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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All of the above, of course (isn't that almost always the answer in these multiple-choice questions?). Let's look at why each answer makes sense for you. Automate some reprocessing tasks One way to shave minutes off your cleaning, disinfection and sterilization times is to invest in technologies that aid in cleaning. Some examples: • Flushing aids. Instead of using disposable syringes to repeatedly push water and air through endoscopes and narrow-lumened instru- ments like phaco handpieces, vitrectomy cutters and I/A handles, flushing aids provide continuous hands-free channel flushing of clean- er, distilled water and air. "This can save you 30 seconds per instru- ment," says Sherry White, RN, BSN, CNOR, infection prevention team leader at Imperial Calcasieu Surgical Center in Lake Charles, La. Flushing aids are also less prone to human error, as they deliver a set amount of fluid and air to the connected instrument or tubing. • Automated endoscope reprocessors. Instead of using brushes to painstakingly clean the cracks and crevices of your scopes, high-level disinfect them in an automated endoscope reprocessor (AER). "For endoscopes, the AER is far superior to other forms of high-level disin- fection and certainly allows for faster turnover of scopes," says Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, president of Infection Control Consulting Services in Delray Beach, Fla. • Ultrasonic washers. Instead of pre-cleaning instruments by hand, you can clean and rinse them in a tabletop ultrasonic machine — 1 0 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 • GOOD SOAK After you transport instruments to the decontam room, soak them in enzymatic solution, and then scrub and wipe them to get rid of the bioburden. Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN