The COVID-19 pandemic brought a new sense of urgency around infection prevention in outpatient centers. For health systems, balancing care with challenges such as payment models that have shifted, patient demographics, staff shortages, new regulatory implications, and outpatient growth have impacted where and how instrument processing is taking place.
In a recent Repertoire Magazine podcast, Scott Adams interviewed Ben Hill, Marketing Manager for the Instrument Processing Product Category at Midmark, on sterilization and its impact on outpatient care. Midmark helps physicians and care teams deliver exceptional patient care through seamless room design, better equipment, smarter workflows, and integrated technologies.
“Health systems are spending more time than ever reprocessing instrumentation. To overcome industry challenges, staff need a better understanding of the healthcare facility, its equipment, and the workflow design,” said Hill. “Regardless of the size or shape of the instrument processing area, it’s important for staff to choose an equipment design that supports a standardized workflow. When workflow can be consistently reproduced by staff, it makes the process easier and helps ensure that staff are adhering to clinical best practices and compliance guidelines.”
Every healthcare facility likely has room for some kind of improvement, according to Hill. At times, processing rooms in healthcare facilities may not be dedicated specifically to instrument processing, which can make it difficult to meet certain quality metrics. Additionally, in dedicated instrument processing rooms, staff may not have a dirty-to-clean workflow, or they may not have a clear start or endpoint, which can create risk of contamination. There are, however, many different solutions for healthcare facilities to approach these issues and optimize instrument processing workflows.
The next generation Midmark® Steam Sterilizer is designed for durability and ease of use to address workflow challenges. The sterilizer’s integrated features help teams gain instrument processing efficiencies and documentation compliance.
The sterilizers have an intuitive user interface, with audit-ready features that allow users to navigate the cycle setup and other processes with a five-inch touchscreen. The touchscreen is fingerprint resistant and can be utilized while wearing gloves. The sterilizers also include device reminders, user authentication, and the ability to automatically record cycles, ultimately reducing staff burdens.
“Having the right sterilizer is effective only if the clinicians and staff are educated appropriately. Midmark makes sure that care teams understand how to effectively use and maintain their equipment, as well as what proper clinical workflow looks like,” said Hill. “Midmark offers several clinical education options to help care teams enhance the strength and effectiveness of their Instrument Processing programs. Combining the next generation sterilizers with proper training better equips teams in healthcare settings.”
To listen to the podcast visit https://repertoiremag.com/next-generation-of-midmark-steam-sterilizers-and-the-5-step-ip-workflow.html, as Hill discusses sterilization, how it’s affecting the outpatient area of the healthcare industry, types of sterilizers and instrument processing, and all things sterile.