unger - reprocessed medical devices
DESCRIPTION
The US healthcare system and its impact on the environment has gained increasing notoriety. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that healthcare accounts for 15.2% of the United States’ Gross Domestic Product; and to note, the US healthcare system conceptual model identifies an increasing public concern for environmental quality involving an inherent need for the healthcare sector to limit its potential for negative human health impacts. Therefore, assessing the environmental sustainability of the healthcare sector offers a means to indentify and optimize conditions/features in the healthcare conceptual model that most impact human health and the environment. Many healthcare providers claim that overuse of single-use medical devices may be the most significant inefficiency attributed to the healthcare supply chain model. To better understand and optimize this inefficiency, this study explores the financial impacts of reprocessing medical devices (e.g., recycle/reuse) by formulating a user-friendly Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that clearly lists the costs differential in a single-use-device hospital supply chain vs. any level of reprocessing in the same hospital’s supply chain. Variables considered for economic impact analysis include: number of devices, shipping costs, and waste disposal costs. Evaluation of these variables is through embedded Microsoft Excel functions and exhibit user-variability. Methodology is structured, such that, number of single-use devices equals the instances used from reprocessing. Based on their weight, volume, and source (e.g., operating room, emergency room, and laboratory) shipping and disposal costs are also incorporated into the analysis. Devices included: operating room devices, catheters, compression sleeves, open but unused devices, and pulse oximeters. Results indicate a reverse exponential decrease in cost vs. instances reprocessed. For each device, one reprocessing instance is associated with over 26% in savings, and five reprocessing instances (FDA regulatory maximum) is associated with over 56% in savings. On a temporal basis, a savings of approximately $1.5 million over a time period of 12 months is associated with a typical hospital’s reprocessing supply chain. These decreases in originally purchased devices are also correlated with over 45,000 pounds of medical waste diverted from landfills and incinerators annually. Other environmental impacts of utilizing reprocessed medical devices include: decreases in raw materials, energy, and water associated with the assembly and manufacturing of the materials into a functional device.TRANSCRIPT
Comparing the Financial Impacts of Single-Use versus Reprocessed Medical Devices
Scott R. Unger Arizona State University, [email protected] Amy E. Landis Arizona State University, [email protected]
Abstract. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the healthcare system accounts for 15.2% of the United States’ Gross Domestic Product (WHO, 2008). Given the magnitude of the healthcare system, more studies are focusing on strategies that may reduce economic costs to healthcare providers. Many healthcare providers claim that overuse of single-use medical devices (SUDs) is a significant inefficiency attributed to the healthcare supply chain model. To better understand and optimize how SUDs are used, this study explores the financial impacts of reprocessing medical devices by formulating a model that illustrates the cost differentials of a SUD supply chain in a hypothetical hospital vs. any level of reprocessing in the same hypothetical hospital’s supply chain. Medical device reprocessing is a standardized and highly monitored form of recycling low-risk medical devices, where certain devices can be refurbished a number of times before eventually being disposed. Variables considered for economic impact analysis included: number of devices, shipping costs, and waste disposal costs. Methodology was structured, such that, number of SUDs equaled the instances used from reprocessing. Based on their weight, volume, and source (e.g., operating room, emergency room, and laboratory) shipping and disposal costs were also incorporated into the analysis. Devices included (but were not limited to): operating room devices, catheters, compression sleeves, open but unused devices, and pulse oximeters. Results indicated a logarithmic decrease in cost vs. instances reprocessed. For each device, one reprocessing instance was associated with over 26% in savings, and five reprocessing instances (FDA regulatory maximum) was associated with over 56% in savings. On a temporal basis, a savings of approximately $1.5 million over a time period of 12 months was associated with the hypothetical hospital’s medical device supply chain. Based on the results of this study, the following characterizations can be made about reprocessing devices in favor of SUDs in medical device supply chains: positive returns on investment, and low initial capital costs. Additionally, reprocessing medical devices reduces the amount of disposed/treated medical waste. The reduction in originally purchased devices was correlated with over 45,000 pounds of medical waste diverted from landfills and incinerators annually.
References
WHO. (2008). Healthy Hospitals, Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Addressing climate change in health care settings.
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies (ISSN 2329-9169) is published annually by the Sustainable Conoscente Network. Melissa Bilec and Jun-ki Choi, co-editors. [email protected].
Copyright © 2013 by Scott R. Unger and Amy E. Landis. Licensed under CC-BY 3.0.
Cite As:ISSST, Proc.; Unger, Scott R.; Landis, Amy E. (2014): Comparing the Financial Impacts of Single-Use versus Reprocessed Medical Devices. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.887413