AMDR Winter 2023/2024 Reprocessing Newsletter

NEWS FROM DAN

For most of the over 20 years AMDR has advocated for regulated medical device reprocessing, questions of sustainability have been, at best, secondary concerns. But in the last four years – with rising awareness of the gravity of climate change and a global pandemic that revealed vulnerabilities in the healthcare sector – the appreciation of our industry has exploded. And we are thankful.

Just last week, the Commonwealth Fund released a survey finding overwhelming support for sustainability among U.S. healthcare workers: Four in five clinicians believe that it’s important for their hospital to address climate change and that doing so is aligned with their organization’s mission, while six in 10 indicated that a prospective employer’s policies and actions on climate change would impact their decision to apply for a job. These heartening results validate prior studies finding similar results among European surgeons and physicians.

This quarter, for the second time, the National Academy of Medicine endorsed reprocessing repeatedly in a new tool outlining various sustainability solutions – relying heavily on AMDR resources to do so. The American Medical Association likewise endorsed commercial reprocessing (from page 112). In a groundbreaking move, the government of France, which has long prohibited reprocessing, announced the launch of a pilot program to demonstrate the merits of the practice as a potential step towards legalization and regulation.

None of these tremendous gains would be possible without the work of AMDR and our member companies. We celebrate Medline’s expanding reprocessing program. Innovative Health recently scored a victory for the entire reprocessing industry, as a U.S. federal court ruled that their allegation of anti-competitive – and anti-reprocessing – practices by Biosense Webster was substantiated enough to proceed in Innovative Health’s lawsuit.

AMDR provides resources to help journalists and advocates tell the story of our industry with accuracy and impact. This quarter, I personally advocated for reprocessing in a brief column, an article, and a podcast. In a testament to our growing profile, our LinkedIn page surpassed 4,000 followers.

On the research front, a life cycle analysis of reprocessed IPC sleeves, published with support from AMDR member Cardinal Health, found that reprocessing reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40 percent and waste disposal costs by 90 percent. Also, just recently, Practice Greenhealth’s 2023 Sustainability Benchmark Data revealed more than $50 million in cost savings associated with reprocessing and more than 1.6 million pounds of waste diverted from landfills.

Each quarter, we greet all these positive headlines with gratitude, and know that they help plant the seeds for more good news in the next quarter. Thank you for your commitment and interest that has helped us get to this point.

Best Wishes,

Dan Vukelich, Esq., CAE
President & CEO
Association of Medical Device Reprocessors
www.amdr.org 

Medtech Insight: FDA’s LDT Proposal, AI Oversight, Cybersecurity Top US Regulatory Interests In 2024 – Featuring AMDR President and CEO Daniel Vukelich
January 12, 2024
AMDR’s Daniel Vukelich joins other industry experts and FDA officials to forecast the regulatory outlook for 2024. “The unpredictable political and environmental climates, both figuratively and literally, could create instabilities to the device supply chain, as we saw with COVID-19,” Vukelich says. “Even the threat of instability to the supply chain is a reminder that circular strategies focused on reuse, or in our case, commercially reprocessed single-use medical devices, keep more products domestic and available longer. The Joint Commission should take steps now to assure a more stable supply chain by driving circular economies and requiring FDA-regulated solutions like commercial reprocessing.”

Healthcare Purchasing News: Meaningful Partnerships Drive Reprocessing Workflow Improvements
December 27, 2023
Instrument reprocessing is one area where coordination of efforts among the sterile processing, operating room, and infection prevention teams can make or break the process. When these parties successfully collaborate for the benefit of their patients, they can significantly improve reprocessing workflow efficiency, effectiveness, and safety. Sterile processing leaders from two U.S. hospitals shared their stories of reprocessing workflow improvements driven by multidisciplinary collaboration: Toni Amorine, Central Sterile Manager for Geisinger Community Medical Center (CMC) in Scranton, Pa., and Michelle Milner, Director of Sterile Processing and Equipment Processing for St. Tammany Health System in Covington, La.

MedCity News: New Healthcare Climate Initiatives Lack Teeth, But They’re Paving the Way
December 26, 2023
Hospitals and hospital systems need to make clearer and more consistent demands for climate accountability from their suppliers, and they need to follow through with preferred green vendor programs and the like. Innovative Health’s Lars Thording joins MedCity News to discuss these issues.

Australian Manufacturing: NZ’s medical device remanufacturer Medsalv comes to Victoria
December 13, 2023
Medsalv, a New Zealand-based medical device remanufacturer, is bringing its sustainable remanufacturing capabilities to Australia with a new site in Victoria. Minister for Economic Growth Tim Pallas announced today that Medsalv is finalising its site selection for its new manufacturing and research and development facility, which is expected to create dozens of local jobs in the state. With products such as patient transfer mattresses, deep vein thrombosis prevention sleeves, blood pressure cuffs, and tourniquets, Medsalv seeks to cater to the growing demand for eco-friendly healthcare solutions in Australia to reduce reliance on overseas products. “Attracting Medsalv to set up operations in Victoria is a win for our health system, jobs and sustainability,” said Minister for Economic Growth Tim Pallas. “This new facility will contribute to a more resilient supply chain, bolster our advanced manufacturing capabilities and secure more opportunities for workers now and in the future.”

Medical Device Network: Scottish medical device consortium wins £3.35m to pursue sustainable tech
December 7, 2023
An Edinburgh-based medical device manufacturing center has been awarded £3.35m ($4.2m) by a Scottish government agency to step up its sustainable development plans, developing degradable and reusable medical devices. The Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC), based out of Heriot-Watt University, is a consortium of universities aiming to address medical device sourcing problems for the National Health Service (NHS), with the £3.5m ($4.4m) from Scottish Enterprise dedicated to investigating the inclusion and development of degradable or reusable polymers. The group says that devices developed using these kinds of polymers could be significantly more sustainable in terms of their development but would be more likely to harmlessly degrade once it was no longer needed, as well as reduce the carbon footprint of the device’s overall development.

LinkedIn: In France, Prohibition of Remanufacturing Single-Use Medical Devices Betrays Country’s Climate Agenda. Now, a New Policy Offers Hope.
December 1, 2023
Hospitals in France may soon have access to EU regulated, commercial, remanufactured single-use medical devices (SUDs) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and costs. Section 29 of the National Assembly’s Finance Bill for 2024 authorizes the Health Ministry to carry out a project demonstrating the safety and viability of remanufacturing. The project will comprise a two-year trial period that will conclude with a report recommending whether the French government should allow the remanufacturing of SUDs permanently.

The Good Men Project: As Hospital Systems Begin to Grapple With Medical Waste, Environmentalists Call for Tighter Regulations
November 26, 2023
Between 2019 and June 2023, Stericycle’s pollution control equipment failed 17 times, releasing toxins into the environment. With U.S. hospitals generating over 13,000 tons of waste daily, medical device reprocessing is an easy and natural solution. In this article, AMDR President and CEO sits down with Will Atwater to explain the importance of reprocessing to addressing this problem.

Energyworld: Healthcare Decarbonisation poised for increased adoption in the next decade
November 29, 2023
Over the last decade, there has been altered disease patterns, with rising heat and air pollution-related illnesses and increased vector borne diseases among other issues. While the health professionals and the sector have had a ringside view of how these changes are impacting human health, the realisation of the impact of the healthcare sector on global emissions had never been this profound…Hospitals globally are revolutionizing waste management to mitigate their environmental impact. Globally, innovative recycling programs have been implemented, reprocessing single-use medical devices into new products, thus reducing landfill waste.

TechNation TV: Right to Repair: What you need to know and do
November 8, 2023
Right to Repair is an issue of increasing importance and urgency in the healthcare technology management (HTM) community. In recent decades, a formerly harmonious relationship between most manufacturers and HTM professionals has been strained by some manufacturers’ practice of restricting access to parts, tools, documentation and software. Frustration with the resulting equipment downtime and additional costs have caused many HTM professionals to join the call for medical device Right to Repair, which has been considered in dozens of states and at the federal level. In this session, we’ll discuss the issues at the core of this debate, including concerns about patient safety, remanufacturing, cybersecurity and more. We will share updates on the progress of medical Right to Repair legislation at state and federal levels. We will also provide suggestions on how attendees may contribute to the Right to Repair for medical devices campaign.

MedTech Dive: The 6 Rs of sustainability and the Hippocratic Oath
November 6, 2023
The Hippocratic Oath can serve as a guide not only for physicians, but also for medical equipment manufacturers. With sustainability moving to the forefront of product design, medical device manufacturers are embracing a “first, do no harm” approach that reverberates throughout the product lifecycle. A dual focus on patient and planet health is both noble and doable, and it can be accomplished more easily by considering the six Rs of sustainability — refuse, reduce, rethink, reuse, repair and recycle — in relation to the four principles of the Hippocratic Oath: beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and respect for the patient’s autonomy.

Euractive: Young Dutch designer shows EU pharma the way in climate change fight
November 6, 2023
Emma Linders, a recent graduate, designed a reusable autoinjector for her thesis and scooped a national James Dyson Award. Moreover, the prototype of her device was featured during this year’s Dutch Design Week. Autoinjectors are usually single-use devices that patients use to treat themselves for things like allergic reactions, chronic diseases, and, as in Linders’ case, migraines. Once used, the autoinjectors usually end up getting incinerated. In an attempt to lower the waste, energy, and CO2 emissions connected to autoinjectors, Linders designed the Ypsomate Refill – an autoinjector that can be sterilised and refilled.

NEJM Catalyst: Proposed SEC Climate Rules: Implications for the U.S. Health Care Sector
November 3, 2023
Regulators in the EU and at the state and federal levels in the U.S. – in particular the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – have enacted or proposed rules requiring hospitals and supply chain-related companies to disclose detailed information about climate-related risks. As these requirements become the norm, early adopters who know how to report the environmental impact of their products and services will be better positioned. In this article, the authors provide a brief overview of the proposed SEC climate rules as related specifically to publicly traded healthcare organizations and discuss potential ramifications for the entire health care sector.

Upstream: Championing Reuse in Healthcare
November 2, 2023
The healthcare worker’s mandate of “first, do no harm” should make reducing single-use waste in medical facilities a no-brainer. But as Dan Vulekich, President of the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, illuminates—the sector with health at its heart is also a top polluter. Dan has made an impactful 20+ year career of providing hospital managers and policy makers with the tools to reduce costs, waste, and greenhouse emissions through the safe reuse of “single-use” medical devices. And it will come as no surprise to anyone working to foster reuse in any sector that his data shows medical device reuse is hands-down better for people, the planet, and the bottom line.

National Academy of Medicine: New Resource Walks Through Key Stages of the Sustainability Journey
November 2023
The new Sustainability Journey Map is an interactive tool to support health care suppliers in initiating or accelerating their decarbonization and sustainability efforts. This journey map outlines five key stages of the sustainability journey and provides best practices, resources, and toolkits for every step. The NAM Climate Collaborative offers this tool to walk suppliers through specific actions that need to be taken for organizations to achieve their sustainability goals. The journey map also provides related resources to address regulatory, scientific, business, or other factors that develop along the way. This new tool repeatedly endorses medical device reprocessing at various stages along the sustainability journey – and leans heavily on AMDR sources to do so.

The Joint Commission: Sustainable Healthcare Certification
November 2023
Across the health care sector, hospitals and health systems are pursuing decarbonization efforts without a common framework for setting priorities, creating baselines, and measuring and documenting greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions across the industry. This certification provides a framework to help organizations expand or continue their decarbonization efforts and to receive public recognition of their commitment and achievements in contributing to environmental sustainability. Achieving Sustainable Healthcare Certification is not only beneficial for the environment but also for the organization’s bottom line, patient outcomes, reputation, and compliance efforts. It aligns health care organizations with sustainable practices and positions them as mindful and responsible care providers in an increasingly environmentally conscious world.

Healthcare Purchasing News: If green is the new black, why are some seeing red?
October 27, 2023
Recycling and sustainability, the dynamic duo of a circular economy, seems ensnared between a rock and a hard place. Some might see it as running in circles, questioning perceived outcomes as well as the pathways to those outcomes. Skeptics may debate the necessity and severity of it all as cynics effectively dismiss the never-ending hue and cry. However, many converge around a single – and simple – question: What is the value proposition for recycling and sustainability? If it costs more to do “what’s right,” is that worth it? Innovative Health’s Lars Thording and other healthcare stakeholders sit down with Healthcare Purchasing News to discuss these issues.

Westlaw Today: Ninth Circuit Revives Innovative Health Tying Claim in Catheter Services Litigation Against Biosense Webster
January 10, 2024
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sided with AMDR member Innovative Health, finding that the company had provided adequate evidence to proceed with their lawsuit against Biosense Webster. Innovative Health is challenging Biosense’s policy of providing free support services only to hospitals that exclusively use Biosense catheters, thereby disadvantaging hospitals who choose to use catheters from any other company – including the reprocessed catheters offered by Innovative Health. In allowing the case to move forward, the Ninth Circuit’s decision is a victory for competition and fairness throughout the whole medtech industry. AMDR will pay close attention to these proceedings moving forward, and will continue to advocate for the interests of all of our members companies and for the rights of hospitals to choose safer, greener, cleaner products despite the anticompetitive practices of some OEMs.

Medical Product Outsourcing: Innovative Health Debuts New Sustainability Calculator
November 20, 2023
Innovative Health Inc. has launched a new educational initiative and free online tool to help hospital leaders better understand, quantify, and improve environmental sustainability within their electrophysiology (EP) labs. Specifically, the initiative includes a new online calculator that enables hospitals to determine potential annual carbon footprint reductions via EP device reprocessing. “In the electrophysiology lab, complex devices have a substantial carbon footprint,” Innovative Health CEO Rick Ferreira said. “Using reprocessed devices in the EP lab can reduce that carbon footprint by more than 50%. At Innovative Health, we’re committed to giving hospital leaders the information and tools they need to move their environmental sustainability efforts forward in a substantial and quantifiable way. Even a simple tool, like our emissions reduction calculator, can make a huge difference when it comes to arming clients with the knowledge and data they need to make informed decisions.”

FMLink: Expanded Medline facility doubles its capacity to reprocess single-use medical devices
November 13, 2023
ReNewal, medical device manufacturer Medline’s device reprocessing program, recently celebrated the expansion of its Redmond, Oregon, facility by nearly 52,000 square feet, doubling the facility’s size and capacity to reprocess medical devices that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Innovative Health: AllSpire Health GPO Signs Agreement with Innovative Health to Support Member Hospitals in Their Medical Device Re-Use Programs
November 1, 2023
Innovative Health, Inc. today announced a three-year agreement to support AllSpire Health GPO member hospitals in maximizing the financial and environmental impact of single-use device reprocessing. Innovative Health’s cardiology-focused single-use device reprocessing program has revolutionized the practice of reprocessing with a barrier-breaking reprocessing technology development program that has resulted in FDA clearances for cardiology devices that were previously thought of as non-reprocessable. This has created a service offering unmatched in the industry in terms of device cost reductions and reductions in CO2 emissions. “We have more reprocessing savings in cardiology than in any other area of the hospital,” said James V. Wallick, Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing at AllSpire Health GPO. “Innovative Health produces unsurpassed results that help us meet our cost-reduction targets and become more accountable in terms of the environment. Innovative Health has already saved AllSpire member hospitals millions and reduced our carbon emissions footprint by more than 10,000 pounds. We are excited to continue and expand on our partnership.”

The Commonwealth Fund: U.S. Health Care Workers Want Their Employers to Address Climate Change
January 24, 2024
In this brief, we present findings from a national survey of 1,001 U.S. clinicians about their views of what health systems can do to address climate change. All those surveyed worked at a hospital or at a health system comprising more than one hospital; some had leadership responsibilities within their organization. It is our hope that the findings could help motivate health care organizations to consider ways to decarbonize and reduce their environmental impact. Survey highlights include:

• About four in five clinicians surveyed believe that it’s important for their hospital to address climate change and that doing so is aligned with their organization’s mission.
• Three in four surveyed clinicians feel it’s important that they themselves work to reduce their environmental impact, both at work and at home.
• Respondents working in leadership positions reported that most hospitals are increasingly undertaking climate mitigation initiatives, such as reducing energy consumption (69%) and waste (76%) or setting emissions targets (35%).
• About six in 10 clinicians indicated a prospective employer’s policies and actions on climate change would impact their decision to apply for a job.

Practice Greenhealth: 2023 Sustainability Benchmark Data
January 18, 2024
Each year, Practice Greenhealth collects and reviews comprehensive sustainability data from hospitals. We provide the sector’s best sustainability performance benchmarking data to hospitals and health systems working to integrate sustainability into their mission, and to the health care supply chain partners that are integral to this work. This report lays out sustainability data collected during 2022 and 2023, finding, among other things, substantial reductions in costs and waste for hospitals that used reprocessed medical devices.

Journal of Endourology: Reuse of Single-Use Devices in Endourology: A Review
January 11, 2023
Reusing SUDs has financial, environmental, and practical advantages. The potential savings on medical expenses is the most compelling argument for reprocessing disposable devices. Reusing medical equipment also contributes to the reduction of toxic biodegradable waste. However, there is a scarcity of data on the safety and efficacy of reused SUDs. For patient safety and to avoid complications, the practice must be regulated with established reprocessing standards.

Risk Management and Healthcare Policy: Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Between Single-Use and Reprocessed IPC Sleeves
December 13, 2023
Healthcare has a large environmental footprint, not least due to the wide use of single-use supplies. Reprocessing of medical devices is a well-established, regulated process, and can reduce its environmental impact. This life cycle assessment (LCA) compares the environmental footprint of a single-use and a reprocessed version of otherwise identical intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) sleeves…The environmental footprint of reprocessed IPC sleeves was found to be reduced in all categories compared to single-use devices, leading to a weighted normalized reduction of 43% across all categories. In a breakdown of the LCA results, reprocessed IPC sleeves were found to reduce the carbon footprint by 40%. Waste disposal costs were also reduced by 90%. In conclusion, reprocessing of IPC sleeves provides an environmental and economic benefit in comparison to single-use devices.

American Medical Association: Promoting the Use of Multi-Use Devices and Sustainable Practices in the Operating Room (from page 112)
December 2023
At the 2022 Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates, Resolution 936 was referred for study. That resolution asked that our American Medical Association advocate for research into and development of intended multi-use operating room equipment and attire over devices, equipment and attire labeled for “single-use” with verified similar safety and efficacy profiles. [The research found that reusing] and reprocessing medical equipment as well as switching to reusable textiles [are] strategies for reducing waste in the OR which can result in large cost savings and overall waste reduction benefits…A decision to switch to a reusable device or piece of equipment should be preceded by a life-cycle assessment to ascertain whether it has a positive environmental impact (in comparison to a single use device). More studies are needed to understand whether there is an increased risk of infectious disease transmission from reusable equipment and textiles but there is little existing evidence to suggest that they are inherently riskier.

UK Health Alliance on Climate Change: Green Surgery – Reducing the environmental impact of surgical care
November 2023
Compiled by the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change and endorsed by the NHS, the Green Surgery Report is a landmark report that presents the first detailed account of how to reduce the environmental impact of surgical care while maintaining high quality patient care and potentially saving the NHS money. Among many other strategies, the report cites numerous studies supporting medical device remanufacturing as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and cost in healthcare.

Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment (Belgium): Reducing Single-Use Materials in Medicine and Healthcare – An exploratory study on sustainability of commonly used materials in hospitals
June 2023
This study compares five commonly used disposable healthcare products with their reusable equivalents. The environmental impact, health limitations and practicality of each version of the products are discussed towards a more sustainable healthcare practice. The study finds that, by almost every metric, reusable and remanufactured devices are superior to their single-use equivalents in terms of environmental and financial costs.

LinkedIn: Reducing Single-Use Materials in Medicine and Healthcare – An exploratory study on sustainability of commonly used materials in hospitals
January 25, 2024
ICYMI: Switching to remanufactured electrophysiology catheters can slice #ghgemissions in half compared to “single-use” ones and remanufactured #medicaldevices can save up to 50 percent in costs over their single-use counterparts, LCA studies showed in a recent report.

Dive into the findings now: https://ow.ly/iTnF50QuhOs

Find out why the esteemed Belgian Federal Public Service for Health now endorses broader use of remanufactured medical devices across #hospitals and calls on public health leaders to adapt Medical Device Regulation (MDR) EU 2017/745 within safety standards to advance a greener #circulareconomy in healthcare.

LinkedIn: Catalyzing Collective Action to Decarbonize Healthcare – Roadmap for Health Systems and MedTech Suppliers
January 24, 2024
#Hospital leaders can turn healthcare into a powerhouse of sustainability with simple yet powerful solutions like reprocessing of “single-use” medical devices (R-SUDs) that benefit the health of the planet and global populations by cutting deadly #ghgemissions while lowering costs for providers.

Kaiser Permanente and Health Care Without Harm have paved a pathway to create a more eco-friendly #circulareconomy in the health sector with their groundbreaking roadmap that will help #hospitals, suppliers, and purchasing orgs slash waste, build greater supply chain resilience, and save precious financial resources.

Check out “Catalyzing Collective Action to Decarbonize Healthcare” and do your part to #ActOnClimate: https://ow.ly/3Qf750Qtr9Q

LinkedIn: Hospital Waste and Cost Prevention Potential of Reprocessing Medical Devices
January 18, 2024
Hospitals that transition from a single-use to a multi-use intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) system through commercial reprocessing can help reduce waste and save costs, an analysis that examined Cardinal Health’s Kendall SCD™ Express Sleeves found.

Learn more about this sustainable solution and how providers can benefit from using it: https://ow.ly/PRqE50QrZuB

LinkedIn: Green Surgery – Reducing the environmental impact of surgical care
January 16, 2024
An analysis of nearly 14K medical instrument repairs over 11 years at Barts Health NHS Trust showed that over half of all repaired products were general surgical scissors, helping to cut carbon emissions by 20% and save costs by one-third compared with purchasing a new pair of scissors.

Explore opportunities to extend the lifespan of medical products through the repair of reusable items and #remanufacture of single-use ones. Read this trailblazing report from the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change that outlines how to reduce the #carbonfootprint of surgery, improve care, and save costs: https://lnkd.in/e_bBePjB

The urgency of the #climatechange threat demands that healthcare leaders embrace greener innovations like expanding reusable products and accelerating simple, immediate, and measurable solutions, like reprocessing “single-use” medical devices, which require no upfront costs or investment and allow clinicians to keep the current devices they use.

“Circular economy principles may be used to mitigate the carbon footprint of products used for surgery, including reduction (e.g. streamlining single-use pre-prepared sets through removing unused items, and appropriate use of personal protective equipment) and switching from single-use to reusable equipment where appropriate. Where ‘reduce and reuse’ are not possible, the lifespan of items can be extended through repair and remanufacture, and the recycling of waste.”

LinkedIn: AMDR LI Page Surpasses 4,000 Followers!
January 10, 2024
AMDR’s LI page recently surpassed 4K followers, and we want to thank ALL of you for making this milestone happen!

Your engagement makes a huge difference every day in raising awareness and accelerating the expansion of #medicaldevice reprocessing and reman among more industry leaders around the world in healthcare, government, research, and beyond. Together we are elevating visibility around the benefits of this simple, immediate, and #sustainable solution that will help build a stronger, more resilient medical supply chain, slash deadly #ghgemissions, and save costs for #hospitals during a time of great financial strain.

As we begin a new year of opportunity on the pathway to creating a greener #circulareconomy in the global health sector, we celebrate the unprecedented progress we have made thanks to your commitment to embracing innovations that protect the health of people and the planet. Keep making your voices heard, sharing your ideas, telling your stories of success, and inviting your colleagues to follow us.

The AMDR family is pleased to give a shoutout to some of our most recent followers including Amar A. Desai, MD, MPH; Malissa Wood; Matt Kelley; John Bielewicz; Mark Sevco; Jason Fischer, MBA; Joe Macaron MBA, RT (R); Horton Katie; Angela Wrigley; George Fernaine, MD, MBA; Michelle Myaing; Tom Harvieux; Mauricio Abrao; Kimberly McKenzie; Arlene Dudas; Lars Svensson; Linda ODonnell; Joshua Snowden-Bahr, JD, MHA; Tina Holmes; Megan Wasson; M. Yasir Qureshi, MBBS, FACC, FASE; Henry Lopez; Tina Simmons; Chrystal Huerta, MBA; Horton Katie; Christelle Haddad; Austin F. Cheng, Esq.; Andy Tesfazion; Gabriela Thirring; Jedrzej Kosiuk; Brittany Wright Schuck, PhD; Scott Colburn; Albert Rodriguez; Kojo Danso; Keith Harmon BSN, MBA, RN; Lisa Arfons; Robb Butler; Dhruti Shah; Sara Gallagher Williams; and Erin Dursa.

LinkedIn: Reducing Single-Use Materials in Medicine and Healthcare
December 7, 2023
Using remanufactured electrophysiology catheters cut #ghgemissions by 50-60% compared to single-use ones, according to LCA studies shared in a recent report that also shows remanufactured #medicaldevices are estimated to be up to 50% cheaper than new “single-use” ones. Read more: https://ow.ly/VnHX50QhLuV

Learn why the Belgian Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment’s “Reducing Single-Use Materials in Medicine and Healthcare” study recommends wider use of remanufactured medical devices across #hospitals and urges #publichealth leaders to adapt Medical Device Regulation (MDR) EU 2017/745 within safety standards to help build a more sustainable #circulareconomy in healthcare.

LinkedIn: In France, Prohibition of Remanufacturing Single-Use Medical Devices Betrays Country’s Climate Agenda. Now, a New Policy Offers Hope.
December 1, 2023
As world leaders gather in Dubai for #COP28 to #UniteActDeliver on solutions that limit the impact of #climatechange, now is the time to reverse the EU Medical Device Regulation’s (MDR) opt-out default provision for single-use device #remanufacturing, a simple innovation that helps #hospitals extend the lifespan of medical products and build resilience into medical supply chains. Read AMDR President and CEO Daniel J. Vukelich, Esq., CAE’s latest article: https://lnkd.in/ec3FjUgs

Opting in to the EU MDR will make it easier for countries like France, Austria, and Poland to fulfill their commitment to advance decarbonization in the health sector, allowing hospitals to use regulated, commercially remanufactured, CE marked #medicaldevices that research shows could help them cut #ghgemissions by as much as 60%, slash waste, and lower spiraling costs.

Learn why we believe the opt-out default provision of the EU MDR is an anticompetitive policy that forces EU hospitals to generate huge amounts of waste and emissions that hurt the planet, harm public health, and needlessly drive up costs in a time of great financial strain.

LinkedIn: Central and South American Healthcare and Medtech Community Welcomes AMDR’s David Sheon
November 14, 2023
Thanks to the organizers of the recent Unidad De Congresos Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI, including Sandra “Fabiola” Casas Ramirez, for welcoming AMDR’s David Sheon. He explored growing evidence pointing to commercial #medicaldevice reprocessing as a safe, effective, and regulated practice that cuts #ghgemissions, saves costs, and diverted over 20M lbs of medical waste in 2021.

David was honored to meet participants and share some of the latest data about the benefits of this green solution with an audience of 300+ attendees representing various industries, including the Central and South American medical device sterilization community.

We were thrilled to participate in this dynamic event as we unite with an expanding number of #hospital leaders and public health decision-makers worldwide to advance #sustainablehealthcare by learning about #circulareconomy innovations like reprocessing.

LinkedIn: Sustainability Journey Map
November 9, 2023
Healthcare suppliers: Advance your #decarbonization efforts with The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NAM) new interactive Sustainability Journey Map!

Use this comprehensive visual to find best practices, resources, and tools that break down your #hospital‘s green journey in five simple stages to help you build a more sustainable #circulareconomy through innovations like “single-use” #medicaldevice reprocessing.

Launch the journey map now to discover what steps to take, how to address potential challenges in the decarbonization process, and tips to achieve sustainability goals while navigating regulatory, scientific, business, or other factors.

LinkedIn: Reducing Healthcare Carbon Emissions – A Primer on Measures and Actions for Healthcare Organizations to Mitigate Climate Change
November 7, 2023
Learn what actions #hospitals can take, like expanding #medicaldevice reuse and reprocessing, to help cut their enormous #carbonfootprint and fight #climatechange – the number-one threat to public health in the 21st century. Download AHRQ’s new primer, “Reducing Healthcare Carbon Emissions.”

Find expert guidance on measures and strategies that give healthcare providers tools to protect communities from climate threats by cutting #ghgemissions in half over the next eight years and advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s #netzero goals. Explore the six domains contributing to climate change and see how green innovations, including reprocessing, are vital in strengthening the medical supply chain.

LinkedIn: What Are LCAs and What do They Say about Reprocessing
October 31, 2023
Did you know that #reprocessed “single-use” #medicaldevices (R-SUDs) can reduce #ghgemissions compared to using an original device for each patient procedure? Discover how recent life cycle assessments (LCAs) can help #hospitals, policymakers, and industry leaders make informed decisions that promote #sustainablehealthcare, build a #circulareconomy, and accelerate greener technologies like SUD reprocessing in care delivery.

Check out AMDR’s summary of LCAs.

LinkedIn: Medical device reprocessing design tips from Cardinal Health’s Sustainable Technologies
October 27, 2023
Ready to reduce harmful medical waste and lower costs at your hospital? Learn how reprocessing can advance sustainability and explore Cardinal Health’s tips on device design to help medical device engineers and designers make more easily and effectively reprocessed products for re-use.

Read Medical Design & Outsourcing’s article.