GLOBAL MEDTECH COMPANY BRINGS DEVICE REPROCESSING PLANT TO AUSTRALIA Cardinal Health announces regional facility to support processing of hospital collected devices
With
Jane Crowe, Managing Director
Cardinal Health Australia and New Zealand &
Vice-Chair Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA)
Sabrina Lichtnegger, Lead Author
ECOFIDES Consulting GmbH, Vienna, Austria
Adam Walczak, Director of Innovation,
Hunter New England Local Health District
Ivan Waterfield, CEO
HunterNet
Australian Health Journal segment
Filmed in Sydney, Newcastle (NSW) and online | July 2024 to March 2025
It is estimated that healthcare contributes 1%–5% of the total global environmental footprint (source: The environmental footprint of health care: a global assessment, Lenzen, Manfred et al. The Lancet Planetary Health, Volume 4, Issue 7, e271 – e279)
And that Australia’s health system contributes 5.3% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions via direct and indirect sources. Indirect sources include emissions generated in the manufacture of medical equipment and those generated from the incineration of waste. (Source: National Health and Climate Strategy, Commonwealth Government of Australia, Department of Health and Aged Care, 3 December 2023. ISBN: 978-1-74186-001-6)
Cardinal Health is global medical products manufacturer and leading provider of single-use device reprocessing services in the U.S. In Australia and New Zealand, as one of the largest suppliers of medical devices, announced on 23 May 2024 that it will be opening a single-use medical device reprocessing facility in Australia – its first reprocessing facility outside the United States.
On 18 March 2025 at the Health Innovation Living Lab at the John Hunter Hospital, a further announcement was made, on the chosen single-use medical device remanufacturing facility in Beresfield, Newcastle, set to commence operation late 2025, supported by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Jane Crowe, Managing Director Cardinal Health Australia and New Zealand, about Cardinal Health’s reprocessing investment being a key part of Australia’s healthcare ESG efforts. Crowe talks about creating new jobs in Australia, as well as reducing medical waste and reducing landfill. Equally important, it will enhance Australia’s sovereign healthcare capability and boost supply chain resiliency for Cardinal Health’s customers.
Single-use device reprocessing is a well-established industry in the U.S., with growing global adoption. Single-use medical product reprocessing has the potential to extend the life of medical devices, and significantly reduce waste. This will enable health systems in Australia and New Zealand lower waste management costs while also supporting their sustainability goals.
In 2024, a peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study* conducted by a third-party engaged by Cardinal Health showed the overall environmental footprint of a reprocessed device was on average to be 43% lower than that of a single-use device. The assessment also showed that reprocessed compression sleeves had a 40% lower carbon footprint than single-use sleeves and reduced hospital compression sleeve waste disposal costs by 90%.
The facility will utilise a TGA-approved cleaning and disinfection process to remove soil, contamination and bio-burden from single-use medical devices. They then undergo functionality and quality testing, before being returned to hospitals for reuse, rather than contributing to landfill.
As noted by Invest Regional NSW, remanufacturing offers a significant opportunity to strengthen Australia’s health technology manufacturing capabilities. A well-established industry in the U.S., it has shown to substantially reduce the environmental impact of hospitals and medical device usage.
Source: Adapted from Cardinal Health supplied copy and March 2025 Invest Regional NSW Newsletter
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Strategic research investments for health and prosperity
The CEO of Research Australia, Nadia Levin spoke with Australian Health Journal about the following:
– Current medical research and development landscape in Australia
– Investment required to support the Health and Medical Research and Innovation pipeline
– The National Medical Products Industry Plan and its impact on the Australian economy
– The Health and Medical Research WorkforceIn the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
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Delivering anaesthetic services to countries where surgical services can’t be provided
Dr Wendy Falloon is an Anaesthetist of over 30 years experience and a Fellow of Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). She studied medicine at the University of Tasmania, and worked in Hobart, Sydney and the Uk while completing her specialist qualifications. Her primary professional focus has always been to deliver the best possible experience of anaesthesia to each and every patient, and for them to know that she sees and values them, and their stories.
Having been born in Africa, she realised even as a child that health and wealth were largely a product of where people happen to be born. This sowed the seed of her ongoing desire to be of help to others in less fortunate circumstances, ultimately leading to her volunteer work with the Mercy Ships charity. This is one of the most fulfilling aspects of her career, and she has volunteered in Africa with Mercy Ships 8 times since 2014.
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Launch of Australian Centre for Value-Based Health Care
The movement to value based healthcare across the industry in Australia, gained pace last month, with the Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association launch of the Australian Centre for Value-Based Health Care.
