• Veronica Nadador Patiño, María Rubio Horcajada, and Manuel Ruiz Castro.
• Diplomada Universitaria en Enfermería, Enfermera de la Unidad de Reanimación Postanestésica del Hospital Universitario Principe de Asturias. vero.nadador.patino@hotmail.com
• Rev Enferm. 2007 Feb 1;30(2):56-60.

AbstractAt the present time, concern has arisen as to whether or not medical devices designed for one use only should be reutilized after the appearances of outbreaks of Hepatitis C infections in Spain as well as in other countries. 80% of Spanish hospitals, both public and private, reprocess these one use only devices; there is no regulation at this time which guarantees this practice. The increase in endoscopic surgeries has led to an increase in health care costs, plus an increase in the residues which derive from their use. This fact has caused the reutilization of one use only devices in order to balance costs. According to a study in the United States, the price of a reprocessed one use only device is approximately half the price of a new one, and at times, the cost of these reprocessed devices is less than 10% that of a new one. In our country, a precise classification regarding which materials may or may not be reused does not exist, nor do protocols for sterilization and reprocessing and reuse of one use only devices. An agreement should be made by the parties involved; the administration, sanitary professionals, manufacturers of medical devices and the users which guarantees a balance between the important increase in health care costs due to throwing away these products and the insecurity which their use without a ratified guarantee means.

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