earth day imageThe Association of Medical Device Reprocessors is happy to celebrate Earth Day and congratulates our partners who are committed to implementing sustainable, environmentally friendly practices.　 AMDR member-companies are committed to greening healthcare.　 Indeed, reprocessing is one of the most impactful sustainability initiatives used by hospitals today.　 By using regulated third-party reprocessors, hospitals can not only extend the life of their existing medical devices (and thus save money) but they can reduce the amount of operating room waste generated.　 Below AMDR has assembled a “green year in review,” highlighting some of the green, reprocessing-related stories of the last 12 months.　
 

2015 Green Year in Review

    • The Advisory Board Company reports how reprocessing can save hospitals on landfill and repurchasing costs. Currently, around 3,000 hospitals have reprocessing programs to reap the benefits: $2B Potential annual savings to the US health care system from reprocessing and repurchasing 2% of all medical devices; 50% Potential cost savings from purchasing reprocessed medical devices instead of new devices.
    • Hospitals and Health Networks (H&HN) discuss how sustainability in the OR is a multipronged initiative that must be implemented by a multidisciplinary team. Key steps in greening the OR include partnering with an approved third-party processor to purchase reprocessed medical devices and reprocess eligible devices. Lauren Berkow, M.D. at Johns Hopkins Health System says her organization saved more than $5 million on an OR reprocessing program between 2010 and 2013.
    • The 2014 Practice Greenhealth Sustainability Benchmark Report highlights that award-winning hospitals adopt SUD reprocessing as a means to cut regulated medical waste. In fact, according to the report, “eighty-eight percent of facilities have implemented reprocessing programs, saving a total of $49.2 million and diverting 847 tons of waste out of the regulated medical waste stream.”
    • “Hospitals nationwide are transforming their purchasing practices to avoid toxic chemicals, buy healthier food and beverages and become energy efficient and less wasteful,” according to the Healthier Hospitals Initiative (HHI) 2013 Milestone Report. Clear trends have emerged to improve hospitals’ environmental performance and support broader environmental health goals. Notable: more than $45 million was saved as a result of single-use device reprocessing, a 33% increase from 2012.
    • Since becoming an early adopter of single-use device reprocessing back in 2002, St. Joseph Health System is now saving nearly $3 million a year for its 16 hospitals in California, West Texas, and Northern New Mexico, and diverting 80,000 pounds of medical waste from landfills.
    • “OR physicians are the key providers who need to be engaged to get [green] projects sustained and pushed forward,” Johns Hopkins finds. Educational efforts that focus on the financial and environmental benefits of recycling are essential, and have produced results such as: saving nearly $5.5 million between 2010 and 2013 through an OR device reprocessing program, and increasing recycling of all OR waste from less than 1 percent in mid-2010 to nearly 16.5 percent by mid-2014.
    • Before the buyback program started 2 years ago, OR staff would throw the Harmonic scalpels into a red sharps container, along with syringes, suture and glass vials. The key was educating staff to segregate the devices to be reprocessed into the green bins.
    • Green Health Magazine reports on supply chain strategies for reducing solid, regulated medical, and hazardous waste. In particular is the need to establish and utilize a GPO service contract with a third-party reprocessor for collection of single-use medical devices (SUDs) in patient care areas and the OR, including EP/cath labs.
    • 2013 Milestone Report Shows hospitals going healthier; additional report highlights include more than $45 million was saved as a result of single-use device reprocessing, a 33 percent increase in 2012.
    • WHO officials say the answer to reducing such a heavy environmental footprint is environmentally sustainable policies, such as recycling, reprocessing, composting, and purchasing recycled materials. Such efforts not only reduce emissions from waste facilities, “but significantly reduce demand for primary materials, thus reducing deforestation, mining, and oil drilling and their associated greenhouse gas emissions,” states the report.
    • HealthCare Purchasing News finds that not only does reprocessing SUD’s reduce waste but it results in significant cost savings. Typically, hospitals and surgery centers can attain a $15,000 to $25,000 annual savings for every active operating room that they have through reprocessing single use devices. As of 2008, 70 percent of U.S hospitals had a contract with third-party reprocessing companies.
    • “For Cadence Health, reprocessing [single-use devices] is a win-win. Stryker Sustainability Solutions takes away SUDs for free, and we get to buy back a reprocessed item at a significantly reduced cost. We’re not only saving on the device but we’re also significantly reducing the number of items that are going to a landfill, thereby reducing medical device disposal costs as well.”
    • Becker’s Hospital Review notes that the lifespan of medical devices is growing longer as more and more hospitals are turning to device reprocessing to cut costs, reduce waste and maximize potential use of these items. Millions of single-use devices are used daily in healthcare facilities across the country. Instead of throwing away devices after use, third-party reprocessors refurbish them back to original manufacturer specifications so hospitals can reuse them, saving money and eliminating waste while still assuring clinical quality and safety for patients.
    • Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM) and Emory University Hospital (EUH) are going green, thanks to a new comprehensive waste management plan. The hospitals are on a mission to reduce and divert waste by implementing a new recycling program in the operating rooms (ORs) and other patient care areas.
    • The American Hospital Association endorses SUD reprocessing as an environmental initiative to save costs and reduce waste. FDA-approved third-party manufacturers can provide advanced services that more responsibly use resources, deliver supply-cost savings, and lessen the impact on the environment.
    • FierceHealthFinance published a story on bolstering hospital finances through green initiatives, in which they cited a new ‘green’ guide released by the American Hospital Association (AHA). The report lists medical device reprocessing as an effective supply chain solution to help hospitals become more sustainable.
    • MD H2E cites reprocessing as important for sustainability at “boardroom level”: from reprocessing of single-use devices to eco-friendly materials, energy saving strategies, green building, water conservation, recycling and beyond.
    • Maryland hospitals have a lot to be proud of. 　 H2E’s　Sustainable Victories　publication highlights Johns Hopkins Bayview for increasing medical device reprocessing savings 31 percent and diverting approximately 7,000 pounds of waste from landfills. 　
    • According to a 2012 study from the　University of Illinois-Chicago’s School of Public Health, the hospital industry could save $5.4 billion in five years and up to $15 billion in 10 years if it adopts sustainable practices. Among the areas for potential savings, according to that study were reducing medical waste costs through better sorting; recycling to reduce landfill waste; more efficient purchasing of OR supplies; and switching to reprocessed from single-use devices.