Decontamination of reusable instruments in primary care

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Infection prevention and control
• Medical device reprocessing

Background:

• Effective decontamination in non-centralized settings like general practices is crucial.
• Existing guidance can be complex and difficult to follow for staff.
• Standardized training and accessible guidelines are necessary for safe practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present current decontamination guidance in an accessible industrial quality control format.
• To develop fishbone charts (cause-and-effect) for clear instrument cleaning and sterilization instructions.
• To assess user acceptability and potential utility of fishbone charts for staff.

Main Methods:

• Distillation of current decontamination guidance into a fishbone chart format.
• Development of a fishbone chart detailing safe and effective cleaning and sterilization steps.
• Survey to evaluate user acceptability of the fishbone charts compared to existing guidelines.

Main Results:

• Fishbone charts were developed to provide clear, step-by-step instructions for decontamination.
• A survey indicated high user acceptability, with 76% preferring the fishbone charts.
• The response rate for the survey was low at 46%.

Conclusions:

• Fishbone charts are a user-friendly tool for presenting complex decontamination guidelines.
• These charts can facilitate training, auditing, and improve the safety of instrument reprocessing.
• Industrial quality tools like fishbone charts can enhance guidance presentation in various healthcare settings.