pre-operatively. By enabling you to check and refine your treatment
plan during the procedure, it reduces refractive surprise, leaving
patients happier and limiting the number of post-op corrections you
must perform.
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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 O N L I N E | M A R C H 2 0 1 5
SEMANTICS OF STERILIZATION
CMS Clarifies Sterilization Policy
For Ophthalmic Surgery Suites
W
hen CMS banned the routine use of immediate-use steam sterilization
(flashing) last August (tinyurl.com/oodxc49), many ophthalmic surgical
centers feared that they'd have to buy new sterilization units and many
more sets of instruments. Apparently it was all a mixup between immediate-use (IUSS)
and short-cycle sterilization. CMS told several ophthalmic societies over several meet-
ings that the vast majority of ophthalmic ASCs use short-cycle steam sterilization, not
IUSS, which is fine as long as you adhere to the sterilizer manufacturer's directions for
use (DFUs). In short-cycle steam sterilization, there's a dry time, and instruments are
packaged in a wrap or rigid sterilization container, and stored for later use. Last month
CMS issued the following clarification (not a policy change) to Outpatient Surgery
Magazine:
In recent conversations with representatives of various ophthalmic surgery groups,
CMS noticed that there continued to be some confusion between IUSS and other
very short-cycle sterilization techniques. In particular, it appears that some in the
eye surgery industry routinely use the term "immediate use steam sterilization
(IUSS)" instead of "short-cycle sterilization" to describe their instrument sterilization
process. Short-cycle sterilization is a form of terminal sterilization, and eye surgery
centers participating in Medicare as either ambulatory surgical centers or hospital
outpatient surgery departments, using short-cycle sterilization and following all
manufacturers' instructions for use would comply with Medicare requirements gov-
erning sterilization. — Kendal Gapinski
