There was a time when all surgical power tools had to be handwashed (or, in sterile processing parlance, manually cleaned) because the devices weren’t...

Just how many instruments on the trays in your ORs and procedure rooms are actually necessary?

The shared governance team at Virtua Health in Voorhees, N.J., identified a big opportunity to improve efficiency and reduce costs by streamlining surgical...

From out-of-date IFUs to inconsistent guideline usage to precleaning variables to poor training and lack of certification, plenty of issues can crop up to negatively...

Infection prevention and sterile processing pros who visit GI centers continue to see the use of inadequate endoscope storage methods that can foster contamination...

Ever investigated just how many of the instruments and entire instrument trays that arrive in your ORs and procedure rooms throughout each day are actually necessary? ...

Organic matter is discovered on critical, regularly used instruments. Do you: a.) Ask sterile processing what happened, or b.) Reach out to your surgical techs...

If your reprocessing techs handle a high volume of complex instrumentation day in and day out, it’s imperative that they take every measure possible to...

A safe and efficient sterile processing department is a cornerstone of every facility’s infection prevention and safety efforts....

When surgeons and nurses with UNC REX Healthcare in Raleigh, N.C., expressed concerns about instrument quality, surgical service materials...

From proper cleaning at the bedside to managing a trying maintenance and repair schedule, properly caring for the surgical instruments your...

Telling your sterile processing technicians to “just follow the manufacturers’ instructions for use (IFUs)” can often be about as helpful as...

Even when endoscopy staff are well-taught and well-trained, accidents happen in what can be fast-paced, high-volume environments at GI centers....

Just because an instrument has been reprocessed doesn’t mean that it’s clean. In some cases, that’s because reprocessing techs are rushing and forced...

There’s nothing easy about cleaning flexible endoscopes. They’re fragile and expensive and one can argue the margin for reprocessing them safely is...

Virtually every article, webinar or how-to guide on flexible endoscope reprocessing includes some version of this advice: Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s Instructions For Use (IFU)....

With endoscope repair, cost isn’t the only consideration. Providers require consistent, high-quality availability and prompt turnarounds to avoid risks to performance and throughput....

Infection prevention procedures have always been a key focus during on-site inspections, and their importance has only intensified since the pandemic began in 2020. Here’s what surveyors will be looking for...

Flexible endoscope care is a complex, multilayered process rife with opportunities for errors and missed steps....

My hospital’s sterile processing department is responsible for turning around 1,500 instrument trays a day, and we take every measure possible to ensure...