Reprocessing of Reusable Medical Devices
Every patient undergoing a medical procedure has a basic expectation that the environment and instruments of care will be safe and clean. In recent years, that expectation has been shaken by reports of patients put at risk of serious infection from reusable medical devices that were inadequately cleaned, sterilized, or disinfected—the domain known as reprocessing.
In October 2011, more than 275 participants convened at the FDA headquarters in Silver Spring, MD, for a multidisciplinary AAMI/FDA Medical Device Reprocessing Summit.
The summit crystallized a compendium of challenges and priority actions for delivering on patients' basic expectations of cleanliness for reusable medical devices.
These challenges and actions are contained in the Summit Report: Priority Issues From the AAMI/FDA Medical Device Reprocessing Summit.