May 1, 2022
Every day, surgical instruments and other critical devices—those that enter sterile tissues—are reprocessed and reused in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and other healthcare facilities. Consequently, the costs of physical space, supplies, equipment, and personnel to reprocess and sterilize reusable devices can become burdensome, and some organizations choose to use disposable instruments and devices for critical procedures in some or all areas of their facility.
For organizations performing reprocessing, ensuring that those instruments and devices are reusable—meaning they are in good condition and can be cleaned and sterilized following validated manufacturer instructions—is critical to patient safety. Issue 64 of The Joint Commission’s Quick Safety—“Ensuring critical instruments and devices are appropriate for reuse”—examines this topic.
The newsletter notes that “careful inspection of critical instruments and devices for soil or damage, including but not limited to bioburden, oxidation, corrosion, pitting, discoloration, cracking, peeling, chipping, lifting or improperly applied identification tape, or etching that leaves rough or frayed edges, is a critical step in protecting patients from potential cross-contamination.”*
The Quick Safety newsletter notes that effective interventions to prevent reprocessing of instruments or devices that are inappropriate for use include:
The issue of Quick Safety also lists special considerations for single-use devices.
The thoughts and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of Dr. Jacobs and do not necessarily reflect those of The Joint Commission or the American College of Surgeons.
*The Joint Commission. Quick Safety. Issue 64. Ensuring critical instruments and devices are appropriate for reuse. February 2022. Available at: https://www.jointcommission.org/resources/news-and-multimedia/newsletters/newsletters/quick-safety/quick-safety-issue-64/. Accessed March 24, 2022.