well.
• Keep case carts moving. It might
seem logical to wait until 3 or 4 case
carts are ready for transport to the OR
before loading them into the elevator
for the trip to sterile processing, but be
careful of assuming you know the solu-
tions to apparent problems before
you've worked through the process.
Batching case carts actually leaves
reprocessing techs waiting around for
instruments, and overwhelms them
when they arrive all at once. Instead,
get into the habit of rolling carts full of
dirty instruments to the decontamina-
tion area as soon as cases end, so
techs are kept busy with a steady
stream of tools.
"It's counterintuitive to move individual carts, but continuous flow is a
robust engineering principle," says Mr. Beakes.
• Invest in technology. Reprocessing techs deserve to work with the
latest technologies that can make their jobs much easier to manage.
Instrument tracking software that lets them match individual tools to
specific trays improves their accuracy and efficiency, and lets them
locate trays wherever they are in the facility. It can also give them
instant access to current digital reprocessing instructions for each of
the thousands of instruments they treat. That sure beats flipping
through a dusty binder of outdated information. Also keep in mind
that outfitting sterile processing with the latest technology could
make your facility more appealing and increase the talent pool from
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 9
• CLEANING UP Organized and standardized work-
stations increase sterile processing's productivity
levels and improve techs' working conditions.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
