A system which uses liquid germicides to kill or inactivate microorganisms from flexible endoscopes, taking less time than sterilization. Some units provide near sterile disinfection. A liquid chemical germicide is circulated throughout the endoscope. Some units can be used for other medical devices such as microsurgical instruments and forceps.
1. Endoscope Cleaners should have an auto-disinfection cycle to optimize efficiency. They should also have documentation of cycle times and results. Audible alarms should alert operators of any problem or endoscope cleaner failure.
2. Facilities should carefully examine their existing endoscope reprocessing protocol prior to purchasing a flexible endoscope reprocessor.
3. Automatic flexible endoscope reprocessors may be considered in facilities with the following problems: glutaraldehyde exposure complaints, reprocessing inconsistency, inability to handle the volume of endoscopes that need reprocessing.
4. When comparing high cost alternatives or determining the positive or negative economic value of a single alternative, medical facilities may use the life cycle cost analysis. These techniques can be used to examine the cost effectiveness of leasing or renting endoscope cleaning equipment versus purchasing endoscope washers outright.
5. Life cycle cost analysis is most useful for comparing alternatives with different cash-flows and for revealing the total costs of endoscope cleaner equipment ownership because it examines the cash-flow impact of initial acquisition costs and operating costs over a period of time.
6. The present value analysis is extremely useful because it accounts for inflation and for the time value of money. It often demonstrates that the cost of endoscope cleaner ownership is much more than just the initial acquisition cost, and that even a tiny increase in initial acquisition cost may produce significant savings in endoscope washers operating costs.
Before you purchase your Endoscope Cleaner, we recommend you ask the seller the following questions:
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