Contaminated surgical instruments pose a danger to patients and to an organization’s bottom line. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we discussed prevention strategies (OR Manager, April 2019, 14-15, 19). In Part 2, the focus is on investigating potential contamination, along with design considerations.   Detective work Despite best…

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Contaminated surgical instruments made ECRI Institute’s 2019 annual top 10 list of health technology hazards, coming in at number five: “Mishandling flexible endoscopes after disinfection can lead to patient infections.” Number two on the list in 2018 was “Endoscope reprocessing failures continue to expose patients to infection risk.” It’s not…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 8 issued a letter to alert healthcare providers about an increasing number of medical device reports on surgical staplers for internal use and implantable surgical staples. The most common reported problems include opening of the staple line, malformation of staples,…

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Much emphasis has been placed on high-level disinfection over the past several years; however, low- and intermediate-level disinfection are also performed in healthcare facilities and are an important part of an infection prevention program. Noncritical items, defined by the Spaulding Classification as those that may contact intact skin, are cleaned…

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Editor's Note The Healthcare Quarterly report by Moody’s Investors Service shows the orthopedics and spine sectors increasingly performing robotic-assisted procedures, the January 18 Becker’s Spine Review reports. This is resulting in strong growth for device firms with major investments in these specialties, particularly Medtronic with its Mazor robotics platform for…

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Perioperative leaders, including those in the sterile processing department (SPD), need to know when to make sweeping—not just incremental—changes to improve workflow and optimize the talents of their staff. Sometimes gains in productivity and staff satisfaction depend not only on identifying process improvements but also on placing staff in areas…

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AORN’s updated Guideline for Sterilization is based on a recent review of evidence in peer-reviewed journals and regulations from 2012 to 2017. In addition to guidance for sterilizing reusable medical devices to be used in perioperative and procedural settings, the updated guideline points to findings that substantiate current practices, and…

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Editor's Note Healthcare accreditation organization DNV GL Healthcare on November 7 launched the first sterile processing program certification in the US. The program recognizes excellence in an organization’s sterile processing department within the scope of infection prevention and control, surgical services, endoscopic services, and related departments. An important part of…

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Editor's Note A deal has been signed by Olympus with FlexDex Surgical to distribute its wrist-controlled Needle Driver robotic device, the August 23 Medical Design & Outsourcing reports. The FlexDex Needle Driver, which is used to streamline suturing in areas of the abdomen that are hard to access, will complement…

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Sometimes surgeons ask to have nonmedical devices sterilized, such as spoons, hockey pucks, and fish hooks. Healthcare staff may want to accommodate their requests, but there are times when they cannot do so. A central service (CS) should only sterilize medical devices that have undergone validation testing, which demonstrates that…

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