Fighting Healthcare Product Waste

How one company is diverting unopened products from the waste stream and helping hospitals recover the costs.

How one company is diverting unopened products from the waste stream and helping hospitals recover the costs.
How one company is diverting unopened products from the waste stream and helping hospitals recover the costs.

Top Three Takeaways:

1. Billions of dollars are wasted in the U.S healthcare system each year.

2. A platform allows hospitals to re-sell unopened devices and meds to other sites.

3. Hospitals recover costs and eliminate products from the waste stream.

---

Each year, billions in unused pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and devices are thrown out—it’s a drain in terms of money, healthcare and the environment. Meanwhile, millions of people go without healthcare in the U.S.

The National Academy of Medicine estimated the U.S. healthcare system wastes $765 billion a year, “more than the entire budget of the Defense Department,” said Marshall Allen in a ProPublica article.

“We created a marketplace where medical facilities, primarily hospitals, can exchange these goods with each other,” says John Kupice, CEO at H-Source, a cloud-based platform where member hospitals privately buy and sell products and equipment with each other. “We allow them to recover costs and reduce what they're spending. Especially at the smaller- and medium-sized hospitals, that reduced spending is extremely important because they're under water. That's been really gratifying and good to see.” 

Origins 

H-Source’s founder, Murray Walden, was a medical device rep for over a decade and witnessed the surplus of perfectly good, high-end products discarded. A hospital might be stuck with 44 heart valves worth $6,000 each after the only doctor who used them left for another hospital.

Walden took a leap, leaving his stable employment to create a business where hospitals paid for membership in order to exchange goods among themselves. By the first year, he had 20 member hospitals.

Kupice, with a background at Ernst & Young and experience running a tech company in entertainment, came in to mold the business, making it transaction-based and with accounting systems similar to that of hospitals.

Medical Device Innovations Report
Cutting-edge packaging technologies are transforming the medical device sector in PMMI’s “Innovation in Medical Device” report, featuring advanced materials, smart solutions, and evolving regulations. Editors share insights from nearly 300 PACK EXPO booth visits—each product deemed new and truly innovative—alongside video demonstrations of the equipment and materials on display.
Learn More
Medical Device Innovations Report
Pharmaceutical Innovations Report
Discover the latest breakthrough packaging technologies shaping the pharmaceutical sector. This report dives into cutting-edge innovations, from smart containers that enhance patient safety to eco-friendly materials poised to transform the industry’s sustainability practices. All from PACK EXPO. Learn how forward-thinking strategies are driving efficiency and redefining what’s possible in pharma packaging.
Learn More
Pharmaceutical Innovations Report