The circulating nurse was cleaning up after surgery in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) when she noticed the internal chemical indicator (a Class 5 integrating indicator) had not reached its appropriate endpoint response, which is a pass. That meant an unprocessed instrument tray had been used on the patient. Her discovery set off an investigation to determine why this occurred.
For many in the healthcare industry, imagining surgery without onsite…
Asking who, what, why, when, where, and how—otherwise known as…
Reforming instrument reprocessing practices does not always end with the…