you're looking at spending an average of $550,000 to
$650,000 per procedure room. So, if you have a three-
procedure-room set up, total costs will average $1.5
to $1.9 million.
In addition, you'll want to weigh the pros and cons of
adding the following:
• Automated endoscope reprocessors. A reprocess-
ing area designed with efficiency in mind and outfitted
with state-of-the-art equipment improves patient safety,
increases scope throughput and can reduce the number
of full-time staff you need to employ. A pass-through
automated endoscope reprocessor (AER) is an in-wall
unit that provides a barrier between dirty and clean
areas. On one side of the wall, scopes are placed inside
the AER after they've been cleaned. In the AER, the
scopes are disinfected and when done, they're removed
on the other side of the wall, and are dried and stored.
Of course, the technology comes with a cost: AERs
cost approximately $120,000. However, they can reduce
the number of techs needed to work in the reprocessing
area — one person to do the
intensive manual cleaning and a
second to remove the scopes
from the AER, dry them and store
them until they are needed again.
• Barcode scanning systems.
Another technology that improves
efficiency for a cost — around
$150,000 to $200,000 — is a bar-
code scanning system. It allows
you to trace the lifecycle of a spe-
cific scope wherever it is in the
process. If a surgeon is looking
for a specific scope, this system
allows you to find out exactly
where it is and when it'll be ready.
• Drying cabinets. When it
comes to scope-drying technolo-
gy, you have a lot of choices in
terms of how much you want to
invest in the efficiency of the cabi-
net. The type of drying cabinet
you use greatly affects the speed
at which your facility can
reprocess its scopes. Previously,
most drying cabinets were just
2 8 • S U P P L E M E N T
T O O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1
A air Dri-Scope
A-filtered pum PA
and patients safe
Help keep you
HEP
Aid Product
mp or instru
e with one o
ur scopes dr
with t
prior
right
Dry
the Jet~Stre
r to procedu
A t out of the
y your scop
LD. both pre and post H
annels to inspect the internal ch
The most advanced system
HANGING AROUND Newer storage cabinets direct air through endoscopes to dry
residual moisture in internal channels.
