A peer-reviewed study at a US hospital system found switching to reusable surgical gowns would cut 30,570 pounds of waste a year while saving a modest US$2,762: no cost penalty rather than a big saving.
- Authors / organisation
- Yap and colleagues
- Year
- 2023
- Journal or publisher
- JAMA Network Open
- Study type
- Model / projection
- Evidence strength
- Evidence: High
- Sample / scope
- Pilot at one surgical centre, projected across a hospital system
- Key finding
- Switching to reusable surgical gowns would cut about 30,570 pounds of solid waste a year and save about US$2,762 a year.
- Headline number
- 30,570 lb less waste a year at no cost penalty
- Caveats / how it is misquoted
- Projected from a single-centre pilot. The saving is small; the result shows cost neutrality, not large savings.
- Open access
- Yes
- Verified on
- 23 September 2026
Researchers at a US hospital system piloted reusable surgical gowns and projected the effect of switching the whole system, in a study published in JAMA Network Open (Yap and colleagues, 2023).
The switch would cut about 30,570 pounds of solid waste a year and save about US$2,762 a year. The saving is small: the honest conclusion is that reusables here come at no cost penalty, rather than as a money-maker.
We include this study because it is independent and peer-reviewed, which many hospital savings claims are not: several come from companies that sell reusable products.
