Abstract

[This article was originally published in Healthcare Quarterly 16(3).]

Over 10 years ago, the Public Health Agency of Canada released the results of a nation-wide survey of hospitals that demonstrated that the reuse of single-use medical devices was widespread in Canadian healthcare institutions. In this article, the author discusses the reuse and reprocessing of these devices, as well as the risks this practice presents. She then goes on to outline the legal implications of reusing single-use devices.