by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | February 27, 2015
From the January/February 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Resutek says the original manufacturer specifications for their endoscopes are proprietary information that a third-party seller would not have access to. “All of our certified pre-owned (CPO) endoscopes get a certain list of brand new OEM parts installed on them,” says Resutek, which include new insertion tubes, angulation wires, and channels, “Then it’s packaged up and we provide a warranty just the same as we would a new product.”
Infection control
While smaller incisions are typically associated with lower infection rates, an unsanitary endoscopic procedure carries infection risks of serious consequence. Diseases like Hepatitis C, HIV, and other blood-borne pathogens are all within the realm of possibility and ensuring a clean procedure and scope is of paramount importance.
Ladd says national guidelines from the SGNA and OSHA have established standards and protocols to help limit the incidence of cross-contamination. And although infections related to endoscopy are pretty well under control, when one does happen it can result in some high profile bad press for the treating facility. Olympus provides its end-users with a manual devoted to reprocessing and also provides a large field-based team and other resources for training and technical support for reprocessing. “We put a lot of effort into making sure that protocols are clearly spelled out so people don’t have mistakes that could lead to contamination,” says Doyle.
“If you follow the process for cleaning a scope post-procedure, you’re certain to put a clean scope into the next patient,” says Ladd, “When the process fails, that’s when you don’t know.” Doyle says patients undergoing certain advanced endoscopic procedures may already have increased likelihood of acquiring an infection because they are generally already not well, so, “It’s crucial that people follow all the required steps.”
“There is a 3M Clean-Trace product that came out a year or two ago that measures a chemical compound called ATP, which is residual of bacteria,” says Lewis. “You can wipe down an instrument, put it through the machine, and it will tell you if instrument has been adequately manually cleaned.”
Lewis also says new software tracks an instrument so that if you pick it up you can see the recent history on who cleaned it and when it was cleaned, which may tie in to the overall trend toward greater accountability in endoscopy and health care.
The endoscopy of tomorrow
Despite the uncertainties faced by gastroenterologists, (a group he calls “an aging subspecialty”), Lewis describes himself as “upbeat” about the changes happening in the industry. For him, it’s the new regulations and care standards that are creating better outcomes, just as much as, if not more than, new tools. Lewis also says that there has been discussion in the industry of establishing companies where patients can go for all preparation and gastroenterological testing, such as blood work, stool testing, and sonograms. They have not materialized yet, but the increase in GI-only pathology labs may be an indication that it’s coming. Doyle, with Olympus, says that while there is still a lot of screening and diagnosis going on, “Therapeutic or interventional treatments have grown over the years.” He notices more and more formerly surgical procedures becoming outpatient endoscopic procedures, and expects that trend to continue.
