Sterile Processing

Under perfect circumstances, surgical instruments are carefully handled, transported and cleaned-according to industry best practices and OEM instructions. But in a busy surgery department or facility, the rush of procedures and pressure to turn equipment around quickly can lead to shortcuts that ultimately damage surgical instruments.

Complacency in the high-level disinfection (HLD) and manual pre-cleaning of endoscopes is never an option. In order to ensure competency, an institutional quality program with written policies and procedures for endoscope processing must be established and strictly followed. These policies should be based on the Society of Gastrointestinal Nurses and Associates (SGNA) and the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopists (ASGE) guidelines for the reprocessing of endoscopes.

Healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals and device manufacturers created a roadmap for solving issues of supportability during the AAMI Forum on Supportability of Healthcare Technology, held Nov. 2-3, 2015. More than 30 stakeholders representing HTM, industry, regulatory bodies, academic institutions, and others attended the interactive meeting, presenting their supportability concerns and working toward a framework for developing solutions.  More than 30 stakeholders representing HTM, industry, regulatory bodies, academic institutions, and others attended the interactive meeting, presenting their supportability concerns and working toward a framework for developing solutions.

Someone recently asked me, “As a central sterile (CS) manager, what keeps you up at night – what is it that scares you the most relating to your department?”  As I thought about all the possible things that could go wrong, from the mundane such as an autoclave breaking down to the exotic scenario such as a sprinkler system failure forcing me to reprocess all instruments, one thing jumped out in my mind and truly made me shudder. “Losing my staff,” I answered, “in fact, most CS managers would say the same.”

Q: Our sterile processing department (SPD) is sent explanted implants (screws, plates) to clean and sterilize so the patient can take them home. I have questioned this practice but do not have documentation to challenge this decision.