However, when a hospital uses a remanufactured robotic instrument, it saves 30-40 percent of the cost of using the instrument. This amount can make a real difference in the economics of robotic procedures—and, therefore, in the ability of the hospital to provide the best care possible.
Concerning safety with remanufactured robotic instruments
But are remanufactured robotic instruments safe, you ask?
When FDA provides a clearance for a company to sell remanufactured robotic instruments, it means that FDA has reviewed a very large amount of data that demonstrates:
1. The instrument is functionally similar to a new instrument.
2. There is no added patient risk involved in using the remanufactured instrument.
After the robotic procedure where the instrument has been used, the staff simply puts the device aside after sterilization, and collection technicians ship the instrument to the approved remanufacturing facility. There, the remanufacturing company registers the instrument in its computer system, resets the chip that controls how many times the instrument can be used, ensures sharpness and functionality of the device, and cleans it thoroughly. The instrument is then ready for more uses—at a much lower cost. All of this happens in a facility under FDA oversight and with an advanced quality system.
We have a bad habit in American healthcare: We think we protect the patient if we throw used devices and instruments away. In many cases—such as in the case of robotic instruments—they can be safely re-used, reducing procedure costs and allowing the hospital to invest in better patient care.
Manufacturers, in the meantime, are doing everything they can to maximize their profits—and a gross margin of almost 70 percent is certainly achieving that.
It would behoove hospitals to address the misalignment between manufacturer and healthcare interests and promote the re-use of instruments that have many more lives on them. This simple but meaningful shift toward more-sustainable practices represents more than just a means of saving costs. It’s a means of saving lives.
About the author: Kevin Liszewski is the CEO of Encore Medical Device Repair.Back to HCB News
