Rethinking OR routines reduces waste, costs while protecting environment

Editor's Note

For some surgeons, treating patients goes hand-in-hand with healing the environment. Consider an April 23 report in Medical Xpress. Detailing sustainability efforts at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center by pediatric surgeon Ami Shah, MD, and her colleague Brian Gulack, MD, the article showcases how rethinking everyday surgical routines can slash waste, protect the environment, and cut hospital costs—all without sacrificing patient care.

A major target for the surgeons is the surgical procedure card. As detailed in the article, many of these cards include tools that are routinely opened but never used, including expensive tools such as staplers used in common procedures such as laparoscopic appendectomies. The outlet reports this practice contributes to an estimated $200 million in annual hospital waste—all disposable plastic and metal that must be incinerated. Updating procedure cards and opening supplies only when needed is a low-effort strategy that yields high returns for both hospital budgets and the environment.

The article also highlights the environmental toll of disposable surgical caps, which are still required by many hospitals despite no evidence that they reduce infection rates compared to reusable cotton versions. Reusable cloth caps can cut emissions by up to 80% and offer a more sustainable, cost-effective alternative.

Rush has seen success from other sustainability initiatives as well. As reported by Medical Xpress, the hospital has begun reprocessing devices such as pulse oximeter probes, tourniquet cuffs, and trocars. In 2023, the program diverted 24,000 pounds of waste from landfills and reprocessed nearly 140,000 devices, saving more than $400,000.