AAMIBlog

It has been nearly a year since the AAMI/FDA Medical Device Reprocessing Summit, and several new AAMI work items that came out of the summit are under way: A small group has been working hard all year to draft new technical information report (TIR) on endoscope reprocessing. And this fall, AAMI will begin work on […]

CJD: Have you challenged your policy and procedure? Yes, we have. The occurrence of prion or transmissible spongiform encephalopathy contamination, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), is a once in a lifetime event — if it occurs at your facility.  However, if it does, it is likely to be one of those events that just could be […]

What’s your role with the management of scopes? At a minimum, you are probably following The Joint Commission’s request that you inventory them. Attendees at last October’s AAMI/FDA Medical Device Reprocessing Summit contributed tips and lessons learned that led to a list of 10 Things Your Organization Can Do Now to Improve Reprocessing. The tips, […]

We have come a long way with evidence-based learning in the world of sterile processing. Nurses and sterile processing staff now have the benefit of many organizations that offer guidelines and education for sterile processing. Unfortunately, there are still small ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) that do not have experienced sterile processing technicians or access to […]

Not too long ago, I had discussions with operating room nurses, infection preventionists, and sterile process personnel who say their management does not think their institutions needs to follow the recommended practice in ANSI/AAMI ST79:2010 & A1:2010 & A2:2011 (consolidated text), Comprehensive guide to steam sterilization and sterility assurance in health care facilities, because they do not […]

In November 2011, ASTM Committee F04:15:17 met to review a number of work items including WK33439: Standard test soils for validation of cleaning methods for reusable medical devices. ASTM Committee F04 on Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices has jurisdiction of more than 250 standards related to medical devices and instrumentation. ASTM International was formerly known as […]

I always learn something from listening to other people’s insights and occasionally have a few of my own to share, so I’m excited we are creating this new venue for starting—or continuing—conversations, sharing, and learning. If you have or need tips, lessons learned, illuminating case studies, questions, or insights about any of the topic areas […]