ConCensis

On this episode of the podcast, host Tyler Kern talked with Kelly Swails, Director of Clinical Services for Censis Technologies, the industry leader in surgical instrument management systems, offering advanced, web-based software systems.

Kern and Swails talked about the lifecycle of a container and the importance of tracking during the process.

Today, we’re talking about documenting the lifecycle of a container. As a clinical educator, Swails helps companies optimize their use of CensiTrac Instrument Management, the first surgical instrument tracking system built to track all the way down to the instrument level and make documenting processes easier and more efficient.

When you think of the lifecycle of a container, it’s neverending, according to Swails. The No. 1 area where containers don’t get documented is in decontamination. When they come into this area, they go through pre-clean and washers.

“If you have a tracking system, you have that capability with CensiTrac to scan into that decontamination module,” Swails said. “You’ve now documented that container history that that stuff was cleaned. However, if you don’t have a tracking system, you have to write it on paper. Even for those that do, sometimes they’re skipping that part, and that may be due to a lack of computers, lack of knowledge or education or knowing that they should be doing this and it should be documented.”

Once a container is cleaned, it comes through tray assembly, and Swails noted this is where she typically sees good compliance. Then it goes through sterilization, case cart assembly, and back to the operating room.

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies' surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

Sam Harrison, Senior Clinical Educator at Censis Technologies, provided Tyler Kern with an education in endoscopy when he guided him through the lifecycle of a scope and how Censis technologies’ ScopeTrac and CensiTrac play a vital role in the process.

Scopes first go through a deamination process before they enter the OR. CensiTrac then captures the cleaning and reprocessing procedures.

“When the tech checks that scope into the scope processing module, the instructions for use are displayed,” Harrison said. “Those instructions for use can be customized per the scope model, the manufacturer’s IFUs can be uploaded, or video can be uploaded to make it as easy as possible for the end-user.”

After the scope receives reprocessing, it goes to a cleaning room for disinfecting. This process requires tracking, which CensiTrac streamlines. Once disinfected and logged, a scope will go to a clean storage area, and CensiTrac will provide information on those scope’s storage location.

Once a scope enters the procedure room, CensiTrac’s case-tracking module can associate that scope to a patient through a case ID#. “In each area, CensiTrac is used to track and document every required process,” Harrison said.

ScopeTrac is another critical piece of the digital scope record process that makes it easy to comply with regulations.

“Having those processing steps there to help abide by the regulatory requirements is huge,” Harrison said. And, with the added functionality of video and image uploads, techs have additional tools and resources at their disposal to correctly identify and log in scopes.

While ScopeTrac with CensiTrac addresses all these needs, Harrison mentioned that there is now ScopeTrac Advanced, which provides additional solutions, such as OR scheduler interface capabilities.

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies' surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

Ahead of any surgical procedure or operation is the preparation of surgical instruments. In the latest episode of the podcast “ConCensis,” host Tyler Kern discussed the ins and outs of how Censis utilizes its software to facilitate the use of surgical instruments throughout the full perioperative loop by putting marks on each individual instrument. He spoke with Bill Camargo, Manager of Marking Services, and Jennifer Bingaman, Director of Business Services, on how Censis gets it right.

According to Camargo, there are three main types of surgical instrument markings commonly used – laser, electrochemical, and mechanical. Laser is the most popular, however, there are instances where one or more may be utilized together. For laser marking a significant amount of space is needed between the lens and instrument of marking, so that’s when electrochemical and mechanical marking come into play.

“With some instrument configurations, it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to mark it with a laser, that's where electrochemical comes into play,” said Camargo. He went on to note that mechanical markings come through with a solution if the former two aren’t the best options. The downside to mechanical markings is their lack of permanence.

Marking allows the perioperative to be as smooth and clear as possible. It also makes the job of operating room (OR) staff members much smoother, particularly in critical times. Facilities choose to mark instruments to maintain efficient organization and tracking, according to Bingaman.

“There's usually two main reasons why people choose to mark instruments, the biggest being that when you're assembling a tray in sterile processing and you're able to scan each instrument to that set, it helps ensure that you have a complete set to the OR, so that OR staff aren’t spending their time looking for missing instruments,” said Bingaman.

Surgical instrument marking also makes identifying and pinpointing the source of any issue that might arise during a procedure. While each surgical instrument tray is unique, when surgical instruments have markings, it clarifies a particular instrument giving you a deeper level of tracking information.

“If God forbid there’s an infection control issue, then if you have instruments marked and you’re scanning at instrument level, then you know exactly what instruments were used on that patient, rather than just knowing this tray was used on this patient. You actually get down to the instrument level,” said Bingaman.

Censis’s CensiTrac software adds another element that improves surgical instrument marking and tracking. Bingaman compared the tracking method to manufacturing barcodes. Similar to how barcodes identify what products were just scanned in a grocery store for example, entering surgical instrument data into the CensiTrac system will help it know what instrument is being used.

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies’ surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

Technology plays a central role in every aspect of medical advancement — even in the surgical asset management field.

On an episode of ConCensis host, Tyler Kern was joined by Theresa Cole, a Sterile Processing Manager at Northern Nevada Sierra Hospital, and Jason Blake, a project manager with Censis Technologies – the company behind CensiTrac, a system being used to manage all things surgical instrument management.

When health centers and facilities look to adopt a new system, there are several key things that they look for. But for Cole, her main goal was to work with a software that facilitated patient tracking and was easy to use.

"The most important thing is being able to track to the patients … kind of a thorough implementation to be able to track through the process. We've used CensiTrac in the past so as a system I was familiar with, I was very comfortable and confident using it at this facility," said Cole.

The CensiTrac system was the most significant factor for Cole's interest in her management job. The Censis software was going to be used at Northern Nevada Sierra, which piqued Cole's interest. "CensiTrac was in place … because there's very extensive modules to be able to track paperless, track to the patient, track the instrumentation … it was a very comprehensive system so that was a selling feature for sure," stated Cole.

Having a support team in the surgical asset management field is also important. The Censis implementation team assists hospital staff on how to use the system, ensuring proper and safe security measures, and getting people all on the same page for a smooth process.

Early preparation stands to be the main factor in effectively implementing sterile processing and what has to be prioritized. "The main thing is their data – what is their information going to look like," said Blake.

For sterile processing, these things include items like count sheets and instrumentation. Blake stated, "that is core training for a tracking system to ensure that you have the right data in place. All their trays, the tray names — anything that has to do with that first is a really big thing."

He added that coordinating with information technology personnel and understanding the hardware should be emphasized in surgical asset management because oftentimes, switching from one system to another or implementing into a totally new system might come with trial and error since every facility has its own needs.

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies' surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

To access additional podcasts, visit the ConCensis Podcast Show featured on MarketScale.

Susie Martin, Project Manager with Professional Services at Censis Technologies, Inc., and Carrie Miller, Perioperative Enterprise Coordinator at The Ohio State University, spoke with ConCensis about best practices for loaner tray management. Miller said that in the case of Ohio State University’s healthcare network, Censis’ LoanerLink is a critical solution for efficient and safe loaner tray management.

“We have five locations and a large vendor influx at our two main locations,” Miller said. “And we see, on average, about two hundred vendor trays a week, plus consignment. Using LoanerLink allows us to look ahead and forecast what’s to be expected.”

LoanerLink’s cloud-based solution assists organizations and healthcare facilities in managing vendor surgical assets. This solution supports both the operating room (OR) and the sterile processing department (SPD) activities while enabling more efficient staffing procedures.

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies' surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

Instruments often disappear, and the idea behind tracking is use barcodes and scan trays so instruments are traceable. “Being able to have almost like a fingerprint for each one of these instruments and then like Seamus mentioned using that in conjunction with like a computer and a scanner it really helps all of these technicians and nurses regardless of what stage they’re in have that level of visibility,” stated Long. Methods of tracking include electrochemical and laser.

Data generated includes instrument location, when and where they were sterilized, and more, which creates a level of data not possible in past. One advantage of this is the cost-efficiency it creates. Instead of replacing a whole tray after a set number of uses, which is common practice, hospitals can target specific instruments. “If we know exactly what we need to refurbish based on instrument usage, we can then make really cost-effective decisions for maintenance,” Long explained.

Another benefit of this software as a service includes less IT burden—they need not learn the pitfalls or review the security, scalability, and reliability of the service. “The advantage that cloud-deployed software brings is that we do that all for you. We have a team of professionals that do nothing but care for and feed sensor track,” Johnson stated.

Johnson explained, “When we engage with a customer, we are looking for a way to help them improve. Take waste out of the system, do things more efficiently, do things better, ultimately knowing that they are going to make patients better. That’s the number one goal.”

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies' surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

CensiTrac is a powerful tool for any medical organization, and Censis wants to make sure organizations get the most from it, which is why they conduct onsite utilization assessments. Cody Pregler, Clinical Educator for Censis, spoke with Tyler Kern on the multitude of ways Censis maximizes efficiencies with advanced clinical support through their ServicePlus model.

What exactly does a utilization assessment report entail?

“A utilization assessment report is where we come onsite, and we look at exactly how you’re using CensiTrac,” Pregler said. “We follow a container around the lifecycle of the hospital and your facility. And when we do this, we uncover blind spots in certain areas where we can improve a bit, as far as where we can track our medical equipment and instrumentation through their full lifecycle process.”

This utilization assessment is so critical to ensure that when the time comes for a process survey or inspection, a clinic is ready to pass with flying colors. Censis makes it easy to check that processes and steps occur through various support tools.

“One of our easiest tools that we provide our customers is what is called an out-of-sequence warning,” Pregler said. “What this does is it tracks that tray and those instruments as they’re moving through the process to make sure it’s hitting every checkpoint it needs to. And those checkpoints reveal information about what’s being performed on that instrumentation as its traveling through its lifecycle.”

With SPD staff shortages occurring throughout the country, it can be a comfort knowing that Censis’ ServicePlus team can assess processes and recommend CensiTrac tools facilities may not know are available to them.

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies' surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

CensiTrac is a powerful tool for any medical organization, and Censis wants to make sure organizations get the most from it, which is why they conduct onsite utilization assessments. Cody Pregler, Clinical Educator for Censis, spoke with Tyler Kern on the multitude of ways Censis maximizes efficiencies with advanced clinical support through their ServicePlus model.

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies' surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

Every new year brings with it New Year’s resolutions. And these resolutions don’t have to be personal goals, as Censis Clinical Educator Jill Sweeney explained to ConCensis’ Tyler Kern. Resolutions can also apply to effective surgical instrument management. Sweeney gave Kern six solid ways that CensiTrac can help steer 2022 in the right direction.

Losing weight is a resolution that is familiar to most, but in SPD, the goals are a bit different. “Running an overloaded sterilizer, having overweight trays, and problems that that can cause your SPD department,” Sweeney said. “You can end up with failed biologicals, just all-around poor sterilizer performance. The max weight allowance for each machine can be found in your sterilizer’s IFU. In CensiTrac, you enter in that max weight allowance as your first step in your sterilizer compliance, and then CensiTrac will tally up those trays as your starting those loads and tally up what those trays weigh.” This resolution will help keep those weight limits down.

Spending less money is a classic resolution, and CensiTrac is a budget-friendly solution that makes saving easy with its maintenance program. “You can set in maintenance uses for the trays, and then CensiTrac will alert you when those trays need routine sharpening,” Sweeney said. Routine maintenance-tracking reduces the expense of unnecessary maintenance of trays that are not ready for sharpening.

CensiTrac can help keep track of routine tasks and make sure staff receives credit for their work. “A lot of times in sterile processing, staff are doing a lot of things that are outside the realm of what CensiTrac gives credit for in productivity,” Sweeney said. “Efficiency tasks is one of the modules, and that will help give credit to the staff for things that they’re doing outside of what CensiTrac normally gives productivity credit for.”