The risks of reuse: legal implications for hospitals of reusing single-use medical devices.

There is no doubt that the practice of reuse in hospitals is a reaction to the budgetary constraints under which hospitals are operating. However, the costs of appropriately monitoring and sterilizing reused equipment as well as the significant risk of patient harm and potential liability raise the unavoidable question of whether this practice is an advisable one. These costs and risk should be carefully examined before a decision about whether to reuse single-use devices is made.