Each year, hospitals in the U.S. generate 5.9 million tons of medical waste.1 Practice Greenhealth estimates that 29 pounds of waste is generated per staffed bed per day.2
With such a large impact on the environment, hospitals and health systems are putting a greater focus on the environment and how they can be more sustainable. Identifying ways to reduce or recycle waste can have a profound effect on patients, hospital communities and the planet. One way to improve sustainability in your environment is through your facility’s supply chain strategy.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed supply chain vulnerabilities and the need to adopt a more circular economy for medical devices. To help foster this, hospitals can enact stricter procurement policies to favor sustainable medical devices. Favorability could be given to single-use devices that can be reprocessed to minimize healthcare’s effect on the environment. Reprocessing medical devices creates a unique opportunity for hospitals to reduce their environmental footprint, at no cost to the facility. Purchasing reprocessed product can supplement purchasing new product, easing supply chain challenges, though it cannot be supplemented 100%. Companies like Cardinal Health can offer a blended package of both new and reprocessed product that can also ease supply chain challenges with guaranteed inventory.
Healthcare supply chain professionals have a unique opportunity to help reduce the impact on human health and the environment through their purchasing decisions and by working with suppliers who are committed to providing more sustainable products and services. Sustainable procurement of products and services can reduce exposure to hazardous substances, address social issues such as fair trade, and enable health systems to serve as responsible stewards of the community. Environmentally preferable purchasing is a practice hospitals can deploy to procure environmentally preferable products that reduce energy use and waste disposal costs. Additionally, single-use device reprocessing helps the environment and makes the supply chain less dependent on one source of supply.
Reporting and analytics are the underpinning of a successful reprocessing program. Customers are provided with actionable data that captures their financial savings, pounds of waste diverted, and number of devices collected. Data is provided monthly to the customer to measure the impact of the reprocessing program and to provide opportunities for greater savings. This year, Cardinal Health’s Sustainable Technologies™ recognized 10 hospitals and surgery centers around the United States for their commitment to reprocessing. The award categories range from Sustainability STAR, Collections Champion, and Environmental Excellence.
By introducing sustainability programs, hospitals can reduce their environmental footprint while saving costs. Several organizations, including Practice Greenhealth, the American Nursing Association, the Association of perioperative Registered Nurses, have recognized or endorsed reprocessing as a method to reduce waste.3
If taking full advantage of a reprocessing program, a 200-bed hospital can save between $600,000 and $1 million a year.3 Reprocessing also reduces hospital waste disposal fees, as man single-use medical devices can be reprocessed multiple times, and when they can no longer be reprocessed, they can be recycled through the reprocessor. Single-use device reprocessing represents one of the largest opportunities to become more environmentally sustainable and minimize supply chain disruption while reducing the cost of healthcare.
Health systems should utilize reporting and data analytics to track and report trends, as well as the financial impacts of sustainability programs. Continuous evaluation of sustainability programs, partners and outcomes is also recommended to ensure programs are aligned with a hospital’s sustainability goals. Sustainability programs that result in minimal day-to-day interruptions may likely be perceived as favorable and more successful at achieving a health system’s sustainability goals.
Cardinal Health’s Sustainable Technologies™ is committed to securing a healthier future for patients and the planet with impressive results including 12.9 million single-use devices diverted from landfills, 8.0 million single-use devices returned to customers, $67 million in customer savings from Sustainable Technologies, and 1.7 million lbs. of waste diverted from landfills. To learn more about how Sustainable Technologies™ can help your health system lessen their environmental footprint, click here.
Sources:
1 https://practicegreenhealth.org/about/news/search-sustainable-products
2 https://practicegreenhealth.org/topics/waste/waste
3 http://amdr.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Business-Case-for-Reprocessing-for-web-1.pdf