Lars Thording of Ascent Healthcare Solutions discusses medical device manufacturer efforts to thwart reprocessing in DotMed.com:
First, the good news: reprocessing is making an enormously positive impact on health care at a time when genuine results are as needed as they are elusive. To many hospitals, the use of reprocessed devices is critical to their ability to sustain operations and deliver top quality care. In 2010, reprocessing programs helped hospitals save hundreds of millions of dollars. Savings of this magnitude can be immediately reinvested in patient care enhancements such as hiring nurses or the purchase of much needed equipment.
And now for the bad news: the widespread acceptance of reprocessing programs hurts the bottom line of some OEMs. Not surprisingly, this has led to aggressive action by some manufacturers to stop the use of reprocessed devices. . . .