From the March 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


“In the past couple years, even some smaller medical centers that typically wouldn’t consider refurbished equipment have really given remanufactured and refurbished equipment—especially in sterilization—a second look and a lot more consideration,” says Morris.

“Surgery centers have typically looked at return on capital, but now even some of the smaller regional hospitals are starting to say that they might be able to get a better return on their investment as well,” Crabtree says.


Digitalization and terminal sterilization
Similar to many other sectors, with radiography being a prime example, sterilizers are trending more and more toward digital technology.

According to Alfa Medical’s Savyon, the first digital/automatic sterilizer was the Validator, created by Pelton & Crane approximately two decades ago. Automatic sterilizers, as opposed to manual ones, are often equipped with high-tech features such as self-diagnostic software, display codes for troubleshooting assistance, water guards to avoid leaking condensation, and extra valve ports to speed up the venting process.

Another trend, according to Barbara Trattler, ASP’s director of clinical education, is that an increasing amount of medical facilities are using terminal sterilization, as opposed to immediate-use sterilization (previously known as flash sterilization). The former refers to the process of instruments being sterilized within some sort of packaging, enabling them to be stored for future use. The latter describes when unwrapped instruments are exposed to a steam sterilization cycle and then used right away.

“Sterile processing leaders are taking responsibility for ensuring their facility has the processes in place to meet current standards for best practices in sterilization,” says Trattler. “This has resulted in a focus on minimizing ‘immediate-use sterilization,’ which, as the name suggests, requires the immediate use of the processed device. Terminal sterilization allows health care facilities the flexibility of having dry, packaged devices delivered to the OR for use in a scheduled procedure or stored for use at a later time.”

Steady growth to come
In the coming years, Savyon forecasts that sterilizer technology’s move to digital will drive prices up. “The smarter you make the sterilizer, the more expensive it’s going to be,” he says.

Trattler feels that the need for better sterilization documentation methods will increase in the future. “For purposes of traceability and protection for both the patient and health care facility, documentation and record-keeping are essential, as they provide the data you need should an infection occur,” she says.

March 2012 Magazine

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