ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Return on Recycling: Reprocessing single-use devices may lower costs, improve efficiency

by Marie Powers • June 1, 2011

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

Sending instruments to a TPR also mitigates risk within the practice, because the vendor is legally responsible for compliance with FDA requirements, Vukelich added. Medical device manufacturers, however, contend that reprocessed instruments don’t have the same stability as new ones and could harbor microscopic traces of blood or tissue, leading to infection. Reprocessors counter that they only accept devices that can be reused safely and allege that manufacturers have moved toward SUDs to boost sales. Nevertheless, reprocessing is generating less controversy than it once did. In December 2009, major device manufacturer Stryker Corp. of Kalamazoo, Mich., even acquired TPR Ascent Healthcare Solutions.

You Might Also Like

No related posts.

Explore This Issue
June 2011

Guidelines

More than a decade ago, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente (KP) formed an SUD reprocessing oversight committee that works with a TPR to determine which instruments can be reprocessed safely. Evidence-based guidelines direct the use of steam sterilization for reusable sterile instruments that can be decontaminated easily and are not heat sensitive, said Sue Barnes, RN, CIC, a board member of the Washington, D.C.-based Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and national program leader in infection prevention and control in KP’s patient safety department.

For each instrument, the TPR vendor must have rigorous, FDA-approved processes that involve remanufacturing as well as reprocessing, according to Barnes. The TPR’s objective is to return the instrument in a sterile state, performing at or above its previous condition.“This program has the potential to save a tremendous amount of money and significantly reduce the quantity of landfill waste, which is an important consideration related to the environmental impact of health care,” she said.

Some sterile instruments, such as devices with very small lumens, are too complex to clean adequately prior to sterilization. “When considering whether to add a certain instrument to an SUD reprocessing program, patient safety always comes first,” she added. As the content expert, the sterile processing manager should facilitate this decision, with input from the nurse manager and managing physician of the otolaryngology practice or department.

“Focus on whether the reprocessed or remanufactured sterile instrument is equal or better in quality than new,” Barnes said. “Additional considerations are cost of the disposable instrument versus the reusable version, cost of the third party reprocessor and the number of times the instrument can be reused during its life cycle compared to the cost of a new instrument.”

Build a Case

Michael O’Connell, MHA, FACHE, FACMPE, vice president, operations and physician services, at Huron Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic hospital, agreed that patient safety is the overriding factor in determining whether to reprocess SUDs.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Everyday Ethics, Practice Management, Tech Talk Tagged With: healthcare costs, medical devices, patient safetyIssue: June 2011

You Might Also Like:

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name
    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?
    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • What Happens to Medical Students Who Don’t Match?
    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Neurogenic Cough Is Often a Diagnosis of Exclusion
    • Novel Bioabsorbable Plate Associated with Lower Leak Risk in Patients Receiving Endoscopic Skull Base Repair
    • New Findings Support Use of Cemiplimab as Neoadjuvant Therapy in Patients with Resectable Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
    • Kinetic Oscillation Stimulation an Effective, Lasting Second-Line Treatment for Patients with Nonallergic Rhinitis
    • Otolaryngologists Vary Significantly in Choice of Injectable Materials for Vocal Fold Injection Augmentation
    • COVID-19 Infection May Be Associated with Unique Manifestation of Facial Nerve Paralysis/Palsy

Polls

Do you believe that having more otolaryngologists appear on mainstream media outlets is a good thing for the field?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Preferences

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2023 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939