Limit
imme-
diate-
use
steam sterili-
zation
Medicare regula-
tions state you can perform immediate-use steam
sterilization only if an essential instrument is
dropped on the floor during a procedure and is needed immediately in
the same case. But do you realize that by decreasing the number of
immediate-use cycles you run, you'll save on the cost of paper, water
and electricity?
Several years ago, before the Medicare regulations went into effect,
we had only 3 trays of instruments for hand cases. Following the first 3
procedures of the day, we'd rely on immediate-use sterilization to get
the trays ready for subsequent cases. After building additional hand
sets with loose instruments that had accumulated over the years,
tracking which instruments were being flashed on a frequent basis and
purchasing additional units of those items, and putting individual and
rarely used instruments into seal packs until they're needed, our flash-
ing rate went from 14% in 2013 to 0.8% at the end of 2015, which saved
the facility $40,000 in staff time, supplies and resources.
We also invested in a relatively new sealed sterilization tray that is
FDA-approved to run a full sterilization cycle in 10 to 15 minutes.
Instead of waiting 45 minutes for a sterilization cycle to end, we have
needed instrumentation back and ready for use in a fraction of the time.
The tray's single-use paper and filters are a little more expensive than
standard supplies, but turning around instruments quickly and effective-
3
M A Y 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 4 7
"I'm convinced most facility
managers don't take the time to
consider the not-so-obvious ways
they could save money and
eliminate wasteful spending."
— Thomas Durick, MD
