ConCensis

Healthcare has plenty of potential pain points to go around, but one of the industry’s longest lasting is the proper use of immediate use steam sterilization, or IUSS.

The procedure, traditionally known as “flash sterilization,” offers the quickest possible time between an instrument’s use and its ability to be used again. However, that benefit is countered by several key challenges.

Notably, a lack of documentation and proper recordkeeping, specifically around the use of trays, and general concern about the efficacy of IUSS have led the AAMI to support minimal use of the practice, if it’s used at all.

However, IUSS does present some benefits. Medical professionals still like it in specific scenarios for its ability to keep tools available, offset supply drops or late arrival, and avoid contamination in the middle of a procedure.

So, if it’s to be used at all, how can the industry ensure it’s being done in as safe a way as possible? Enter Censis Technologies.

On this Censis Technologies podcast, Kelly Swails (MAOL, CRCST, CHL, CIS, CER, ST), Director of Clinical Services for Censis, joined host Daniel Litwin to break down how the company’s CensiTrac solution can give medical professionals holistic insight into their processes and help them make the right decisions for each unique scenario.

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

CensiTrac’s robust reporting capabilities can provide sterile processing departments (SPDs) with a wealth of opportunities for efficiencies. Dalton Carter, Technical Support Manager at Censis, discussed some of these CensiTrac features with host Hilary Kennedy.

"SPD’s need to report on a wealth of important information from sterilization records to employee productivity to anything with case tracking, and knowing what was used on a patient specifically,” Carter said.

Competencies within CensiTrac can show which employees are trained in certain areas and provide sign-offs for accountability. “Along with that, you can see data points of where your trays are scanned throughout your entire department, including the OR if you’re scanning there,” Carter said.

Although Carter said one of the most popular reporting features in CensiTrac is the employee productivity report, his personal favorite was a general inventory throughput report due to the ability to customize it in hundreds of ways.

“There are so many different reports you can run,” Carter said. “Whether it be compliance or where a tray is, where an instrument is, there are different reports you can run to get the filters that you need."

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.