Hospitals and “Used Goods”

Abstract

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We learn the three Rs as conscientious school children, after which we happily forget this plea for conservation as wasteful and busy adults. In general, it's probably good advice, but how does it apply to the so-called singleuse items purchased in bulk by hospitals and ranging from anesthetic circuits to surgical instruments? According to Alice Moszczynski, reuse of single-use items in hospitals is a common, and often nondisclosed practice, despite current recommendations advocating single use only [1]. These items are frequently sterilized then used again, generally without informing the patient. In "Is Once Always Enough? Revisiting the Single Use Item" Moszczynski draws on several ethical frameworks to address this complex issue.