When it comes to deciding between reusable medical devices and single-use medical devices or disposable medical supplies, healthcare professionals have to consider the pros and cons of each. For starters, medical devices also cover a wide range of categories. Whether the medical device is for single-use or a reusable item, it can be any equipment or piece of equipment, or an instrument, with medical applications, designed for and used in assessing, monitoring, diagnosing, and treating patients.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of disposable surgical kit. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

What are Single-Use Medical Devices?
Single-use devices are those devices that are used on one patient during only one procedure and then disposed of. Reusable medical devices are those that require reprocessing after a procedure, such steps as cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilization. When selecting a single-use or disposable item over a reusable medical device, and vice-versa, the number one factor to consider should be guided by any risk to patient safety. In addition to such risks as contamination and infection, environmental impact, cost-efficiency, time-savings are other factors to consider. 

What is Disposable Medical Equipment
There is no doubt that there has been a steady shift to disposable medical supplies and single-use medical devices over the years, and the trend is likely to increase. Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a genuine threat to patients and can be very costly to hospitals and clinics in more ways than just exposure to insurance claims. Healthcare centers are subject to penalties by having their Medicare and Medicaid payments reduced. Reusable medical devices have always carried a degree of risk for cross-contamination, surgical site infections, and HAI—far greater than a single-use device. Operations and procedures with reusable medical devices place patients at unnecessary risk. Single-use devices are sterilized, individually packaged, disposable instruments that carry none of the risks that reusable instruments do. This is the main reason the shift in using single-use medical devices and disposable medical supplies has occurred.

Weighing the Pros and Cons: Disposable Medical Supplies vs. Reusable Medical Devices
The most prominent issue with single-use medical devices and disposable supplies is the increase in biomedical waste and related environmental concerns. Disposing of biomedical waste—those supplies, materials, and devices contaminated with blood, bodily fluids, secretions, or excretions—must follow certain protocols. Biomedical waste is considered hazardous waste, and improper disposal of it may cause cross-contamination and HAI. The problem isn’t going away. Worldwide healthcare facilities—hospitals, clinics, labs, doctor’s offices—produce 4 billion pounds of biomedical waste annually.

Medical waste is a critical factor in considering using single-use medical devices over reusable medical devices. Because such devices are viewed as environmentally unfriendly, efforts are being made to provide solutions. Some companies offer bio-degradable plastic devices. A more cost-efficient solution in addressing the problem of waste is to recycle disposable instruments. Single-use disposables made with thermoplastic offers a viable, environmentally friendly solution, as they can be easily recycled.

In addition, reusable instruments have their own set of environmental issues that must be dealt with. Decontamination and sterilization require large amounts of water, detergents, chemical disinfectants, specialized cleaning equipment, steam production, and electricity to reprocess medical devices for re-use. The impact these detergents and disinfectants have on the environment poses ecological concerns and the added energy drain to clean them is costly.

Overall, there is a considerable process in reusing a medical device. It takes time, and ‘hidden’ costs associated with reusable medical devices add up. The ongoing costs for reprocessing medical devices include cleaning supplies, personnel, and personnel training, equipment, decontamination or sterilization processes, repair and replacement, tracking and accounting, and other related upkeep. Single-use devices are delivered ready for immediate use, and no time is spent in reprocessing. It’s another reason that single-use medical devices and disposable medical supplies are becoming an attractive alternative to reusable devices.

 Single-Use Medical Supplies: Safer, Time Saving and Cost-Efficient
In weighing the pros and cons of buying and using disposable medical supplies or single-use medical devices over reusable medical devices, the number one factor is protecting patients. In this regard, single-use medical devices offer more protection than reusable medical devices. Benefits of single-use medical devices—no risk of HAI from the product, immediate usage and increasing environmentally friendly solutions—are proving to be more cost-efficient, and offer time-savings that reusable devices cannot. Though there is a place for reusable devices in medical practice and healthcare, the trend in using single-use medical devices and disposable medical supplies will continue to expand as newer, efficient technological breakthroughs in manufacturing and production contribute to the production of higher quality instruments at lower costs.

Disposable vs. Reusable Surgical Instruments: Which One Is More Cost-Effective?

--

There is a lot of debate in the medical community around the decision to use reusable versus disposable surgical instruments. Many hospitals and medical organizations have chosen one over the other for varying reasons, such as safety, convenience, and costs. Though all of these play a role in their decision, it is the cost factor that makes the most difference. Today, we will be discussing the cost-effectiveness of reusable versus disposable surgical instruments to explain why this is, as well as which one of the two is most cost-effective.

Reusable vs. Disposable Surgical Instruments

Disposable surgical instruments are single-use medical instruments that must be disposed after use. They’re taken out of their packaging, used, and then properly disposed of according to their use and function. Reusable surgical instruments, on the other hand, are medical instruments that can be used multiple times on various patients. To allow for this, they are reprocessed after every use, a process that sterilizes or disinfect them and eliminates all microorganisms.

Both of these types of instruments are used in many surgical centers around the country for various surgeries and procedures. As you can imagine, there are many deciding factors that determine which type of instrument a specific facility decides to utilize. Like we touched on earlier, the biggest being the cost. Disposable and reusable instruments have the same underlying purpose, but it is their cost-effectiveness that leaves medical professionals wondering which option is best for their facilities.

Distinguishing Costs

A common misconception many believe is that using a reusable surgical instrument would be much more cost-effective than their disposable counterparts because of the fact that they are reusable. While that does make sense at first glance, taking a deeper look may actually reveal the opposite. In fact, a study comparing the cost per use and operational performance of reusable versus disposable forceps showed that, on average, the cost of using disposable forceps came out to be $38, much lower than the cost of using reusable forceps, which was $415 after factoring in cleaning and reprocessing fees, as well as how long these instruments actually last.

It’s important to note that this was the result of a single study comparing forceps, and other studies comparing other instruments found varying results. That being said, this large price gap is still alarming because you still have to factor other issues that arise from using reusable instruments, such as any trouble with cross-contamination and improperly reprocessed instruments.

Another distinguishing factor is that, whereas the true costs for reusable instruments is variable and may be difficult to predict, that of disposable instruments is very predictable. For example, the cost of buying a certain disposable surgical instrument in bulk will always be the same, with some variances due to quantity that may even lead to lower prices. Reusable instruments offer no such predictability because they come with other variables that change over time. For instance, depending on the facility, a third-party reprocessing organization that handles all sterilization needs may be utilized. In this case, additional transportation and reprocessing expenses must also be considered.

Additionally, normal wear and tear on a reusable instrument will eventually lead to necessary repairs to keep it serviceable. Likewise, an unexpected malfunction will require the same treatment. In the first scenario, the costs of repairs will depend on the repair job itself; they will change based on what is needed. In the second, on top of the costs of the repair that will also vary based on what is needed, you also have to consider the cumulative effects of a malfunctioning instrument. For example, not only will time be wasted as the instrument is replaced — time that could have been used performing another procedure — but a malfunctioning instrument during surgery will also come with its own set of costs and issues in the form of a lawsuit. None of these issues affect disposable surgical instruments because they are single-use.

Why Disposable Surgical Instruments Are the Best Option

Apart from their cost-effectiveness, disposable surgical instruments are a better option for most facilities because of the other two factors we touched on: safety and convenience. In terms of safety, the fact that a new instrument is used on every patient means that the probability of contamination or improperly cleaned/sterilized instruments is negligent. As for convenience, not only can surgical procedures be carried out more swiftly because packaged instruments are already sterilized and ready for use, but the convenience associated with purchasing them we touched on earlier will also lead to a much smoother process with fewer setbacks.

Want more information on Choose The Correct Chemical Coverall? Feel free to contact us.