Logically, using thoroughly reprocessed reusable and single-use devices (SUDs) reduces the volume of waste products hauled off site to landfills, a practice that can reduce a healthcare facility’s costs.

With that in mind, Healthcare Purchasing News Senior Editor Rick Dana Barlow reached out to one of the leading third-party reprocessing companies in the nation, SterilMed Inc., for perspectives on how they and their corner of the market fits into strategic waste management. Brian Sullivan, SterilMed’s president and CEO, shared his insights.

Over the next five years, we project that the reprocessing market will continue to grow and that SterilMed’s growth rate will exceed the market growth rate. There will be two key factors driving this growth. 1.) The number of hospitals using reprocessed devices will increase. 2.) The penetration within hospitals already reprocessing will increase. Many hospitals only reprocess a small range of devices. As reprocessing becomes more widely embraced, the interest in using a wider range of reprocessed devices will increase.

In recent years, the competitive landscape of the reprocessing industry has remained the same. Over 95 percent of the current reprocessing market is split between two companies – SterilMed and Ascent [Healthcare Solutions]. Regional reprocessors with narrow capabilities make up the other 5 percent. Of the 5,000 acute care hospitals in the United States, roughly 60 percent to 70 percent, or 3,000 to 3,500 facilities, utilize reprocessed devices. We estimate that the current market for reprocessed devices is $120 million to $150 million, or roughly 15 percent to 20 percent of the potential size of the market.

Effective and efficient waste management strategy discussions with healthcare executives in our current economic climate are focused on two areas: Reducing costs and the financial impact of medical waste reduction. Two trends in the healthcare industry are the foundation for these conversations.

The downward pressure on reimbursements and the challenging economic climate is fostering increased interest amongst hospitals currently reprocessing and those considering it for the first time. Allocation of savings from reprocessing has allowed hospitals to continue to keep employees they may otherwise have been forced to lay off or to continue to invest in new technology to improve patient care.

The interest in protecting the environment is motivating many clinicians to embrace reprocessing since it can substantially reduce the medical waste put into landfills and the consumption of petroleum based materials. The green impact of the facility’s reprocessing program includes protecting the environment but also reduces cost associated with medical waste disposal for the facility. This becomes a win for both the clinical staff and administrative leaders.

The American Hospital Association and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which called for a number of action steps for hospitals in America to reduce medical waste. Hospitals face the challenge of meeting the goal of a 50 percent reduction in medical waste volume by 2010. With United States hospitals producing over 6,000 tons of waste each day, this is a significant challenge. Recycling is one important step in reducing that impact on our environment.

SterilMed can help hospitals keep tons of medical waste from filling up landfills and contribute to reducing medicine’s negative impact on the environment. Last year, SterilMed partnered with hospitals to divert nearly 2 million pounds of medical waste from landfills.

In order to successfully implement a reprocessing program, clinical staff does not need to make any modifications to their processes or behavior. They simply need to embrace the opportunity reprocessing represents to conserve their hospitals’ resources and to protect the environment.

Reprocessing is making a big difference for our customers. We help hospitals mitigate rising healthcare costs while helping them protect our environment.

Using reprocessed devices has become a standard practice for most hospitals in the United States. In addition, most of the leading teaching and research hospitals in the country embrace the practice. Using at least some reprocessed devices is a standard practice in 70 percent of U.S. hospitals. While over 3,000 hospitals currently have a reprocessing program, and over 95 percent of the U.S. News [& World Report]’s ‘Honor Roll’ Hospitals use reprocessed devices, there are still some hospitals that have yet to fully integrate reprocessing as a standard practice at their facility. At a time when most medical device manufacturers are seeing reduced or slowing demand for their products, reprocessing has continued to grow at a rapid rate.