Loaner Instrumentation: Challenges, Risks and Strategies for Success

The increasing complexity of surgeries warrants the corresponding medical instrumentation, however, many healthcare facilities lack the budgets to procure this instrumentation permanently. Loaner instrumentation the critical and semi-critical medical devices that are used by a healthcare facility under an arrangement based on lending or trial use of new medical devices may be the best option for many institutions, but there are numerous challenges and risks associated with loaned devices. The onus is on sterile processing professionals to be able to clean, disinfect and sterilize these instruments, as well as to identify problems associated with these sets and to mitigate or eliminate the risks involved.

Infection Control Today presents guidelines and recommendations from several associations as well as advice from sterile processing and central sterile service professionals in this special Pulse on loaner instrumentation.

Aesculap, Inc., in Center Valley, PA is a member of the B. Braun family of healthcare companies. Aesculap is the world's largest surgical instrument manufacturer, designing and producing instruments for several surgical specialties including: ENT, plastic and reconstructive, thoracic, cardiovascular, orthopaedic, gynecologic, general surgery, neurosurgery and minimally-invasive procedures. Aesculap provides healthcare professionals with the widest array of surgical instrumentation available from a single manufacturer. For more information contact Aesculap Customer Service at 1-800-282-9000 or visit www.aesculapusa.com.