AAMI’s response to GI societies’ statement on ST91

Editor's Note

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), in June, published a response rebuking a joint statement issued by several GI societies opposing the "ANSI/AAMI ST91:2021, Flexible and semi-rigid endoscope processing in health care facilities."

Many of the ST91 working group were dismayed that the GI society’s statement misinterpreted the content of the standard and contained factual inaccuracies.

The GI societies statement said changes to ST91 created obstacles to implementing standards and “offer impractical, inappropriate, or conflicting guidance.” The biggest problem for the GI societies is the sterilization recommendation, which they say could reduce availability for screening while increasing liability.