There’s no other industry where a sterile environment and tools are of utmost importance than in healthcare. After all, you’re actually dealing with people’s lives. If you want to learn more about the sterile preparation process and the reason behind each step, then keep on reading.
At the end of this post, we can assure you that you will understand almost all the things about sterile preparation, especially its importance.
What is Sterile Preparation and Why is it Important in the Healthcare Industry?
Sterile preparation is the process of ensuring that there’s no microbial contamination on anyone or anything involved with healthcare practices, like surgeries and drug manufacturing. In a practical sense, sterility should offer a means to statistically determine that preparation is less likely to carry microbial burdens to cause harm to the patient.
Knowing this, sterile preparation is extremely important in the healthcare industry as it ensures the safety of the patient. As we all know, the majority of sick people are very prone to bacteria and germs, and that they have a very poor immune system. Thus, by ensuring the everything is sterile, there is a lesser chance that people may put in danger, especially with the current COVID-19 issue.
Aside from protecting the patients, the safety of medical professionals is also guaranteed with sterile preparations. On the other hand, a sterile preparation will minimize the development of organisms.
Medical professionals, especially pharmacists who did not adhere to sterile preparation when making medication, will do more harm than good. While compound pharmacies have helped, a non-sterile practicing pharmacist will only increase the risk of microbial contamination that can induce deaths.
A contaminated preparation area poses the greatest threats to possible danger, especially in medication having access to the eyes, joints, circulatory system, and central nervous system. Medications may become dangerous after healthcare providers fail to guarantee the sterility of the air quality, their bodies, as well as the surrounding hard surfaces.
Keep in mind that one simple mistake made by a health care provider can end a person’s life. Fortunately, sterile preparation comes into existence, saving the lives of many people.
Can Sterile Preparation Be Outsourced?
Yes, sterile preparation can be outsourced. Some of the common reasons why people choose to outsourced are the following:
- Insufficient number of personnel to meet the needed production
- Reduce or eliminate the preparation of hard-to-prepare and time-consuming products.
- Meet the regulatory requirements
- Lessen waste
- Streamline the workflow.
However, when you have decided to outsource sterile preparation, you need to be careful since not all service providers can be trusted. Some of them can do more harm than good.
To ensure that you will end up with a company that can give you quality service, you will need to take into account the following factors.
- The reputation of the company
- Experience
- Online reviews
- The cost of the service
- Vendor proximity
- Equipment and devices
- The company’s personnel
By considering these factors, we can assure you that you will end up with a service provider that can offer you quality sterile preparation.
If you are looking for sterile preparation and related services, you can visit fagronsterile.com. In case you didn’t know, Fagron Sterile Services is trusted by more than 7000 healthcare facilities. It is also offering quality 530B sterile outsourcing services. Having said that, you can be certain that you will get the best service possible.
The Rules and Guidelines of Sterile Preparation
To ensure the safety of everyone, there are rules and guidelines imposed for sterile preparation, and here are the following.
1. Dress Code
When it comes to dress codes, health care professionals should wear cotton-free gowns. Their hair must also be covered properly. Before doing any procedure, one needs to wear a pair of gloves. In some cases, professionals will need to wear an eye shield or protection and a mask.
2. Keep an Eye on the Cleanroom
In sterile preparation, the cleanroom refers to the area in which a PEC or primary engineering control can be found. As a matter of fact, this area is where various activities can be conducted, such as sterile preparation, staging, and compounding.
One more thing, the cleanroom should offer enough space for the primary engineering control and should include limited amounts of shelving.
3. Cleaning and Disinfecting
Cleaning with water and a germicidal detergent will get rid of noticeable dirt before the disinfection. With this process, microbial contamination will be eliminated. It is important that the right water and germicidal detergent be utilized to clean the surfaces of the buffers as well as ante areas in addition to all primary engineering controls.
On the other hand, extra care is necessary to prevent the HEPA filters from getting wet when cleaning. When a germicidal detergent is used, it leaves residues that need to be eliminated from the work surfaces.
In fact, the residues are best eliminated by utilizing sterile 70% isopropyl alcohol. However, the choice of cleaning as well as disinfection items must be approved by the right authority of the organization, for instance, the Infection Control Committee. Procedures, as well as policies, should be developed to guarantee a consistent practice, like dilution of cleaning items.
4. Skills of Personnel
When it comes to sterile preparation, all personnel or health care professionals must be proficient in the following competencies.
- Proper use of different compounding devices
- Gowning procedure
- Handwashing procedure
- Disinfection and cleaning
- Aseptic manipulation
- Management of a needle stick injury
- Labeling and packaging
- Right cleanroom behavior
- Moving materials in and out
- Maintenance and cleaning of equipment and devices
Conclusion
Without a doubt, sterile preparation is extremely important. So, if you or someone you know works in the healthcare industry, make sure not to neglect such preparations. As you can see, sterile preparation is important as it protects not only the medical professionals and health care providers but also the patients. Feel free to leave a comment if you think there is more you can share about why it is important for sterile preparations in the healthcare industry.
