Sustainable procurement means buying goods and services while thinking about their effects on the environment, society, and economy. In healthcare, it means choosing medical devices and supplies not just based on cost and how well they work, but also on safety, how long they last, their environmental impact, and how the workers who make them are treated.
Hospitals and clinics must reduce harm from dangerous substances in many medical devices. These substances include chemicals that can cause cancer, affect hormones, or be toxic. Sustainable procurement tries to limit exposure to these harmful chemicals by picking safer options, following rules, and thinking about a product’s entire life—from making it to throwing it away.
These goals help healthcare organizations get the best value for their money. It means choosing products that fit their values and duties, not just the cheapest option.
Regulations in the European Union provide rules for sustainable procurement. These can guide healthcare leaders in the U.S. For example, the EU’s Public Procurement Directive lets health groups add environmental and social rules when buying products.
The EU’s Medical Devices Regulation limits harmful substances in devices to less than 0.1% of their weight unless there is a good reason. Even though this is a European rule, many places around the world are starting to follow similar guidelines to reduce dangerous chemicals in medical devices.
A good first step in sustainable procurement is doing a baseline assessment. This means checking current buying habits, spotting devices with harmful chemicals, and seeing their risks to patients and staff. This helps set priorities for changes.
Medical devices help with diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring but may have unsafe chemicals. Harmful substances include those that cause cancer, mutations, or harm reproduction, along with chemicals that disrupt hormones like phthalates. These may be in gloves, tubing, syringes, and other common tools.
Healthcare groups should look closely at safety data sheets and chemicals listed by manufacturers. Tools like the Safer Medical Device Database from Health Care Without Harm Europe help buyers find safer products. This also aids in choosing better options.
Getting input from users, especially clinicians who use the devices every day, is important. Their feedback helps make sure buying choices take practical risks and environmental goals into account.
Using sustainable procurement improves safety in medical places. Fewer dangerous chemicals in devices means patients face less risk of allergies or toxicity during procedures. Health workers have less chance of contact with harmful substances or contaminated waste. This improves workplace health.
Hospitals and clinics are responsible for protecting both their workers and the community. Sustainable procurement helps by making safer medical environments and reducing pollution that can affect everyone.
It also helps meet rules from agencies like OSHA, lowering legal risks and building public trust.
Sustainable procurement can save money over time, even if initial costs seem higher. Thinking about a product’s life helps find hidden costs like waste handling, injuries, or recalls.
Less hazardous waste cuts disposal expenses and lowers environmental risks. Durable and eco-friendly equipment means fewer replacements, which helps medical practices with limited budgets.
The healthcare sector creates a large part of national waste and carbon emissions. In the EU, it is about 7.1% of GDP. In the U.S., the impact is also big. Sustainable procurement helps lower healthcare’s environmental effects.
Health informatics uses electronic tools to manage health information. This supports sustainable procurement by giving easy access to patient records, device details, and purchase data. It improves communication among healthcare workers.
This technology helps administrators and IT managers study buying patterns and safety details quickly. It centralizes information about product ingredients, usage, costs, and supplier checks.
Health informatics also speeds up information flow among clinicians, managers, and supply teams. This helps spot unsafe or less useful products faster and adjust buying decisions quickly.
Research shows that health informatics combines nursing, data science, and technology to build systems that improve operations, clinical work, and patient care. These contribute to sustainability goals.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and workflow automation are growing tools for healthcare administrators and IT managers to support sustainable procurement.
AI can review large amounts of buying data, including supplier info, chemical details, prices, and compliance. It can suggest safer and cheaper products automatically. AI can also point out devices with harmful chemicals and recommend safer choices.
Some AI companies automate phone and front-office tasks. Similar AI tools in procurement can automate orders, supplier talks, and contracts. This frees staff to focus on safety checks and planning.
Workflow automation helps by setting standard rules for bids, checking rules in real time, and making sure all offers meet environmental and social criteria. Alerts can notify teams when new products come or if stock has banned substances.
Using AI and automation improves accuracy, cuts human errors, and speeds up buying processes. This helps healthcare providers buy safer products faster.
U.S. healthcare groups need to involve many people, not just the procurement team, when starting sustainable procurement. Clinicians who use devices daily should help confirm product safety and usability. Supply chain managers, environmental officers, finance staff, and IT workers all have roles.
Getting ready involves:
Involving everyone builds transparency and responsibility. It encourages leadership support and helps create a culture that matches healthcare’s environmental and social goals.
Hospitals and clinics do more than treat patients; they are important parts of communities. Sustainable procurement helps community health by lowering harmful chemical releases and improving safety for healthcare workers.
Healthcare groups that use these practices also support local and national environmental protection efforts. This helps reach public health goals like cutting pollution and reducing climate impact.
These practices can also improve how the public sees healthcare providers. They show a commitment to ethical actions and strong patient care. They also prepare healthcare institutions for future rules that may focus more on sustainability and social responsibility.
By using sustainable procurement and tools like health informatics, AI, and automation, medical practice leaders, clinic owners, and IT managers in the U.S. can lower risks from harmful medical devices. They can protect patients and staff and help the environment and economy. Careful evaluation, involving everyone, and using technology are key to buying decisions that support safety, efficiency, and sustainability in healthcare.
Sustainable procurement in healthcare aims to integrate environmental, social, and economic considerations into purchasing practices. This includes reducing carbon footprints, ensuring fair working conditions, and evaluating life-cycle costs for medical devices.
Medical devices may contain harmful substances like carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic substances (CMRs), as well as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like phthalates, which pose risks to patient and staff safety.
The PPD establishes guidelines for public contracts in the EU. It emphasizes environmental protection and sustainable development in procurement and requires consideration of social criteria to achieve ‘best value for money’.
The MDR sets limits on hazardous substances in medical devices, allowing only those below a specific concentration without justification. It encourages the development of safer alternatives, enhancing overall patient safety.
Healthcare facilities should conduct a baseline assessment to gather data on their current procurement practices. This includes information on purchased devices, costs, and the associated risks of hazardous chemicals.
Organizations can prioritize products by cross-referencing spending and usage data with safety data sheets to identify hazardous materials, particularly in high-risk categories like invasive devices and those containing drugs.
Tools such as HCWH Europe’s Safer Medical Device database help identify safer products free from harmful chemicals. Collaborating with the Global Green & Healthy Hospitals network also provides resources and support for sustainable purchasing.
Engaging stakeholders, especially clinicians, fosters awareness of the implications of procurement decisions beyond functionality and cost, promoting a culture of sustainability and ensuring leadership support for initiatives.
Key actions include documenting hazardous substances to avoid, ensuring bidders understand evaluation criteria, and engaging manufacturers to explore product feasibility concerning newly defined environmental and social standards.
Implementing sustainable procurement practices enhances patient and employee safety, contributes to environmental protection, and fulfills the moral obligation of healthcare systems toward social and environmental justice.
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