1. Reuse of single use medical devices.
- Author
-
Tapp A
- Subjects
- Canada, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome prevention & control, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome transmission, Equipment Contamination legislation & jurisprudence, Equipment Contamination statistics & numerical data, Equipment Safety methods, Humans, Infection Control methods, Liability, Legal, Operating Room Nursing organization & administration, Risk Factors, Risk Management organization & administration, Sterilization organization & administration, Disposable Equipment microbiology, Disposable Equipment statistics & numerical data, Equipment Contamination prevention & control, Equipment Reuse legislation & jurisprudence, Equipment Reuse statistics & numerical data, Equipment and Supplies, Hospital microbiology, Equipment and Supplies, Hospital statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
During the ten years that I have worked at the Canadian Nurses Protective Society, we have had numerous calls from Operating Room nurses questioning the practice of re-using single use medical devices in their facilities and voicing their concerns about possible harm to patients, themselves and potential liability exposure. Interest in this topic has been rekindled by the recent Saskatchewan case involving the death of a patient from variant Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (vCJD) and possible transmission of vCJD to 71 patients who may have been exposed to the same endoscope as the deceased while in hospital. In this article, I propose to address some of the concerns related to the reuse of single use medical devices by focusing on the prevalence of this practice, the legal risks involved, regulation of this practice, and risk management.
- Published
- 2003