Adherence to AAMI and AORN processing guidelines cuts costs and reduces contamination
THURSDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- At hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers, instruments loaned from other institutions may arrive in poor or contaminated condition, creating problems for both the loaning and receiving facilities and compromising patient safety, according to a report published in the May issue of the AORN Journal.
Gloria G. Huter-Kunish, R.N., of the Bergen Ambulatory Surgery Center in Saddle Brook, N.J., reviewed her institution's policy for adhering to established protocols for processing and sterilizing of loaner instruments and its use of the Certificate of Decontamination.
Huter-Kunish reports that the policy has helped ensure safe handling of loaner instruments after receipt, preoperative and post-procedure inspections that meet the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and AORN standards, documentation of procedures that guarantee safe handling and complete inventory, and verification that these procedures have been completed by the signatures of personnel from the loaner facility and receiving facility.
"Commitment to handle loaner instruments in an efficient and careful way can ensure better patient care, reduced costs for institutions, and improved patient and employee safety," the author concludes.
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