Managed care and reduced costs are encouraging a return to reprocessing surgical
instruments instead of throwing them away. Health care facilities cleaned and sterilized most instruments in-house until the 1970s, when manufacturers started producing single-use medical devices. This eliminated labor costs involved in internal reprocessing.
Now, HMOs are changing the routine. Healthcare facilities are looking for ways to reduce costs associated with providing services. One way is to use reprocessed medical instruments. Surgical nurses separate the instruments, grossly decontaminate them, and ship them to a decontamination plant. They are sold back to the hospital at a significant discount.
Brown-Ferris Industries (BFI) and Alliance Medical Corp. have entered into an agreement to serve hospitals nationwide. Alliance decontamination facilities will be located at or near BFI treatment and transfer locations. Recycling is slated to begin near Orlando, Florida. With the addition of this service, BFI can offer hospitals the full spectrum of recycling services.
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