ABSTRACT
Challenging hospital practice environment requires healthcare managers to make difficult purchase decisions. Among these is whether to purchase reusable or single-use products. Not only must decisions reflect cost, quality and service for patients, they must but also take into consideration the environmental impact of both single-use and reusable products. Every healthcare entity should have a formal process for product evaluation and decision making. The process is usually conducted by a committee; committee members must be dedicated to identifying and providing the best product at the lowest cost. In addition to product-specific criteria, product evaluations should include service, availability of product, delivery cost and the provision of emergency or expedited delivery. In assessing single-use products, how the product will be disposed of and what the cost of disposal will be are important considerations. Physicians should provide input in developing the criteria for the products they use.
