Author: Megan Pietura

Robotics Implementation: Tips For Success From An SPD Educator

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Shary Williams

Implementation of robotics programs can be problematic for sterile processing departments. The increased volume, need for additional knowledge, training requirements, and equipment can cause more than a few headaches.

We spoke with Shary Williams, Sterile Processing Quality and Education Manager at Northshore University HealthSystem to get insights on how to make a robotics implementation smooth in SPD.

 

Awareness

The most important factor for successful preparation in SPD ahead of a robotics program implementation is knowing that it’s happening. In many circumstances, sterile processing departments aren’t brought into the fold ahead of time, resulting in inadequate preparation and inability to properly support the new program.

Williams’ SPD Director, who had a strong relationship with the OR and was an effective communicator, made sure that each facility was in-the-know and that everyone was aware of their role in preparation.

For departments who aren’t adequately prepared for changes in workload or case volumes, mitigating the impact is the next best practical solution. Investing in back-up equipment, cross-training employees or having a general knowledge of upcoming changes and trends in instrument reprocessing can make last-minute changes less disruptive.

 

Training

Many technicians may be unfamiliar with robotic devices and unsure of what they are or how to properly reprocess them. “Some members of the team looked at the instruments and thought robotics would be easy!”, Williams explained.

But, as Williams continued, robotic devices are actually very complicated, and there’s a lot that a sterile processing team needs to know and understand before robotic instruments start showing up in a department.

Organizing training for your team in the weeks, and even months, before a robotics program is launched is critical to ensuring that you’re ready to go when the time comes to start supporting a robotics program.

 

Equipment

The preparation for a robotics program often includes the procurement of new tools and equipment to help the department reprocess robotics efficiently and in accordance with IFU. Implementing these tools, however, isn’t as simple as getting them set up in the department. Williams emphasized the need to have new tools and equipment ready one to two weeks ahead of implementation to allow technicians the time to be trained and familiarized with them.

This training shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of educators, though. Scheduling vendors to come in and conduct in-services and provide general support for new tools and equipment will enable your team to ask questions and gain a deeper understanding of how to effectively use them.

 

Staffing

Williams also explained that coordination between the OR and SPD was critical because staffing levels need to be increased on days when robotic surgery is planned. With extended soaking times, increased volume, and complex IFU, it’s advantageous to have more team members available to keep up, especially early on.

As a department becomes more familiar and efficient with robotic instrument reprocessing, increased staffing levels may not be as necessary.

 

Include the Operating Room

NorthShore’s SPD and OR teams put a tremendous emphasis on ensuring they are communicating regularly and keeping each other in the loop. A great way to get support, understanding, and collaboration from your OR counterparts? Invite them over!

As a Quality & Education Manager, Williams said that offering to include the OR team during in-services, educational events, and training helped to ensure that both teams understood the complexity of the devices and diligence required to support a robotics program.

 

Conclusion

Due to the team-centric, comprehensive planning of Williams and her team, the robotics program implementation went smoothly. Take a page from her playbook and remember these key factors when you’re planning to support a robotics program:

  1. Have effective communication to ensure that you’re aware that a robotics program is coming.
    1. If you struggle with a lack of communication at your facility, mitigate the impact by having back-up plans, and preparing for the unexpected.
  2. Train your team ahead of time; don’t wait for game day to start preparing.
  3. Get tools and equipment in early and lean on your vendor partners to prepare your team.
  4. Ensure that you have an adequate number of staff on-hand on days when robotic surgeries are taking place.
  5. Invite members of the OR team to attend in-services, educational opportunities, and training so that everyone’s on the same page.

 

Preparing for a new robotics program? Check out our Robotics Reprocessing Toolkit!

The Cost of Commitment – Injuries in SPD

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Ask any sterile processing professional and they’ll tell you: there’s a lot of ways to get injured in SPD. That came into crystal clear focus in our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report when 47% of participants reported having been injured during their time in sterile processing. This is a clear demonstration of their commitment to patient safety, even with high personal costs.

While there were some unique circumstances, many participants reported similar injuries across the country. Below is an assessment of common risks technicians are facing daily in SPD.

 

Punctures & Cuts

From K-wires to box cutters, there’s no shortage of ways for technicians to experience cuts or punctures, and it shows. Punctures and cuts from sharps was the leading cause of injury reported by our survey participants. Indeed, Infection Control Today notes that approximately 25% of sharps injuries occur to downstream non-users1.

The sources of punctures and cuts were varied:

  • Needles
  • K-wires (pins)
  • Burr left on drills.
  • Drill bits
  • Skin hooks
  • Sutures
  • da Vinci scissors
  • Knives
  • Box cutters
  • Various instruments

Unfortunately, punctures and cuts come with the territory in SPD, but that doesn’t mean the risk can’t be mitigated to an extent. Thicker gloves can help avoid punctures that result in cuts. Additionally, enhanced lighting at sinks can improve visibility to help ensure technicians know what instruments they’re handling.

Communicating with the OR about effective pre-cleaning, or the state of case carts can avoid unnecessary exposure to sharps hazards not meant to be processed in SPD.

 

Straina sterile processing technician working in the decontamination area of a sterile processing department.

Many participants cited various forms of strain as a primary source of injury within sterile processing departments. Repetitive motion was the most common issue, sometimes leading to carpal tunnel syndrome. In some instances, surgery was necessary.

Automated flushing systems can save hands and wrists from the repetitive motion of syringe flushing. For repetitive motions that technology can’t fix, it’s important to train your team on the safest ways to perform tasks. Examples include lifting heavy objects, and providing braces and supports to prevent strain. Rotating personnel throughout the week so individuals aren’t over-exerting themselves can provide recovery time.

Overweight trays were a notable source of back and shoulder strain, with technicians noting that overweight trays caused unneeded exertion in ergonomically challenging positions, such as lifting above their head or from below their knees. Loaner and vendor trays were particularly problematic in this category.

 

Slip & Falls

Slipping and falling was another top source of injury in SPD, primarily in decontamination where sinks and water are omnipresent. Leaky washers, overflowing sinks, poor lighting, and bad housekeeping were all cited as reasons behind slips. One technician broke their elbow from a fall on a wet floor in decontamination!

Luckily, it’s possible to address some of the frequent cause of slips:

  • Mats can help technicians avoid slipping on wet floors. Anti-fatigue mats also offer ergonomic benefits for technicians who need to stand for long periods. However, remove mats that slip immediately and monitor them closely.
  • Overflow prevention drains in some modern decontamination sinks allow the basin to fill up to a suitable level for rinsing, soaking, and flushing, but drain excess water to prevent overfills. These drains can allow technicians to turn on the water to fill basins, without fear of flooding floors.
  • Additional lighting at sinks is a terrific way to improve visibility in decontamination. You can add lighting in several ways, such as hoods above the sink, or task lights on pegboards or walls. A good sink vendor can help your department add customized lighting to improve visibility and reduce hazards.

 

2024 SPD State of the Industry Report

Interested in learning the latest insights about some of the less common dangers technicians reported dealing with in their sterile processing departments? Download our 2024 SPD State of the Industry Report and dive into everything participants had to share!

The SPD State of the Industry Survey is an annual, free, anonymous survey asking real sterile processing professionals across the country about their experiences, backgrounds, and challenges they face in their departments. We hope by providing access to free industry research and data, instrument reprocessing professionals can better grow, develop and improve their own departments through the experience of their peers. We are grateful for all the professionals who participate each year, and the contributions to their patients and facilities: thank you for all you do!

 

Works Cited

1 https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/behind-curtain-sharps-injury-prevention-and-device-reprocessing

Navigating the New Sterile Processing Landscape: A 2023 Industry Report Overview

Posted on by Megan Pietura

In June of 2023, Pure Processing conducted our annual Sterile Processing State of the Industry Survey to get an understanding of the industry’s challenges, changing attitudes & dispositions of technicians and leadership, and the most important problems to solve.  

There were many fascinating takeaways and trends the survey highlighted; here’s an overview of the hot topics and information from the full 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report. 

 

Training & Education

Participants emphasized a need for more training & education opportunities throughout the survey. While over 70% reported that their department’s leadership considered training & education important, it was rated amongst the lowest quality elements of their department, even among options like ergonomics, culture, and leadership.   

The biggest challenge? An inability to participate in training & education opportunities. Many participants explained that while there are many ways to receive training & education, departments aren’t enabling their teams to take advantage of those opportunities while on the clock. 

 

Patient Safety

Patient safety still plays a central role in the minds of those working in sterile processing. Participants cited patient safety as a top reason they enjoy working in SPD and considered it instrumental when asked what makes a department great to work in. It’s not just leadership’s emphasis on patient safety, though; many look for an emphasis on patient safety among their peers as well, noting that doing things the right way in the name of patient safety is a must. A patient-first culture was key for overall job satisfaction.   

 

Pay & Benefits

Pay & benefits remained a top concern in 2023. Comparing their wages against those of fast-food restaurants, participants noted that SPD has been left behind in terms of compensation. By intertwining compensation with training & education, some SPD professionals are seeking to have certifications and educational accomplishments be the basis for pay increases. A lack of compensation enhancement for obtaining certifications, such as CRCST, was identified as contributing to the number of underqualified people currently working in sterile processing departments. Technicians are feeling the lack of incentive for certification, and taking notice of its impact in very real ways. 

 

Injuries

47% of participants reported having been injured at some point in their sterile processing career. While sticks/punctures were far and away the most common, the wide variety of injuries demonstrates just how dangerous working in SPD can be. Some unique injuries included: 

  • Chemical exposure and burns 
  • Respiratory damage from PPA 
  • Shocks 
  • Falling objects

 

Upcoming Challenges

Staffing & Retention is considered the most substantial challenge in the near future. Fewer people apply for positions in SPD (with many applicants being under-qualified for the work), as well as compensation challenges keeping good people from applying and/or accepting positions, is compounding the people challenges for central sterile leadership.   

Other challenges that participants believe would emerge or escalate over the next year included compliance concerns, growing instrument complexity, keeping up with increased volume, antiquated technology, and robotics program expansion. 

 

Hands-On & In-Person

Many participants voiced the need to get back to face-to-face interactions. Whether it be attending a local chapter show for education and networking opportunities, attending national shows, such as the HSPA Conference, or getting hands-on training with industry professionals on equipment within their department, people want to interact with people. 

Vendors are playing a big role on this front, with over 87% of participants saying they’re looking to vendors for equipment training, educational sessions, and in-services.  

 

2023 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report

Interested in digging into all the information and data from in the 2023 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report? Sign up to receive a free digital copy when it’s published! 

Check out some other blog posts diving into data from the report here: 

Roots of the Staffing and Retention Challenges in SPD – 2023 SPD Survey Results

Unlocking SPD Trends: A Side-by-Side Analysis of 2022 and 2023 Survey Data

 

 

The SPD State of the Industry Survey is an annual, free, anonymous survey asking real sterile processing professionals across the country about their experiences, backgrounds, and challenges they face in their departments. We hope by providing access to free industry research and data, instrument reprocessing professionals can better grow, develop and improve their own departments through the experience of their peers. We are grateful for all the professionals who participate each year, and the contributions to their patients and facilities: thank you for all you do!

Unlocking SPD Trends: A Side-by-Side Analysis of 2022 and 2023 Survey Data

Posted on by Megan Pietura

In June of 2023, Pure Processing conducted our annual Sterile Processing State of the Industry Survey to get an understanding of the industry’s challenges, the changing attitudes & dispositions of technicians and leadership, and the most important problems to solve within departments.   

The survey plays a key role in identifying the shifting trends within the sterile processing industry. We dig into the new trends and patterns that have emerged, and those that have remained unchanged, since 2022’s results.  

 

Years of Experience

In 2022, the most represented group of SPD experience was those that had been in the industry for 3-5 years, representing just shy of 30% of all participants. In 2023, the most represented group was those with 15+ years of experience, with more than 48% of all participants. 

 

Certification

69% of participants stated to have a CRCST certification in 2022. That number jumped significantly in 2023 to 97.37%. 

 

Getting into SPD

Last year, a group of respondents reported that they originally got into sterile processing via referral by a friend or colleague. In 2023, more than 43% indicated that they found the role without any prior knowledge of the industry, a significant difference.  

2022  2023 
Found an open position without prior knowledge of SPD  25.37%  43.27% 
Referred by a friend or colleague  33.58%  14.62% 
Moved from another department in the hospital/facility  25.37%  28.65% 

 

Maybe managers and HR departments are broadening their search efforts for new hires, and are seeing the benefits of new hiring strategies impact their open positions.  

 

What technicians enjoy about working in SPD

In 2022, the top three aspects of working in sterile processing that technicians enjoyed most were: 

  • Patients & Patient Safety 
  • Making a difference 
  • Playing a behind-the-scenes role 

2023 saw a similar, but notably different top three: 

  • Patient Safety & Care 
  • The wide variety of work in SPD 
  • The importance of the work done in SPD 

Participants in the 2022 survey liked the inherently beneficial and supportive role they play in keeping patients safe. In 2023, the sentiments seemed to have shifted away from the importance of the individual to the importance of the department within the hospital, and SPD’s greater contributions to their facilities.  

 

The most important problems to solve:

Each year, participants are asked to identify the most important problems for sterile processing departments to tackle.  

2022: 

  1. Culture 
  2. Pay & Benefits 
  3. Compliance 

2023:  

  1. Staffing 
  2. Pay & Benefits
  3. Equipment 

A noteworthy takeaway from these responses is the position of Pay & Benefits in second position year over year. This topic is as important as ever, and likely hasn’t seen much improvement at individual hospitals.  

The most important problem sterile processing departments need to solve in 2023 is Staffing & Retention, a shift away from Culture in 2022. This change, coupled with Pay & Benefits, means that SPD professionals aren’t placing their compensation above all else. While important, more pressing concerns related to the overall “health” of the department as a workplace take precedent. 

 

Department Ratings

Every year, the SPD State of the Industry Survey asks participants to rate several aspects of their department on a scale from 1-10, with 1 being “Poor” and 10 being “Excellent.” In 2023, a new factor was introduced: Training & Education. 

Factor  2022  2023 
Ergonomics & Technician Comfort  6.7  6.3 
Work Environment  6.8  6.6
Culture  6.6  6.2
Leadership  6.6 6.7
Technology  6.5 6.5
Processes  7.2 7.2
Training & Education  N/A  6.2

 

Interestingly, the general disposition towards departments seems to have dipped in 2023, with only one factor, Leadership, improving. Meanwhile, Technology & Processes retained their rating, with Processes being given the highest rating, 7.2, for another year. 

Culture suffered the most, dropping from 6.6 to 6.2, interesting given Culture was considered the most important problem to solve in 2022, and was not in the top 3 in 2023. 

Training & Education tied Culture for lowest rating, also at a 6.2. This reflects the desire of sterile processing professionals for more access to Training & Education opportunities, as well as the inability to complete those opportunities on company time. 

 

What makes a sterile processing department great to work in?

Participants were asked what factors made a sterile processing department great to work in; their replies were remarkably consistent from 2022 to 2023: 

2022: 

  1. The Team 
  2. Emphasis on Patient Safety 
  3. Culture  

2023: 

  1. The Team 
  2. Emphasis on Patient Safety  
  3. Management/Leadership 

The shift from Culture to Management/Leadership to third position might signal that support from Management & Leadership is the key to many other successes and improvements within SPD. 

Some honorable mentions included: 

  • Good relationship between OR/SPD 
  • Training / Trained Staff 
  • Updated equipment 

 

Injuries on the job

A substantial spike came in the form of injuries on the job. Just 27% of participants reported having been injured on the job at some point in their career in 2022. That percentage shot to 47% in 2023! The top three categories of injuries across both years were: 

  • Sharp sticks / punctures 
  • Strain & back injuries 
  • Slip & falls 

Falling objects and overweight trays were mentioned significantly more in 2023 than 2022. 

 

A career in SPD

In 2023, fewer participants said they would recommend a career in sterile processing, down from 94% to 86%. Despite being slightly lower, this still demonstrates an overwhelming sense of pride in working in SPD. 

 

The 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report

Interested in exploring more insights from the 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report? Get your free digital copy when its published by signing up here! 

 

The SPD State of the Industry Survey is an annual, free, anonymous survey asking real sterile processing professionals across the country about their experiences, backgrounds, and challenges they face in their departments. We hope by providing access to free industry research and data, instrument reprocessing professionals can better grow, develop and improve their own departments through the experience of their peers. We are grateful for all the professionals who participate each year, and the contributions to their patients and facilities: thank you for all you do!

Roots of the Staffing and Retention Challenges in SPD – 2023 SPD Survey Results

Posted on by Megan Pietura

An issue as pervasive and daunting as staffing and retention usually has its roots in many places. In our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Survey, we asked central sterile technicians across the country to share their experiences in their department and of their careers. Our survey helped identify many of the different roots of the staffing and retention challenges in SPD, and how sometimes to solve one big problem, you need to address many others.

Staffing Levels

Various industries across the country are struggling with staffing and retention, and sterile processing is no exception. Our survey participants indicated that it’s not simply the labor force limitations that are leading to staffing issues in their SPD.

Pay & Benefits – As many in the industry will tell you: pay & benefits in many SPD departments isn’t competitive enough to retain and hire. This low pay creates artificial barriers for hiring: potential applicants avoid the industry all together, or otherwise don’t accept positions upon learning the pay.

Poor Leadership & Management – When technicians start feeling like leadership and management aren’t supportive of them, it can harm retention rates. This isn’t just a matter of the shift schedules or the strength of a manager’s interpersonal skills. Central sterile technicians are looking for managers and leaders that sympathize with, and know the realities of their job.

When leadership seems detached from SPD or is unable to demonstrate appreciation for the work they do, it can create an unintended perception that management doesn’t advocate for their technicians at higher levels in their organization. These perceptions can lead to the idea that it’s because leadership doesn’t understand SPD’s work, they’re not prioritizing things like inadequate pay and benefits.

Culture – Often stemming directly from leadership and management issues, our participants signaled that poor work culture is a pervasive problem, and it’s one that causes SPD technicians to look elsewhere for work. There isn’t a silver bullet for cultural problems in any workplace, but a good starting point is demonstrating appreciation for the work SPD does and finding ways to make quality of life improvements within departments. (Receive our free Citation for Being Awesome appreciation tool, here)

Morale – Low morale causes high turnover in a department, leading to a revolving door of new, dissatisfied employees. But morale doesn’t decline overnight; it happens over long periods of time and is generally associated with many of the issues discussed in this post. Low morale can come from a persistent lack of appreciation, inability to move up in an organization, poor leadership, a toxic work culture, and many other things.

Worse yet, as morale declines, many of these issues compound on top of each other, until the issues consume much of people’s time and attention. Inadequate pay & benefits may not sting so bad when you’ve got a great team around you, and leadership supports and advocates for you.

 

Conclusion

The results of our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Survey make it plain to see: there’s a lot more contributing to staffing & retention rates than a lack of qualified people in the talent pool.

Fear not! While increasing pay & benefits is a challenge that can’t be overcome with the flick of a switch (but should be a regular topic for leadership), making other qualitative improvements in a department is something any dedicated leader can make happen.

Here are some suggestions:

  • Have C-Suite leaders visit your sterile processing department. They need to see the heart of the hospital for themselves to truly appreciate it!
  • Incorporate a daily digest of appreciation. Appreciate the resources and people around you, and thank often, and generously.
  • Incorporate SPD teams in decision making and seek their input. Let them know you care about their opinions and knowledge.
  • Find ways to bond your team. Find ways to reinforce the sense of ‘team’ on a regular basis.
  • Build a culture that people want to be a part of. This not only helps you keep great teammates, but also attracts great new talent as well. A great culture is a selling point for any organization. This may start with defining your culture, and then creating activities and rituals around that ‘cultural profile’.

 

Interested in other insights we gleaned from our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Survey?

Sign up here to receive the report for free when it’s published!

 

The SPD State of the Industry Survey is an annual, free, anonymous survey asking real sterile processing professionals across the country about their experiences, backgrounds, and challenges they face in their departments. We hope by providing access to free industry research and data, instrument reprocessing professionals can better grow, develop and improve their own departments through the experience of their peers. We are grateful for all the professionals who participate each year, and the contributions to their patients and facilities: thank you for all you do!

 

How to Build Meaningful Department Scorecards

Posted on by Megan Pietura

In March, our Voice of the Customer (VOC) Committee gathered to discuss a topic that can play a critical role in sterile processing departments but often gets overshadowed: Data. Gene Ricupito, Senior Project Manager, Sterile Processing at UCSF Health graciously offered his time, experience, expertise, and resources to Pure Processing to outline how to create a great departmental scorecard.

 

Scorecards are not a topic that commonly comes up in day-to-day conversations. For many, the term might first bring to mind the scorecard tucked in a golf cart at the start of a round. But scorecards for sterile processing departments are something else entirely.

Let’s cover some terminology/ideas before we dive in:

Scorecards are a compilation of meaningful information that help determine the health and productivity of a department.

A metric is a descriptive statistic, indicator, or figure used to describe or measure an activity or performance quantitatively.

Metrics can reported in two ways:

  • Directly observed
  • System derived (such as from a tracking system)

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a quantifiable measure used to determine the success of a department or activity. They can be lagging (look at results achieved), or leading (activities that lead to results).

 

Determining What’s Important

The first step to developing a scorecard for your department is determining which metrics and KPIs are important to you. While there is some variance, many departments will generally want to view similar information to determine the health of their department. Some beneficial information to include for daily review could include:A sterile processing technician observing a surgical instrument

  • Case carts built
  • Total cases supported
  • Average backlog
  • Sets incomplete
  • Throughput
  • Loaners received
  • Staff present
  • Various equipment issues

Another consideration is building a separate tool to track daily, weekly, and monthly averages for critical metrics to analyze changes and trends over time.

 

Defining Your Metrics

With your metrics decided, the next step to take is adequately define them. Defining what your metrics mean and how they’re measured has several benefits:

  • Your team understands how to collect each metric for accurate reporting.
  • Each team member knows what the metrics mean and what they represent in performance.
  • Data collection will remain consistent over time, allowing for accurate evaluation of the metrics you’ve decided to track.

 

Configuration

Laying out your scorecard in a practical, easily understood way is important. This ensures that interpretation of your data is seamless and straight-forward. Breaking your scorecard into sections that allow for totaling and easy reference will allow you to quickly find information you want to review, explain to others, or further explore.

Using rows for data type and columns for dates provides a broad picture of performance over time. Customizing reports to highlight improving or declining trends on a weekly basis can help managers zero-in on where to focus and what to pay attention to.

 

Sharing Your Scorecard With Your Team

While many of the metrics managers will want to track provide them with insights into their departments, scorecards can also be used to motivate your team and define expectations.A sterile processing manager conducting a huddle with their team

Conducting a shift huddle at the beginning of every shift allows a department to:

  • Get a status update following the previous shift.
  • Identify what you need to accomplish in the coming hours.
  • Determine where to direct their efforts.
  • Allocate resources to accomplish the tasks at hand.

Further, sharing the information contained on a scorecard can help teams get a better understanding of their impact, and acknowledge when they’re doing a great job. Similar to the “X days without an injury” signs in manufacturing or production plants, sharing information about department performance in a broad, visible setting can enhance the sense of being a team and working to maintain momentum.

 

Conclusion

This introduction to building and configuring a scorecard for a reprocessing department is just the tip of the iceberg! As you begin using your scorecard to improve your department and gauge its health, more ideas are likely to come to you. Data has many uses and the tracking systems many sterile processing departments use have powerful reporting abilities that can give you a tremendous amount of insights into your department.

 

Interested in exploring other data-related blog posts? Check these out:

Where to Start and How to Gather Department Data

Optimizing Your Department With Data

 

About: Voice of the Customer Committee

The Voice of the Customer Committee is a panel of healthcare and instrument reprocessing professionals who have graciously donated their time to share their expertise and guidance on current challenges faced by the instrument reprocessing community. Through sharing their insights, experiences, and best practices, we have been given the opportunity to share these findings with our readership. We’d like to thank our VOC members for their outstanding input and insights, as well as their time! Thank you for your continued partnership, and all you do.

Departmental Problem Solving with Data

Posted on by Megan Pietura

In March, our Voice of the Customer (VOC) Committee gathered to discuss a topic that can play a critical role in sterile processing departments Bill Filipponi, Director of Sterile Processing at North Kansas City Hospitalbut often gets overshadowed: Data. We partnered with Gene Ricupito, Senior Project Manager, Sterile Processing at UCSF Health to do a deep dive on solving problems using data.

Collecting data in your department helps you understand trends and challenges. The power of data, however, comes when you start acting on its findings and solving problems with it. What problems can managers solve using departmental data?

 

The Easiest Problems to Solve

Purchasing Decisions

Purchasing decisions are excellent to approach with data. One great example is packaging decisions and determining whether to purchase more containers or wrap.

Analyzing usage of containers, you can determine how quickly it will “pay” for itself. Every use reduces the cost per use based on your investment. Including this with data regarding wrap integrity concerns and number of incident reports, managers can begin forming a basis to go with one or another.

Data tracking systems can show how often trays need to be moved between facilities. Containers offer better protection during transport, so if you expect frequent movement, containers may be the best option.

By using data on usage, incident reports, and transfer frequency, sterile processing managers can determine the best packaging method to invest in.

 

 

Performance and Productivity

Tracking systems are great for delivering information on activities occurring throughout a facility and demonstrating productivity levels. Creating process points throughout a department enables managers to get visibility into elapsed times between activities, A sterile processing technician using a sink insert on top a fixed height reprocessing sink.ultimately providing a “data map” of throughput in the department.

Using data from these process points, managers can begin assessing what the root cause of the issue might be. Potential causes might include:

  • Poor or insufficient equipment
  • Lack of personnel
  • Poorly utilized personnel
  • Training

After identifying the root cause of the slowdown or bottleneck, managers can experiment with ways to improve throughput.

For instance, a process point in decontamination might signal that assigning two technicians is insufficient. A manager can allocate a third more resources and review data after several shifts to determine if throughput increased.  If it was, they now know that decontam needs a team of three to operate at the level the facility requires.

 

The Most Important Problems to Solve Using Data

Some problems must be approached in a data-driven way due to their complex nature.

Staff JustificationA sterile processing team huddled together for a group photo.

Managers must fine-tune their utilization of staff to meet departmental goals. However, even an optimally utilized team can only do so much. When managers determine that decontamination needs an additional sterile processing technician, they reassign someone from another part of the department. Staff allocation is a zero-sum game: if you take someone from assembly and put them in decon, assembly is now down one person.

By using data from tracking systems and scorecards, SPD managers can make a case for hiring more staff. Analyzing process points, department throughput, and output over time helps decision makers see how moving staff from one area to another can solve one problem but create another.

Objective data helps managers demonstrate that even when utilized at an optimal level, the number of people they have just isn’t enough to take care of the facility’s volume.

 

Equipment JustificationA sterile processing technician preparing a cart washer.

Capital equipment investment is a huge opportunity for any department; oftentimes a new piece of equipment can solve many problems that data is helping identify. As many SPD professionals know firsthand, getting new equipment is a rare chance, and SPD leadership often need to do a substantial amount of internal advocation to make it happen. This is where data becomes essential.

In many instances, it’s easy to “know” that your department needs something, such as a sink, table, sterilizer, or washer, but getting approval for the purchase of one is exceedingly difficult. Data can provide the numerical basis for new equipment in a few ways but boils down to one fundamental concept: throughput must match volume.

Managers can use data from their tracking systems to identify where bottlenecks are forming and slowing down throughput. They can compare it to volume growth over time and demonstrate that investment in sterile processing has not matched volume growth. If you’ve had the same equipment for 20 years and volume has grown 40% during that time, your department is not configured to meet the facility’s needs.

 

When To Leave Data Out of the Equation

Data and information collected from a department has a lot of uses and can help solve many problems, but there are some things that managers don’t need data to remedy.

Environment of Care

Creating an environment of care doesn’t require data, it requires thoughtfulness. Partnering with infection control and regularly walking through your department helps solve small problems before they grow and ensures your department’s safety.

Some of these include:

  • Looking for rust on equipment
  • Ensuring dust isn’t accumulating in your department
  • Spotting and repairing dents and holes in your walls
  • Conducting maintenance on equipment
  • Keeping up with compliance standards

 

Soft Skills

No amount of data will help managers when they need to manage. Interpersonal disputes between teammates require a tactful, human touch to help solve. Similarly, data can reveal low morale through lower productivity, but it cannot fix it.

Showing appreciation for your team, advocating for them internally, and demonstrating you’re there to help them serve as ways to improve team morale. Next, review the productivity metrics.

 

What to Watch Out For

Using data to solve problems can help a manager transform their department, but it doesn’t come without its risks.

Get An Accurate Picture

Garbage in, garbage out. If inadequate processes and controls are in place to ensure that the data being collected is good, managers might find themselves in a tight spot. Using bad data to justify actions in the department can cause a slew of problems, for instance:

  • Misuse of technicians
  • Making changes that hurt productivity
  • Using inaccurate data when speaking with decision makers, hurting your credibility

The accuracy of your data can be a huge asset, but inaccuracy of your data can be a huge liability.

 

Get the Whole Picture

Accurate data is useful, but if you can’t understand its significance or how it fits into the bigger picture, it’s meaningless. For example, if a department logs its errors but doesn’t track total tray count, you only know the number of errors, not the error rate. Similarly, measuring only cases leads to inaccurate tray counts.

Many metrics benefit from association or comparison with each other. Setting up processes and a scorecard that allows you to compare and contrast different pieces of information will give you the whole picture, and not just a sliver of it.

 

Conclusion

Data can be incredibly useful for a wide range of problem solving. From optimizing your department, to hiring that new employee you need, to updating your equipment to match volume and better support the needs of your facility. While a data-driven approach cannot solve all problems, it can address many important ones.

Interested in learning more about using data in your department? Check out the other posts in our Voice of the Customer blog series on data:

Studying Your Department: Where to Start and How to Gather Data

Don’t Let the Work Around Become the Workflow – Optimizing Your Department with Data

 

About: Voice of the Customer Committee

The Voice of the Customer Committee is a panel of healthcare and instrument reprocessing professionals who have graciously donated their time to share their expertise and guidance on current challenges faced by the instrument reprocessing community. Through sharing their insights, experiences, and best practices, we have been given the opportunity to share these findings with our readership. We’d like to thank our VOC members for their outstanding input and insights, as well as their time! Thank you for your continued partnership, and all you do.

Visualization Challenges and How to Tackle Them

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Sterile processing departments are rarely given premium placement in a hospital. Further, they are often equipped with inadequate overhead lighting to counteract the lack of natural light from windows. So much so, that industry guidelines specifically emphasize it. ANSI/AAMI ST79:2017 states:

“Ancillary lighting should be considered for areas where instruments are manually cleaned and inspected. Lighting fixtures should be selected and mounted in positions that focus the light in front of the employee so that they are not working in their own shadows.”

  • ANSI/AAMI ST79:2017 3.3.5.6 D

 

What are some challenges sterile processing departments face related to lighting, and how can those challenges be remedied? Let’s shine a light on that!

 

The Problem: Poor overhead lighting

Departments often rely on in-ceiling fluorescent lighting. While it has been a standard for a long time, and many professional workplaces rely on them, they are generally not adequate for sterile processing departments, where optimal visibility is necessary to not only do their work but do it safely.

The Solution: Lighted ShelvingThe pegboard of a reprocessing sink with a hood light attached on top turned on.

Lighted shelving units are the ideal way to remedy overhead lighting issues. Attaching them to either sinks or prep & pack tables enables departments to give working areas adequate lighting quickly, while simultaneously providing additional storage space above the work area.

 

The Problem: Inspecting Blue Wrap

Technicians in prep & pack have long struggled with inspecting wrap for punctures, perforations, and holes. Many technicians will hold the wrap above their head against the overhead lighting to see if any light shines through holes or imperfections. Not only is this method unreliable, but it also poses ergonomic concerns with consistent arm raising throughout the day.

The Solution: Tabletop Lighting

High-quality workstations and prep & pack tables now offer built-in tabletop lighting. Integrated lighting in this way offers many benefits, including:A built in table light on a prep & pack workstation to inspect blue wrap for any rips and tears.

  • Direct contrast against the light source: the blue wrap is directly against the tabletop light, making it easier to spot imperfections in the wrap and ensuring consistent quality of inspection.
  • Tabletop lighting brings the light source to an ergonomically-friendly position for the technician, reducing strain and ensuring comfort throughout their shift. When coupled with height adjustable lifters, workstations with tabletop lighting can transform prep & pack for technicians.

 

The Problem: Underwater Visibility During Cleaning

Technicians in decontamination deal with a wide array of instruments, surgical tools, and occasionally scopes at their sinks. Staff must perform cleaning tasks underwater to reduce splashing and aerosols. Unfortunately, visibility within their sink basins is often poor, with a minimal amount of light able to penetrate the water and shadows blocking what light there might be. This can lead to avoidable punctures, as well as inadequate inspection of scopes during leak testing.

The Solution: In-basing LightingA reprocessing tech examining a scope in a water filled reprocessing sink basin using in-basin lighting to leak test.

In-basin lighting provides a benefit other lighting cannot: shining it directly on its source of action, and from a secondary angle. By bringing lighting into the basin, technicians don’t run the risk of casting shadows over it, or otherwise blocking the limited lighting in their department. Further, in-basin lights offer high visibility of scopes during leak testing by illuminating under the surface of the water, making air bubbles easier to spot.

 

The Problem: Inspection of Instruments

Visual inspection of instruments in SPD is one of the first lines of defense for patients undergoing surgery. A technician spotting that dull blade before it makes it the OR can have a substantial impact. Unfortunately, workstation lighting doesn’t always offer optimal conditions for visual inspection of instruments, allowing inadequate instrumentation to make it into trays.

The Solution: Task LightsA sterile processing technician using a magnifier task light to inspect a surgical instrument.

Dedicated task lights at both sinks and prep & tables allow technicians to conduct exceptional visual inspection of the instruments coming through SPD, improving the quality of the trays the OR receives, as well as patient care. With integrated magnifiers, task lights literally take it to the next level when compared to inspecting unassisted. The best part? Task lights are able to be mounted to pegboard back walls, affording sterile processing departments all of the benefits task lights provide, without cluttering or using the limited space available in SPD.

 

Illuminating Opportunities

With so many areas to incorporate supplemental lighting solutions, there’s no shortage of opportunities to enhance your department, improve ergonomics, and deliver and exceptional patient experience.

Looking for input or help to improve the lighting in your department? We’d love to help you out!

Interested in learning about luminosity requirements when reprocessing and inspecting instruments, plus earning 0.5 free CE? Check out our blog post: Luminosity Requirements in Instrument Reprocessing and Inspection

Don’t Let the Work Around Become the Workflow – Optimizing Your Department with Data

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Our Voice of the Customer (VOC) council convened earlier this spring to discuss a topic on the minds of many sterile processing department managers, but not necessarily at the forefront of current conversations: data.

If you missed the first VOC blog post on data, Studying Your Department: Where to Start and How to Gather Data, be sure to check it out!

Once a department has established how to consistently collect reliable data, it’s time to put it to use. A great place to start is addressing workarounds that have become standardized within a department’s workflow.

 

Common Workarounds That Become Commonplace

Often, departments may not even realize that a workaround to a solution has become standard practice in their department. Here are some common examples of workarounds that can become permanent if not stamped out:

  • Shortened soaking times – Without a timer at the sink, it can be easy for instrument soak times go too long, or not long enough, to meet IFU requirements.
  • Eliminated soaking times – In some cases, especially when technicians are rushed or don’t understand the importance of soaking, they may skip soaking, thinking later cleaning will be enough.
  • Flushing requirements not being met – IFUs that call for specific flushing requirements, such as 60 seconds, can be difficult to meet when syringe flushing, even with a timer. Because the syringe needs to be filled, attached, and emptied, ensuring flushing requirements are met can prove challenging.
  • Testing – Lack of tools can sometimes lead to skipping tests, such as checking insulation. If two techs share one insulation testing machine, the one not using it may skip the test to finish their tray faster or out of impatience.their tray faster, or due to impatience.
  • Visual Inspection – Limited availability or complexity of borescope systems can cause some departments to skip internal visual inspections.

 

The Consequences of Standardizing Shortcuts

Taking shortcuts in sterile processing leads to numerous negative consequences. For example:

  • Patient safety – Failing to follow an IFU or missing a test compromises patient safety
  • Damage & repair – Mishandling devices increases the likelihood of damage, leading to costly repairs and reduced availability for the OR.
  • Bioburden build-up – When instruments aren’t properly reprocessed according to their IFU, bioburden and excess chemicals can build up, leading to premature wear and failure, reducing the useful life of your device inventory.
  • Reputation – Shortcuts taken in SPD often affect the operating room, damaging its reputation.
  • Turnover – When dedicated CS staff see their coworkers cutting corners and working with less care then they do, it can cause resentment and distrust, and ultimately the resignation of great employees. One negative employee can ruin the experience of many.

 

How to Use Data to Identify Challenges

Good data can turn intuition into truth, and further into action. Good data can often identify challenges in reprocessing departments, such as:

Frequency of processing

How many times per month is a tray type being processed?

Use an overbooked Inventory report and track when trays aren’t supplied to identify areas for improving inventory or processes.

Actual data from our VOC participants:

  • One tray was requested 30 times in a month. The department was unable to supply it twice.
  • Management escalates the issue and requests an inventory increase if 10 or more instances occur where the request couldn’t be fulfilled.

 

Turnaround times

How often do we receive requests to expedite trays?

Expedited trays are prone to errors, meaning that they’re a good target for quality assurance (QA) audits. Seeing high volumes of expedited requests for a specific tray type lets you know where to focus your efforts in training and materials.

Use data that demonstrates consistent quick turnaround requests for specific trays to justify expanding your inventory and better meet the OR’s needs.

Inventory without history report

What portion of our inventory is outdated and no longer in use?

Graphs appearing on a computer screen.

Using a report to assess how often every tray type has been used can help departments streamline and optimize their inventory. A tray that has been reprocessed only once a year for the last three years is likely being reprocessed solely according to department policy.

This often happens when a physician that requested the tray leaves the hospital or begins using different or newer instruments. Data associated with inventory and tray usage can help departments justify the removal of certain trays, reducing annual workload, optimizing inventory, and freeing up space for tray types the department needs more of.

 

Equipment Usage

How often is my critical equipment being utilized?

 

During one VOC member’s example, equipment usage reports indicated only one of three functioning sterilizers was ever being used. The department’s productivity was bottle-necked to 33% total sterilizer output.A technician examining a surgical instrument over a tray.

Noticing this as an artificial bottleneck, the SPD manager looked into why technicians were using only one sterilizer instead of all three. The technicians explained that this sterilizer was in an optimal position for the department’s workflow and was easiest to access and use.

After making all the tools accessible at the other two sterilizers, technicians began using them more often, which alleviated the bottleneck and improved the department’s productivity significantly.

 

Individual Performance

How are specific team members contributing to output?

If a technician goes from 536 trays one month, down to 330 trays the next, managers can definitively identify performance has been affected. You can identify training needs or factors affecting performance outside the workplace and discuss them.

 

Moving forward

Now that we’ve explored how data can help identify and solve problems, it’s time to create a meaningful scorecard. Scorecards provide consistent assessment against benchmarks, turning data from noise, into indicators of health. Be on the lookout for our next blog post: “Department scorecards and metrics: What to measure and how to build meaningful scorecards”

 

About: Voice of the Customer Committee

The Voice of the Customer Committee is a panel of healthcare and instrument reprocessing professionals who have graciously donated their time to share their expertise and guidance on current challenges faced by the instrument reprocessing community. Through sharing their insights, experiences, and best practices, we have been given the opportunity to share these findings with our readership. We’d like to thank our VOC members for their outstanding input and insights, as well as their time! Thank you for your continued partnership, and all you do.