CS Must Control Surgical Instrument Quality Measures

The "Dark Hole of Repair"

Repair is a "hot" issue, Schultz said in his address to the IAHCSMM, because facilities today are told not to buy, but fix everything.  CS should choose repair companies carefully, and always inspect the quality of a repair company's work.  "Bring the vendors feet to the fire to avoid the dark hole of repair," he added.  "Make them accountable."

Test their work, too; particularly the sharpness of newly repaired scissors.  "Make sure they cut through the distal tip," Schultz said.   "'Supercut' scissors should be ground a certain way," he added.   "One edge is sharp, the other blunt.  And they can lose their edge quickly.  Having that knowledge is job security because you want to be able to be the 'go-to' person.  If the repair vendor doesn't know what you're talking about, go to another vendor."

What if the vendor buff out the catalog numbers?  "They're doing you a disservice, because you won't be able to reorder them without those numbers," he said.  CS should tape over the catalog numbers before sending them out, or have the repair company buff around the numbers or tape over them for you.

Inventory instrument sets before sending them out because "they may 'fall off the tray,'" he said.  Vendors also can switch the higher-quality German instruments with Pakistani models, which are made of a lower-grade steel.   "Don't give them the keys to the safe, because that's a license to steal."

Another caveat: "Drop a Pakistani instrument into the repair box, and the vendor will charge you $3.  But a new one may cost $1.50.  [Vendors] should not repair Pakistani instruments unless you ask them," he said.   "They know what these cost."

Finally, when instruments come back from repair, consider them dirty and run them through the decontamination, ultrasonic, and sterilization processes.

Adapted from an article that originally appeared in the October 1997 issue of Healthcare Purchasing News