External Transport of Instrument Trays and Associated Environmental Impacts
By Cathy Castro , Chem Eng , MS , ASQ CQA ; Tracy Raymond , BHA , MSM , CRCST , CIS , CER , CHL ; and Jen Barnickel , BHA , CRCST , CIS , CH
today ’ s healthcare industry , facilities
In need new ways to be more efficient and reliable , and sterile processing is one area of increasing focus . This is a focus area because facilities are being challenged to process increasing tray volumes without increasing staffing levels or footprint . Similarly , many surgeries that were only done in hospitals , are now being moved to smaller ambulatory surgery centers that were not designed to handle the larger tray volumes . This shift to the outpatient setting is especially true for reconstructive orthopedic surgery , which depends on instruments that many people believe are the most difficult to process . Moreover , this pressure on labor productivity is also compelling operators to prioritize the reduction of duplicate surgical instruments across a network of facilities .
As a direct result of these trends , facilities are looking to offsite sterile processing facilities to handle the additional workload , which includes the cleaning and sterilization of manufacturer-owned loaner trays . This trend toward the establishment of off-site sterile processing centers is compelling people to ask whether instrument sterility can be impacted by transport on the open road . Observations into the practices of said facilities has suggested an increase in the transport of soiled surgical equipment to central facilities within a healthcare network , and we are also seeing more outsourcing to third parties who provide these services .
While there is some guidance on the transport of sterile products inside the healthcare facility , our industry lacks standards for the external transport of sterile and soiled devices . This study was launched to examine the impact of temperature change and humidity change on the sterility of orthopedic instruments traveling in sealed rigid containers . In addition to the industry-regulated parameters ( e . g . temperature and humidity ), this study also investigates the impact of dew point , moisture and prolonged vibration during transport . The primary objective was to determine the extent to which these environmental factors were able to affect instruments inside the rigid container , as well as the instrument trays . This serves as starting point to help address questions raised over the expanding use of external transportation to sister facilities , or from offsite sterile processing centers . This study confirms that excursions are inevitable but that they can be successfully managed using special purpose vehicles , suitable packaging , and real-time monitoring .
Instrument tray image courtesy of the authors .
april 2024 • www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com •
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