The Joint Commission (TJC) recently received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue on as an Accrediting Organization (AO) for a period of two years. This comes as a blow to TJC, as CMS had previously approved them as an AO for a 6 year term in 2014. TJC has […]
Are Joint Commission Inspections About To Get Harder? Read More »
According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control, storing endoscopes in an automated cabinet with channel drying functionality effectively reduced moisture and bacterial growth in the scopes. Because endoscopes are reusable medical instruments, minimizing the amount of bacterial growth in the periods between procedures can dramatically improve patient safety. The
Study Shows Positive Effects Of Forced Air Drying Of Endoscopes Read More »
With endoscopes having been linked with so many superbug outbreaks in recent years, some may naturally wonder if they can play a role in the spread of Covid-19 as well. While there is no scientific research or published findings of a link between endoscopes and Covid-19, intuition tells us that endoscopes may play a role
How Scopes May Play A Role In The Spread Of Covid-19 Read More »
The Joint Commission (TJC) has indicated that it will resume its quality surveys in the month of June. Hospitals require successful TJC inspections in order to receive funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a major source of revenue for almost every hospital. As the initial threat of Covid-19 has passed, TJC
Joint Commission Resumes Inspections, Incorporates Remote Surveys Read More »
In the ongoing battle against Covid-19, much of the US healthcare system has suffered from a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for its frontline employees. The shortage of this important protective gear has led to hospital workers being put in needless danger of catching the extremely communicable coronavirus. One company has been working on
Hospitals Look To Reprocess N95 Masks Due To Covid-19 Related Shortage Read More »
According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control, storing endoscopes in an automated cabinet with channel drying functionality effectively reduced bacterial growth in the scopes. Because endoscopes are reusable medical instruments, minimizing the amount of bacterial growth in the periods between procedures can dramatically improve patient safety. The study, performed
How Automated Endoscope Drying Cabinets Minimize Bacterial Growth Read More »
The ECRI Institute, based in Philadelphia, has just released its annual list of patient safety concerns for 2020. This year’s list includes an entry at number 5 for device cleaning, disinfection and sterilization, echoing prior year concerns about sub-standard disinfection practices for flexible endoscopes and other reusable medical equipment. ECRI’s list is the result of
ECRI List of Top Patient Safety Concerns Includes Sterile Processing Read More »
Olympus has joined the list of duodenoscope manufacturers receiving the green light to market a duodenoscope with disposable components by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Following closely on the heels of Pentax and Fujifilm’s models with disposable components, and Boston Scientific’s fully disposable duodenoscope, Olympus is now cleared to sell a duodenoscope
Olympus Receives FDA Clearance For Duodenoscope With Disposable Component Read More »
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
How One Hospital Avoided A Patient Safety Disaster Using Scope Tracking Software Read More »
Shortly following the recent United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of the first duodenoscopes with disposable components, the bureau is now recommending that facilities move to the new models where available. The FDA firmly believes that a move to disposable parts, and in some cases fully disposable scopes, will help reduce infection risks.
FDA Issues Recommendation For Use Of Duodenoscopes With Disposable Components Read More »