From the August 2021 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

Reducing sources of greenhouse gas emissions at hospitals
Supply chain improvements made possible by SUDs extend past supply; greenhouse gas emission reductions can be achieved by using reprocessed SUDs as well. Researchers have recently discovered that hospitals generate a surprising amount of greenhouse gas emissions — more than double that of the entire airline industry. The global nonprofit organization Healthcare Without Harm estimates that “if the global health care sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet.” Their report notes that the “lion’s share of emissions — 71% — are primarily derived from the healthcare supply chain through the production, transport, and disposal of goods and services,” including “medical devices, hospital equipment, and instruments.”

Reprocessing medical devices offers an opportunity to lower greenhouse gas emissions emerging from the supply chain. A recent life cycle study of electrophysiological catheters used in Germany showed a decrease of 100 tons of CO2-eq/year could be achieved if just 28.4% of the 750,000 catheters used each year were reprocessed. Reprocessing medical devices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need for raw materials. Domestic reprocessing can also save on emissions resulting from transporting materials and devices overseas.
Looking ahead with reprocessing
The evidence supporting the use of reprocessed medical devices extends past the data. As a first-year engineering student at Case Western Reserve University, I had volunteered to test and package donated medical devices, looking to familiarize myself with the medical devices I hoped to design. A nonprofit I volunteered with takes medical equipment donated from local hospitals and ships it overseas to clinics requesting support.

Along with a few other student volunteers, I was tasked with taking medical devices through their quick start modes and checking the alarm thresholds. The work went smoothly and at the end of the four hours, five patient monitors were packaged, tested, and ready to ship complete with sterilized blood pressure cuffs and pulse oximeter cables. These patient monitors were destined for the Degehabur hospital in Ethiopia where they would be used in a maternity ward. The cost-benefit ratio for the work completed was outstanding, where else could a few hours of volunteer work translate so directly into advancing healthcare equity and reducing waste? I was hooked.

August 2021 Magazine

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