A bullet point summary of a burgeoning biomedical market.
- In about the 1980s/1990s, America’s healthcare system transited to a single-use interface between patient and medical system. (You don’t want to use the same needles as the last guy.)
- The technology/innovation lifecycle seems to just get faster and faster and faster. However, a manufacturer certified refurbished device can look mighty good when compared to the latest and greatest, especially if it costs half as much. Such forces also have the added benefit of helping drive down the costs of new devices (much as other forces may drive them up).
- There exists, therefore, these two trends in conjunction: the desire to have new/clean/sterile/safe medical devices and the desire to pay as little possible for them. If a single use device could be profitably refurbished, manufacturers would stand to gain a neat sum of money and the consumer/user also pay less for the essentially the same quality of care.
- Therefore, look for the future development of medical device reprocessors. More of our medical devices (especially long lasting equipment) will find renewed usefulness past their normal expiration.
May we all hope for as much.