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Outpatient Surgery E-Weekly

Contact Congress Over Drug Shortage Issues

A Kentucky congressman is urging surgical facilities to contact their members of Congress and request that they sign his letter demanding changes to...

N.J. Posts ASC Inspection Reports Online

State and federal inspection reports of New Jersey's ASCs are now available online, giving patients an opportunity to make more informed choices abo...

Are Opioids Necessary?

While it's not always practical, or even possible, to eliminate opioids from your post-op pain management regiment, reducing their use in favor of n...

Archive > September, 2007 Vol. VIII, No. 9

Keys to Maintaining Your Steam Autoclave

Paying attention to the little things will keep your steam sterilizer running effectively, load after load.

Nola Bayes, CRCST, CIS

Steam sterilizers are the most prevalent sterilization devices in use today. They're also the most likely to be affected by errors of familiarity. Think about it. Your staff activates the steam autoclave, hears the reassuring whoosh of steam entering its chamber and moves on to prepare the next set of instrument packs. But do they really know what makes the device tick? Can they recognize potential problems before they jeopardize instrument sterilization and patient safety?

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Categories: Equipping Your OR, Infection Control, Cost Management, Peak Efficiency
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