Third-party reprocessing of single-use medical devices (SUDs) has proven highly effective in reducing medical waste and lowering costs for hospitals. The FDA holds reprocessed devices to the same standards as originally manufactured single-use devices, which requires their safety for patients. In fact, while original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) typically only sample-test their products before shipping, reprocessors check every item.
According to Practice Greenhealth, in 2014 alone, single-use device reprocessing diverted more than 873 tons of potential medical waste from disposal sites, while saving participating hospitals $29.2 million.
Hospitals that choose to reprocess are not only doing what is good for the environment, they are also saving money, with reprocessed SUDs costing 40-60 percent less than devices from OEMs. Reprocessing also reduces facility spend on regulated medical waste (aka “red bag waste”) disposal.
Reprocessing Success Stories
Ardent Health Services
This year is proving to be a record year for reprocessing at Ardent Health Services. As of August, it has exceeded its 2014 savings and is on track to surpass last year’s savings by well over $1 million. As a preferred customer of its supplier, Ardent is able to purchase an array of products at 100 percent; this process has proven to be extremely favorable as it applies to ongoing savings.
Dawn Matthews, RN, BSN, CMRP, former director, Clinical Resource Management, Ardent Health Services, attributes some of the savings growth to the reprocessing account manager who maintains a presence in the Ardent facilities, providing ongoing education and customer support. Ardent is able to monitor its status through detailed monthly reports, allowing the team to identify opportunities to increase both collection and purchasing compliance by facility and by product category.
HCA Gulf Coast Division
HCA’s Gulf Coast Division purchases non-invasive products such as blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeter probes, cerebral somatic probes and disposable ECG leads from one supplier and uses another supplier for invasive products. The division also participates in a donor program where the reprocessor collects sequential compression device (SCD) sleeves and provides the division with a monthly rebate check.
“This program also decreases our red bag waste, which is a savings for us and helps decrease waste going to landfills,” says Kim Harrigan, division clinical resource director, Gulf Coast Division, HCA.
Surgery Partners
To date Wilmington Surgcare has saved just over $44,000 with reprocessing and has experienced no adverse reactions with the devices. “The strict procedures performed at the plant give us confidence in using the devices,” says Donna Navarrette, SCM, MAOM, materials manager at Wilmington Surgcare. “In addition, the scrub tech only needs to throw the device in a container provided and our supplier destroys it for us. This cuts down on our red-bag waste.”
“For the non-invasive supplier, we chose an MWBE supplier that has worked with us to explore new categories for reprocessing of non-invasive items,” she adds. “Because of this, we are about to start using them to reprocess our bed alarms and pressure infuser bags.”
Harrigan’s team has been pleased with the results. “We entered into an annual savings guarantee program, and in 2014 we reached our savings goal.”
HCA TriStar Division
EP catheters and cables; endoscopic items such as trocars; energy devices; pulse oximeters; diagnostic ultrasound catheters; tourniquet cuffs and SCD sleeves are among the reprocessed items purchased by Parallon for HCA’s TriStar Division.
“Implementing a reprocessing program ticked a lot of boxes for us,” says Susan Copeland, RN, MA, division director of Clinical Resources, Parallon Supply Chain Solutions.
“It allows us to achieve significant savings without sacrificing our quality of care. It also provides us the opportunity to improve our environment by reducing the amount of medical waste we generate.”
Financial results have been favorable. TriStar’s 2011 savings was just over $1 million. “Working with our supplier, we have sustained steady growth year over year and expect to achieve more than $2 million in device savings for 2015,” she says. “To date (through July) for 2015, TriStar has saved $1.28 million in device savings.”
Making the Case for Reprocessing
The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors (AMDR) says the bottom-line benefit of reprocessing is as a vehicle for improving the healthcare system by providing the same standard of care at half the cost.
The overall cost of healthcare is also lowered when original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) lower their prices to compete with third-party reprocessors. The savings from reprocessing can then be reinvested in upgrading technology, hiring additional nurses or in making other improvements.
On its website (www.amdr.org), AMDR offers a business case that can be presented to leadership to justify the benefits of reprocessing. In summary, it suggests highlighting how:
• Reprocessed devices cost less: FDA-regulated reprocessed devices are required to be as safe and effective as original equipment, but are much less costly—typically about half of the cost of an original device.
• Reprocessing promotes competition: Medical device reprocessing creates price competition that has been shown to decrease the price of new devices.
• Reprocessed devices reduce waste and waste disposal costs: Regulated medical waste (RMW) costs 5 to 10 times more to dispose of than regular solid waste. Many medical devices can be reprocessed multiple times, eliminating the needless generation of more RMW, but also reducing a hospital’s waste disposal costs. Devices that cannot be reprocessed or have reached their maximum number of reprocessing cycles are recycled.
Green initiative goals have been met, too. In 2014, 67,000 pounds of potential medical waste was diverted from landfills. TriStar is now on track to eclipse that number in 2015. More than 47,000 pounds of waste has been diverted through the end of July.
Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS)
HSHS has been reprocessing equipment such as catheters/cables, ligasure devices and cuffs, and the hospital system has seen significant dollar savings in recycling and purchasing costs.
“We can and will be increasing our reprocessing as products and processes allow, but first and foremost we will engage all parties involved to communicate and move forward for success as a supply chain,” says Rick Beckler, former director, Environment Supply Chain Services, HSHS.
Program Success After the Launch
Kathy Demaray, former vice president of GPO Operations and the Supply Chain Advisory Board at HealthTrust, also used to manage reprocessing for an HCA facility. Demaray offers these suggestions for developing a successful program at your facility:
• Obtain Leadership Buy-in: Getting the support of your management is key to generating excitement and adoption of the program from both physicians and clinicians.
• Communicate With Physicians: Find a physician reprocessing champion you can enlist to present the benefits of reprocessing to other physicians. Work with this champion and your supplier to provide an FAQ document to help dispel myths and provide the facts about reprocessing.
• Create Clinician Awareness: Once physicians are on board you’ll want to launch a campaign to create awareness among your clinicians. Be prepared to provide complete details on how the program works and how it will impact what to do with waste and reordering.
• Monitor Results & Ongoing Program Promotion: Keep the momentum going long after the launch by monitoring the program and sharing results with your physicians, clinicians and leadership. People want to know that their efforts are making a difference. Communicate quarterly or annually not only savings, but also how you’re impacting waste reduction efforts in terms of pounds diverted from landfills.
• Engage Your Supplier: Talk to your national account representative about best practices for starting a program, setting program goals and ongoing tracking. Request annual business reviews to monitor progress and look for additional savings opportunities.
As your program unfolds, Demaray cautions to be wary of unused inventory. “Unused, reprocessed devices that sit on the shelf, while new devices continue to be ordered, are not helping the environment or your bottom line.”
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