Solutions for Growing Challenges in Instrument Reprocessing: How Departments can Address New, Additive Processes

Sterile processing and endoscopy might feel like it’s in constant evolution. In just a couple short years, departments have been faced with finding solutions for the pandemic, ANSI/AAMI ST91 updates and the new ANSI/AAMI ST108 standard, a job market turned on its head, increasing surgical volumes, and so much more.

Some of the most disruptive changes occur when workflows get jolted: certain steps get added, others removed, manual labor needs increase, or challenges creep their way in through vendor trays, add-ons, and more.  Technology is also a contributing factor to disruption. In 5 years’ time, what changes could be expected in surgical instrument design? What new equipment could your department be asked to integrate?

Below are 4 trends taking over instrument reprocessing, and considerations to make if they’re happening in your department.

#1: Quality Assurance Testing

Protein and ATP (adenosine triphosphate) testing are strongly recommended by standards such as ANSI/AAMI ST79 and ANSI/AAMI ST91

for increased quality assurance. They can be excellent gauges to ensure processes are hitting certain standards. Departments should however be careful to consider how these additive processes integrate into existing workflows.

If your department uses any form of quality assurance testing, whether ATP, protein, borescope inspection among others, these might be consideration points to reduce harmful ‘noise’ they could introduce:

• Space: Dedicating space & storage for testing kits, readers, borescopes and more protects the integrity of the devices themselves and provides room to stage instrumentation.
• Power: Borescopes especially require additional outlets. Separating borescope inspection in an area like decontamination and integrating into a station which supplies electrical outlets can make integration that much smoother. As well, this dedicated area can reduce damage for delicate borescope catheters.
• Computers and/or tracking systems: Results from QA testing might need to be uploaded into a computer or tracking system. If record-keeping is done manually, then that area also requires space for test results. Separate stations can mitigate clutter at QA areas.

#2: Increased Soaking

In the early 2010’s, the addition of longer robotic instrumentation with increased soaking times forced sterile processing to funnel resources into decontamination. Delayed endoscope reprocessing, too, put pressure on endoscopy departments to accommodate long soak times .

If your department requires extended periods of soaking, separating these instrument sets or scopes from standard throughput sink basins removes bottleneck risks. Instrumentation can soak without clogging up workflows.

Extended soaking also requires accessories such as timers, temperature gauges, dosing pumps, and others. Consider setting up dedicated areas just for soaking functions, which can convert to cleaning basins as volumes increase.

Departments which are taking on increasing surgical volume for certain specialties may need to go so far as integrating entire separate sink systems to accommodate special instruments sizes, steps and volume.

#3: Instrument Trays

Whether wrapped or in rigid containers, both sterile barrier systems introduce challenges to workflows.

For departments consolidating wrapping, or changing their proportion of wrapped versus rigid use, considerations around wrap storage should take place. If wrapping is done in multiple areas of assembly, is wrap centralized toa single, shared location, or easily accessible for staff? Minutes can accumulate into hours wasted across multiple technicians when they makeshift extra space or wait their turn for the designated station. Is wrap being inspected before use? Lighted wrap tables can integrate both storage for blue wrap, wrap supplies, and

introduce large, dedicated areas where wrapping is required. Built-in lighting also ensures wrap and instrumentation is functional before loading into sterilizers.

If loaner trays are already a staple in your department, then tray weight might be a concern. Before having overweight vendor trays to sneak into your department, a scale station could be integrated at check-in stations. Providing immediate feedback to vendors on overweight trays can reduce compliance and ergonomic complaints. Scale stations which are mobile can also be moved to other areas where they’re required.

#4: Record-Keeping

With digital record-keeping needs becoming the standard practice, so too does the need for power. Dedicated stations which integrate outlets, mounting infrastructure for monitors and under-table storage for computers can go a long way into making stations less cluttered. Protecting powered items is also a point of consideration. Are the IT accessories cluttered on top of each other, with power cords strewn about? Or are items organized and away from water and damage risks?

Sterile processing and endoscopy departments must be prepared for a world of non-stop change. Quality assurance, record-keeping, a change in tray configurations and increased assurances in manual cleaning all have the potential to disrupt workflows. But these changes don’t always require major investments or purchases. Scalable, flexible solutions which can be built and organized for your department’s unique needs are available, and make change must easier to take head-on.

Preparing to add quality assurance testing, and need dedicated areas to do so? Or are overweight vendor trays making their way into your department? Contact us today to learn about easy-add solutions for all department spaces!