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E N D O S C O P E
R E P R O C E S S I N G
reach a certain temperature? If so, you may need to add mixing controls to your facility's plumbing. You may also have to test the hardness
of the water and possibly add a water softner. Keep in mind that water
temperature can fluctuate with the seasons. My facility ran into trouble, having tested our water supply during the summer months, then
discovered the cold Cleveland winters dropped the temperature considerably.
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Recordkeeping
Advancing AER technology lets you link each reprocessing
cycle to an individual tech and specific endoscope. That
information is documented in electronic records or on paper reports
printed at the end of each day. Having individual scope reprocessing
data recorded at the completion of every cycle ensures disinfection
parameters have been met. Mining that data is hugely valuable in
improving the efficiency of your reprocessing department — you
can compare when procedures end and scope reprocessing begins
or how quickly scopes are removed from units when cycles are com-
pleted — and drilling down during investigations in the event of possible cross-contamination exposures.
Audible alarms, which alert you to mechanical mishaps or user
errors before they impact the proper completion of reprocessing
cycles, go hand-in-hand with electronic records or hard copy printouts
to ensure scopes are properly reprocessed. For example, some AERs
D E C E M B E R 2012 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
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