In 2000, at 22, I joined a tiny trade association of start-up medical device companies, known as the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors (AMDR).  Our members were saving hospitals money and reducing waste by extending the lifespan of medical devices by reprocessing them, when possible.

We worked hard and that year the implementation of full FDA regulation brought legitimization to our industry… and we began to grow.

Fast forward nearly 17 years, and commercial medical device reprocessing has gone from saving hospitals $20 million in 2000 to saving American hospitals a half a BILLION dollars a year – all the while maintaining patient safety, reducing waste, lowering the cost of waste disposal and providing competitive market pressure to lower medical device costs.  Indeed, medical device reprocessing has become the standard of care and one of the most impactful initiatives hospitals can undertake to reduce costs and waste.

Not only that, but we’re part of a significant U.S. Supreme Court ruling that recently made headlines. AMDR is thrilled to announce that our efforts at the U.S. Supreme Court – where we joined advocacy groups, non-profits and many leading technology companies and filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Impression Products – have been successful. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Impression Products (Impression Products Inc. vs. Lexmark, Inc.), reinforcing the long standing importance of the first sale/patent exhaustion doctrine, which makes it possible for the reprocessing industry – and many other commercial products – to remain available to consumers.

It’s a victory heralded for its consumer rights implications, and one that highlights the savings solution and value that the reprocessing industry brings to healthcare today.

Reprocessors look forward to maximizing the financial and environmentally sustainable solution for hospitals.  We are part of the solution.

Dan Vukelich, CAE, Esq.
President & CEO
Association of Medical Device Reprocessors
www.amdr.org