AAMI has developed a new online assessment tool that sterile processing departments (SPDs) can use to evaluate and monitor their alignment with ANSI/AAMI ST79:2017, Comprehensive guide to steam sterilization and sterility assurance in health care facilities. The tool is based on a technical information report, AAMI TIR79:2018, which contains a checklist of the main recommendations from the standard.
“There has been strong interest from users in having digital tools to help them operationalize the content of standards,” said AAMI Standards Director Amanda Benedict. “This is one of the very first such tools that AAMI has developed. It provides SPDs with a quick, interactive, digital format for assessing their conformance to the recommendations found in ST79.”
The tool contains approximately 185 questions covering 13 topic areas, such as:
- SPD design and personnel considerations
- Receiving of newly purchased items, repaired instruments, and loaned instruments
- Handling, collection, and transport of contaminated items
- Cleaning, disinfection, decontamination, and sterilization
- Preparation and assembly of instruments
- Storage and transportation
- Installation, care, and maintenance of sterilizers
- Process monitoring, testing, and quality control
- Quality process improvement
- New product evaluation
Each question is linked to the relevant text within the ST79 standard so users can review the corresponding material. After the assessment is complete, the tool creates a summary and a detailed report that can be exported for the department’s records or compared with previous assessments.
“By completing these self-assessments, SPDs can evaluate which areas do not follow the recommendations in ST79 and use that information to inform actions to bring processes and policies into alignment with the standard,” Benedict said.Visit AAMI for the announcement: http://www.aami.org/productspublications/articledetail.aspx?ItemNumber=5770.
