Hospitals Save Money, But Safety Is Questioned

You may not know this but hospitals are reusing medical equipment that was designed for one-time use in order to cut costs. Hospitals say it is safe and that it saves them and patients money amid skyrocketing medical costs; but some people question the safety of reconditioned medical equipment.

The problem has to do with the reluctance of manufacturers to label their products as appropriate for multiple uses, even when such products could be reused, because of liability concerns. Labeling equipment as one-time use only means that manufacturers do not have to test the equipment as extensively as they would if they product were approved for multiple uses. Unfortunately, using medical equipment only once is often wasteful and unnecessarily expensive, and most of us are all too familiar with the high costs of medical care as it is.