1980-1990
Hospitals establish unregulated in-house reprocessing programs
In the 1980s, medical device companies began offering devices labelled as “single-use” as well as “reusable”. Medical devices with the single-use label began to produce large amounts of waste, and, by the late 1980s many hospitals had established in-house reprocessing programs.1
Today, hospitals often send their devices to a third-party reprocessor. Working with a third-party reprocessor reduces acquisition cost and ensures that devices are regulated by the FDA. FDA regulation and oversight helps to ensure that reprocessed devices are substantially equivalent to new products.
Cardinal Health acquires Sustainable Technologies™
Sustainable Technologies™ becomes a member of AMDR
References:
1 http://www.premiersafetyinstitute.org/safety-topics-az/reprocessing-single-use-devices/reprocessing-single-use-devices/
2 Statement of Daniel Schultz, MD, Director CDRH, before the Committee on Government Reform, September 26, 2006" in CDRH Home Page [online] (Washington, DC: FDA, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, 2006 [cited 22 March 2007]); available from Internet: http://amdr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/FDAShultzStatement.pdf.
3 United States, Government Accountability Office. (2008). Reprocessed single-use medical devices: FDA oversight has increased, and available information does not indicate that use presents an elevated health risk: Report to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Accountability Office.