Heightened awareness among electrosurgical-device companies and health care consumers about the potential spread of communicable diseases during surgery has increased market demand for disposable surgical devices. While this is good news for large-scale manufacturers, high expec-tations about the provision of after-sales service and support has put tremendous pressure on smaller companies. Single-use medical devices are recycled in up to one-fifth of the hospitals in some European countries, leading industry experts to push for changes in the regulations regarding the reprocessing of these medical devices, according to Claire Staniforth, Frost & Sullivan health care analyst.

Rising awareness about this issue has triggered a review of the European Union’s Medical Device Directive, which will likely lead to changes that promote the use of disposable surgical items.

Staniforth says that resuable accessories are much more expensive than their disposable counterparts, but considering their effect on price per surgical procedure, reusable devices are more effective at containing cost in the long term.

For more information, visit www.healthcare.frost.com.

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