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M A R C H 2 0 1 6 | O U T P AT 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
small sterilizers to the same parameters we use in our main process-
ing department — 4 minutes with a 20-minute dry time — and used
the same biological indicators. What we found was that the new
approach took only 3 to 7 minutes longer than flashing. We could
afford that.
Plus, by planning ahead, we could have someone from SPD
retrieve an instrument set as soon as a given surgery was over and
the surgeon had begun closing. That gave us extra time to clean and
decontaminate the instruments that had just been used, so we
could have them ready in time for the next case.
There's an additional advantage in that if we end up not using a set,
it's wrapped, so we can just put it on the shelf for when we do need it,
instead of being stuck with an open set we'd then have to re-sterilize.
It's all part of our qual-
ity improvement initia-
tive. Our QI team
tracks how we're
doing and reports
back to SPD monthly,
so we know how
much we've improved.
Danny Dillard, CST, CRCST
Andrews Institute
Gulf Breeze, Fla.
ddillard
@andrewsinstitutesc.com
