Tissue and related specimens present a unique tracking challenge for hospitals and surgery centers – these often expensive and occasionally one-of-a-kind items are required to be closely monitored during the hospital’s handling of each unit. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), state Departments of Health and hospital accreditation bodies, such as The Joint Commission […]
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Flexible endoscopes present a unique challenge for hospitals to track and manage – these expensive medical instruments must be quickly re-processed after usage in order to provide the required instrumentation for the next procedure, yet they must undergo rigorous, time-consuming reprocessing after every use to ensure the highest levels of patient safety. Due to different
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With the recent scrutiny placed on the Joint Commission (TJC) in publications like the Wall Street Journal, TJC has found itself on the defensive regarding its accreditations and how it holds hospitals accountable for safety violations. In response, TJC has been trying to open up a dialogue with the public about the importance of its
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The ECRI Institute, based in Philadelphia, has just released its annual list of health technology hazards for 2018. Unsurprisingly, endoscope reprocessing once again appears near the top of the list, coming in as the number 2 hazard for 2018. ECRI’s list is the result of extensive research by its own engineers, scientists and clinicians, as
ECRI Top Health Technology Hazards List Once Again Includes Endoscope Reprocessing Read More »
University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers (U-M) in Ann Arbor, Michigan is one of the nation’s top medical centers, and was recently named the #6 hospital in the United States according to the 2016-17 Best Hospitals Honor Roll rankings by US News and World Report. As the main medical campus of the Michigan Medicine
How Michigan Medicine Tracks Tissue To Meet Joint Commission Standards and Reduce Costs Read More »
Many hospitals continue to underestimate the importance of a successful endoscope reprocessing practice. Several hospitals and medical facilities that we’ve visited invest too little in facilities and staff to prepare their endoscopes after usage in procedures. However, if a hospital is unable to successfully ensure the cleanliness of these vital reusable instruments, they could be
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Visual inspection has emerged in recent years as an important quality assurance step during endoscope reprocessing. Updated guidelines from AAMI, AORN and SGNA have all included a visual inspection step during the disinfection process to ensure that scopes are being thoroughly prepared for the next patient. All three standards organizations have come out in support
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A new study into the cleanliness of endoscopes following high level disinfection has revealed some important findings. The research team, headed by Dr. Adarsh Thaker at UCLA, used specialized digital video cameras to perform visual inspection on 59 duodenoscopes, gastroscopes, echoendoscopes and colonoscopes after manual cleaning and high level disinfection. Each visual inspection included a
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Hospitals and healthcare providers are under increased scrutiny by The Joint Commission (TJC), the FDA, DNV and even Congress to improve the documentation practices around flexible endoscope usage. There are articles in the media seemingly every day about how an endoscope manufacturer or a hospital was cited, sued or otherwise put in a negative light
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The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently cleared the first duodenoscope with a disposable distal cap. It is believed that the new feature will improve access for cleaning and reprocessing of duodenoscopes, leading to improved patient safety. The Pentax model ED34-i10T duodenoscope is being released following a field correction issued earlier in 2017
FDA Clears Pentax Duodenoscope With Disposable Cap To Advance Safety Read More »