QUICK SAFETY Issue 64 | February 2022
2022 The Joint Commission, Division of Healthcare Improvement
Ensuring critical instruments and devices are appropriate for reuse.
Surgical instruments and other critical devices – those that enter sterile tissues1 – are reprocessed and reused every day in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and other health care facilities. Because of the costs of physical space, supplies, equipment, and personnel to perform reprocessing and sterilization of reusable devices, some organizations choose to use disposable instruments and devices for critical procedures in some or all areas of their facility. For organizations performing reprocessing, ensuring that those instruments and devices are reusable – that they are in good condition, and can be cleaned and sterilized following validated manufacturer’s instructions – is critical to patient safety.
