“10 veterans test positive for hepatitis after colonoscopies” – USA Today 2009
A headline such as the one above appearing in a 2009 USA Today article is a nightmarish scenario for everyone involved. Unfortunately the trend of recent endoscope infection scares continues to be an issue as hospitals in Escondido, California and Hennepin County, MN had to publicly notify thousands of patients that they may have been exposed to a virus such as hepatitis or HIV.
Most recently, The Minnesota Department of Health released a memo titled “Inadequate Endoscope Reprocessing” and detailed reports of medical centers in question. The full memo, including nine ways healthcare facilities can improve their endoscope reprocessing practices can be seen here.
As the developer of ‘iRIScope’ RFID Endoscope Management System, Mobile Aspects has collaborated with top academic medical centers to succesfully store, track reprocessing compliance & prevent infection related to flexible endoscopes. First developed in 2009 & now on its 2nd generation, iRIScope provide storage, reporting & real time mobile alerts for over 300 endoscopes across multiple hospital locations.
As we continue to work towards creating innovative, simple & safe technologies for healthcare, here are a few links related to endoscope reprocessing …