Can't Clean It? Don't Buy It.

Dear Manufacturers,

Today we are not buying any of your products, although our patients would benefit from them.  Please enlist assistance from an Infection Control or disinfection expert when crafting your instructions for cleaning and disinfecting your multi-use healthcare items.

Signed,

The Practical ICP

I’m about to start calling out some of these device manufacturers by name.  I know that endoscopes are everyone’s priority right now, but I’ve got 2 new non-critical items in front of me for evaluation, with inadequate cleaning and disinfection instructions.

One says (under “Hospital Instructions”) to ‘clean’ it by using a damp cloth or spray it with Fantastik.  If you’re not familiar, Fantastik is a household cleaner.  There are no disinfection instructions on this item.  I could use our approved wipes or sprays, but I don’t know that I’m not at risk of damaging the equipment or voiding the warranty.  So when I go to Products Committee next week, this patient device gets a NO vote from me.  Next.

Item #2 is a soft item, which says no “benzyl” products.   Benzyl isn’t a chemical, as far as I know--more of a formulation of a chemical.  So this rules out our quaternary ammonium products we have, all of which have some benzyl formulation. Also, our hydrogen peroxide product which contains benzyl alcohol.  Do you think I’m going to buy a new product to clean this item with?  Would that be practical? No, I’m not.  Staff cannot remember which product goes with which device, nor are they likely to carry a list.  This gets a No.    

Fortunately, I have a competitor product to look at for Item #2, which is machine-washable.  It says wash at 135F-145F.  Our washers are preset.  We do not measure or log, and cannot guarantee that it will be washed at this exact temp.   This is an actual safety device for a patient, and if a higher or lower wash temperature will compromise it’s integrity, I can’t risk it.  Is this small range crucial to the functioning of the product?  Why is this specified? I don’t know.  But I do know I can’t comply with the instructions, yet again.

I guess the benefit is that we saved money on all this stuff we can’t buy.