Disposable Plastic Products and the Medical Industry

Using disposable plastic products and devices instead of reprocessed instruments has helped decrease the spread of infections in hospitals and medical centers. However, while using disposable devices remedied one significant problem for the medical industry, it created another that impacts more people than the patient and hospital system handling the treatment of an infection caused by a reusable medical device.

Read on to learn more.

Explaining the Need To Reduce Plastic Waste in Hospitals

Hospital facilitators have had burning concerns over the past several years about the surge of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). HAIs are defined as infections that patients can contract during a visit at a hospital or medical center.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 1.7 million people acquire HAIs every year—and one in 17 patients die from an HAI. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also stated that HAIs are becoming a global issue that’s impacting hundreds of millions of people.

The CDC and WHO offered the healthcare industry some advice for decreasing HAIs, suggesting that increasing the use of disposable medical devices reduces the number of HAIs significantly. Disposable medical devices are replacing reprocessed devices, which are required to undergo a time-consuming, costly sterilization and reprocessing procedure. Despite thorough sterilization, reusable medical devices still result in frequent HAIs.

While the transition to disposable devices has helped slow down the spread of HAIs, it’s created another problem—environmental concerns over medical waste, such as disposable plastic products used to diagnose and treat patients in hospitals and medical centers. To address this concern, companies dedicated to reducing plastic waste in hospitals are developing new materials from renewable resources to manufacture medical devices.

Introducing Bioplastics

Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as sugar cane, vegetables, and cornstarch. Two main types of bioplastics have dominated the healthcare industry’s interest: Polylactic Acid and Polyhydroxyalkanoate.

Polylactic Acid

Polylactic Acid (PLA) is made from sugars found in cornstarch, sugarcane, or cassava. Depending on the contract manufacturing process, the end product of using PA can mimic different types of traditional, medical-grade plastics, such as polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene. PA has been reserved as a natural candidate to manufacture a wide range of medical applications, such as medical implants, orthopedic devices, and drug-delivery systems.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a biopolymer developed by using microorganisms that transform organic material into a polymer byproduct. When PHA is in its harvested state, it can be used for surgical sutures and meshes.

Validation and Testing

Reducing the need for traditional, disposable plastic products in hospitals and medical centers requires system-wide staff initiatives, leader-backed support, and significant validation and testing from R&D facilities in order to replace traditional plastics and overcome regulatory hurdles. In the meantime, many typical plastics standards, like ASTM D638 or ISO 527, have updated their language to include bioplastics and 3D printed plastics.

How Does Hospitals Reducing Plastic Help the Environment?

Hospitals and medical centers produce significant amounts of medical waste daily. According to the AMA Journal of Ethics, 14,000 tons of waste is generated daily from U.S. health care facilities, and about 20% to 25% are disposable plastic products. But if a significant amount of hospital systems in the U.S. find ways to reduce the need for disposable plastic products, they can make a conscious environmental effort.

Reducing plastic waste in hospitals helps the environment by:

Decreasing carbon dioxide emissions
Improving wildlife safety
Improving human health

The Remington Medical team can handle small and large projects alike with our medical manufacturing services.

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Superior Medical Device Manufacturing Solutions That Help Reduce Plastic Waste in Hospitals

At Remington Medical, our team of contract manufacturing professionals can help you choose a more environmentally friendly material for your new or existing medical device that helps reduce plastic waste in hospitals. We work with a wide range of material suppliers to help our customers choose an alternative material for their device. Then, we run a small production with the new material to make sure it’s functioning correctly. Our contract manufacturing customers serve a wide variety of specialties, so we’re experienced in creating customized solutions for unique needs and timelines. Learn more about our contract manufacturing services today.