New Website Offers Hospital Purchasing Decision Makers, Health and Environmental Policy Leaders, Resources to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Lower Costs through Increased Use of Reprocessed “Single-Use” Medical Devices

AMDR’s Website Overhaul Offers Action Steps and Compendium of Information to Support Continued Global Growth of Reprocessing

WASHINGTON & BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new website from the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors promises to be a one-stop-shop for all information related to the regulated practice of reprocessing single-use medical devices (SUDs). Available at either www.ResponsibleReuse.org or www.AMDR.org, the site is designed with simple navigation and actionable information for health and environmental policy makers, hospital supply chain purchasers, researchers, journalists, and anyone else who is interested in reducing costs, waste and greenhouse gas emissions in the health sector.

The new website is a response to the spike in interest in medical device reprocessing as a low-hanging fruit for hospitals to lower costs and achieve emission reduction goals. In 2022, AMDR serviced a record number inquiries from policy makers, journalists, and researchers from the US and Europe.

Resources available include AMDR’s first published policy agenda, new infographics for global and US-only production and use of reprocessed SUDs (and other resources for journalists), and a “Sustainability Standard” template for hospitals and national policy makers seeking to create a uniform policy on the use of reprocessed devices.

The homepage also links to in-depth pages exploring concepts about reprocessing, including:

• “A Moral Imperative for Healthcare Professionals” to reduce their environmental footprint
• Reducing Costs by Reprocessing
• Growing the Circular Economy in the Health Sector
• Strengthening the Supply Chain
• The Right to Repair Medical Devices
• Best Practices from Top Reprocessing Hospitals
• What to do if you Want to Start Reprocessing medical devices
• Why “Single Use” Does not Always Mean “Use Only Once” when it comes to medical devices

The site also includes media and social media resources, news releases, a glossary of relevant terms, and a bibliography of nearly all peer-reviewed research on reprocessing going back to the 1980s. All of this and more is organized sleekly and intuitively – amounting to a one-stop hub for all-things reprocessing.

“The medical device reprocessing industry goes back more than twenty years,” said Daniel J. Vukelich, President and CEO of AMDR. “Back then, the research was all about safety and cost-savings, and of course it was all in stacks of paper. Today, with massive interest and commitments to address the dual threats of COVID and climate change, the volume of news, research, data – you name it – coming out about reprocessing in one month now exceeds that of a whole year back when we built our previous website. We are pleased to offer this comprehensive resource.

About the Worldwide Commercial Reprocessing Industry

Reprocessing, known as “remanufacturing” in Europe, is well regulated and practiced in 19 countries. Pioneered in the United States with strong regulation from the Food and Drug Administration, the industry has grown from roughly $20 million in 2000 to over $460M in 2021. Over 10,500 hospitals and surgical centers, including all US News & World Report “Top Hospitals,” all U.S. military hospitals, and 23 German University hospitals used reprocessed SUDs in 2021. If all U.S. hospitals used reprocessed devices at the rate of the top 10% performing hospitals (in terms of the number of devices they reprocess), U.S. hospitals would save nearly $2.5 trillion. [All data courtesy of www.AMDR.org].

About AMDR

The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors is the global trade association for the regulated, commercial single-use device reprocessing and remanufacturing industry. For 23 years, AMDR has promoted reprocessing and remanufacturing as an important healthcare strategy that helps hospitals and healthcare providers increase quality, reduce costs, waste and emissions, and strengthen the supply chain.

AMDR protects the interests of its members in regulation, legislation and standard-setting. AMDR members include Arjo ReNu Medical, Innovative Health, Medline Renewal, NEScientific, Stryker Sustainable Solution, Sustainable Technologies (a Cardinal Health Business), and Vanguard AG. Having played a key role in the establishment of the reprocessing industry, AMDR continues to push the global medical technology industry, leading the way for remanufacturing to play a defining role in the evolution of new device technologies.