Best Practices for Medical Equipment Cleaning and Sterilization

Keeping medical power tools clean and sanitary means that they can function longer, and this is especially important for used medical equipment. Prolonging the functionality of a machine isn’t just the only reason to practice proper sanitation; the main reason is actually for health and safety. Preventing the spread of infectious diseases starts with the correct process of sanitation and all hospitals and clinics should be a priority. 

 

Purchasing, Assessing, and Disinfecting of Medical Equipment

Purchasing and Assessing. Any medical equipment or devices that are about to be purchased must undergo a stringent assessment. All tools, especially surgical hand instruments must be checked if they have gone through the appropriate sanitation process, regardless of the source. Whether the items purchased as new, used, refurbished, or is loaned, they have to be verified by a professional if it is sterilized and safe to use. If it is possible, certain documents of certification should be provided as proof of adequate sanitation.

Disinfecting. This is the process of inactivating disease-producing microorganisms. There are two categories of disinfection when it comes to medical equipment: low-level disinfection and high-level disinfection. Low-level disinfection is for noncritical medical power tools while high-level disinfection is applied on semicritical medical devices that require decontamination. Sterilization is the preferred method for semicritical medical tools.

Unaccepted Practices

There are a few methods that should never be applied to medical devices. Here are some of these practices that should be avoided:

• Boiling – It is an ineffective means of sterilization because it does not adequately destroy bacterial spores and some viruses.

• Ultraviolet radiation – UV light is limited to the elimination of airborne organisms.

• Microwave oven sterilization – Ovens are unreliable and hard to monitor as a sterilization option. Keep your facilities clean and prevent the spread of infectious diseases by applying the best cleaning and sterilization processes on your medical power tools.