Some of the
disposables offered
at Precision Surgical Supply
Brian Sullivan, President and CEO of SterilMed, Inc. says that using reprocessed devices has become a standard practice for most hospitals in the United States, as well as most of the leading teaching and research hospitals in the country. "Using at least some reprocessed devices is a standard practice in 70% of US hospitals," says Sullivan. "While over 3,000 hospitals currently have a reprocessing program, and over 93% of the US News' "Honor Roll" ,Hospitals use reprocessed devices, there are still some hospitals that have yet to fully integrate reprocessing as a standard practice at their facility."
Reprocessing medical devices positively impacts the environment by maximizing the use of existing devices, decreasing the volume of devices that are sent to landfills and reducing the production of methane gas required to make new products. The American Hospital Association and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement, which called for a number of action steps for hospitals to reduce medical waste. "Hospitals face the challenge of meeting the goal of a 50% reduction in medical waste volume by 2010. With US hospitals producing more than 6,000 tons of waste each day, this is a significant challenge. Recycling is one important step in reducing that impact on our environment," says Sullivan.
Association of Medical Device Reprocessors (AMDR) president Daniel Vukelich says, "As the U.S. Government Accountability Office indicates - medical device reprocessing is stringently regulated by FDA." With that assurance, it makes financial sense for hospitals. "Reprocessing saves hospitals millions of dollars," says Vukelich. He also pointed out that of all the disposable medical devices available - only 2% to 3% can be considered for reprocessing. That brings up the question, "What happens to the 97%
to 98% of the disposables that can't be reprocessed - where do they go?"
Recycled disposables
Vukelich explained that when the AMDR can no longer reprocess a medical device, it is usually stripped down and its components sold to third parties. For example, some plastics can be melted down and put into cinderblocks used for weatherproofing- the aftermarket for plastic is valuable. Other components, like titanium and carbon used by orthopedics for external fix bolts - can be sold, melted down and reused in certain consumer products. "This is a very exciting time for the reprocessing and recycling industry," says Vukelich. "The AMDA and other organizations and companies are working very hard to clean up and keep the environment clean." Sullivan of SterilMed explains that if a device cannot be reprocessed, the company reclaims and recycles the metal and plastic. During 2008, more than 20,000 pounds of material was recycled at SterilMed. The reclaimed plastics and metals were refined and used to create other products.
