Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

Year of the Nurse - November 2020 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 6 9 O ne of the many secondary results of the coronavirus pandemic has been a reem- phasis on the importance of cleaning and disinfection at all levels of health care. For the medical device reprocessing industry in particular, the increase in attention and understanding around this critical process has been welcomed. There are few clearer examples of the challenges of taking contaminated devices and effectively reprocessing them to be safe again for patient use than that of a dirty endoscope. Thankfully, auto- mated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) make that dirty job a lot easier. AERs take the extremely complex manual cleaning and disinfection process for flexible endo- scopes — a process with potentially more than 100 steps — and standardize it into a repeatable process that can be measured, documented and implemented in facilities of all sizes. While there's growing discussion within the industry around sin- gle-use flexible endoscopes and movement toward terminal sterilization of these scopes via ethylene oxide and hydrogen peroxide, AERs remain the predominant market leader in scope reprocessing. Here are a few factors to keep in mind when evaluating the features and capabilities of the latest AER options: • Usability. No matter how high-tech the AER may be, if the frontline users of the device can't eas- ily figure out how the unit should properly function, the manufacturer's design engineers have missed the mark. The concept of user experience definitely Automated Endoscope Reprocessors Don't focus exclusively on individual features like cycle time. Assemble the fuller picture of each AER you evaluate. Thinking of Buying … Hank Balch, CRCST, CIS, CER, CHL | Lancaster, Pa. Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) Aeroflex asp.com 888-783-7723 At 22 minutes, Aeroflex claims the fastest complete cycle time of any AER. An innovative function of this unit is its ability to automatically detect the presence of notoriously difficult-to-clean duodenoscopes and take extra precau- tions for them by running a special cycle to ensure proper high-level disinfection (HLD). Another interesting feature is its minimum recommended concentration (MRC) monitor, which automatically tests HLD MRC levels during every cycle, eliminating the need for staff to manually dip and subjectively evaluate color test strips — a time-consuming and error-prone process. ASP says this automation streamlines workflow, ensures MRC testing is never skipped, reduces staff exposure to chemicals and turns scope inventory around more quickly, allowing you to per- form more procedures. A touchscreen user interface and an electronic records management system is included with the system. MRC status is automatically documented dur- ing every cycle; cycles are also monitored automatically and the system prints a report at completion of each cycle.

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