The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors Celebrate Milestone, Applaud Members for 15 Years of Sustainable Healthcare Efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 15, 2012 – The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors (AMDR) celebrates a significant milestone this month, marking 15 years of reprocessor efforts to make healthcare more economically and environmentally sustainable. In 2011 alone, its members helped generate $300 million in savings for over 3,000 U.S. hospitals’ bottom line. The third-party reprocessing association, which has helped grow reprocessing from a $20 million industry in 2000 to a $400 million industry today, calls for increased adoption and market growth over the next five years.
“As governments grapple with how to make healthcare delivery more financially sustainable and maintain quality of care, the industry has a responsibility to bring forth solutions,” said Dan Vukelich, president of AMDR. “Reprocessing offers a smart way for hospitals to save up to 50 percent on medical device supply costs with no up-front investment. We’re proud of the work our industry has done over the past 15 years, but there’s more that can be done in terms of expanding adoption and, in-turn, increasing the cost-savings to the system. We estimate that if just two percent of devices marked as single-use could be reprocessed, the healthcare industry would save $2 billion each year.”
On top of the significant financial benefit, hospitals can also divert a substantial amount of waste from landfills by implementing a reprocessing program. American hospitals generate over four billion pounds of waste annually, making the health industry the second-largest contributor to U.S. landfills. AMDR members helped hospitals divert over nine million pounds of medical waste from landfills or incinerators in 2011.
The medical device reprocessing industry currently serves most U.S. hospitals, including 16 of the country’s 17 Honor Roll hospitals, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, and nine of the top 10 heart hospitals. One of the most telling signs of growth is that the independent companies that originally formed AMDR are now wholly-owned subsidiaries of two respected giants in the medical device industry: Stryker Sustainability Solutions, a division of Stryker Corporation and Sterilmed, Inc., an affiliate of Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies).
“The entrance of big names like Stryker and Johnson & Johnson into the reprocessing industry underscores the major paradigm shift that is occurring in healthcare: Value-based healthcare is replacing volume-based healthcare with hospitals now more desperate than ever for solutions to reduce waste, maximize the value of their purchasing decisions and promote sustainability. Medical device reprocessing is one of the first programs clinicians employ to immediately cut costs while providing their patients with the same standard of care,” added Vukelich.
About the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors
AMDR represents America’s FDA-regulated, third-party medical device reprocessing industry. Serving over 3,000 US hospitals, including a majority of U.S. News & World Report’s honor roll hospitals, AMDR’s members provide health care facilities with financially- and environmentally-responsible medical device options. More information is available at www.AMDR.org.
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Media contacts:
Association of Medical Device Reprocessors
Sara Payne
LaBreche
612-392-7602
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