The last few blogs focused on the importance of standardization to decrease waste, remove unnecessary steps, improve turnover, and provide consistent workflow and increase efficiency. Currently, standardization and offsite processing are key buzz words for strategic plans to reduce handling and cut costs in SPD.

Water quality is a hot topic within SPD and there is a new AAMI standard ST108 that users now need to comply with. ST108 includes recommendations for scheduled water testing and monitoring as well as risk assessments to determine the appropriate water quality for the intended use.

Employee exposure to hazardous chemicals, such as pesticides, disinfectants, cleaners, and hazardous drugs, in the workplace creates a liability for the industry, including healthcare, with some healthcare organizations paying up to $10.5 billion.

We are going through a very perilous time while we are destroying our planet with the overuse of chemicals, pollution of our wastewater streams, and continuing climate change. It is up to all of us consumers, industry and healthcare professionals to work together to reduce waste and reduce the chemical footprint before it is too late.