR Members Serve Nation's Top Hospitals

Members of the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors serve a majority of the nation’s hospitals and nearly all of the nation's best hospitals.  AMDR’s members reprocess for 17 of the nation’s 19 honor roll hospitals, as listed by U.S. News & World Report in 2008, including 19 of the top 20 heart hospitals and 18 of the top 20 orthopedic institutions in the nation.