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Document, monitor, and limit flash sterilization to stay out of hot water with The Joint Commission

Briefings on Infection Control, October 1, 2008

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Flash sterilization should be used only in unplanned or emergency situations, as stipulated by The Joint Commission. But all too often, facilities are using these devices routinely to make up for an inadequate amount of equipment or staff members, putting themselves at risk of a requirement for improvement (RFI) from The Joint Commission and, more importantly, putting patients at risk of a potential infection.

Flash sterilization is a focus of Joint Commission standard IC.4.10, says Peggy Luebbert, MS, MT (ASCP), CIC, CHSP, owner and consultant at Healthcare Interventions, Inc., in Omaha, NE. The IC standards are found in the “Infection Prevention and Control” chapter of the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals (CAMH). In 2009, the Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) will renumber the IC standards (see “2009 IC standards: New numbers, familiar concepts” on p. 5) and address sterilization requirements under standard IC.02.02.01.

In the current CAMH, IC standards IC.2.10, IC.3.10, and IC.5.10, as well as leadership standards LD.2.20 and EP.2.10, are also relevant to sterilization.

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