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ISDH now requires autoclave spore testing every seven days
The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) has amended its rule requiring autoclave spore testing. The tests now must be performed every seven days instead of every 30 days.
See ISDH final rule>>
Under Indiana law, all equipment as well as environmental and working surfaces must be cleaned and decontaminated after contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials. Any heat stable, nondisposable equipment must be sterilized using “heating procedures capable of sterilization” – i.e., an autoclave.
Any reusable equipment requiring sterilization that is destroyed or altered by heat must be sterilized by chemical means.
The revised rule, which became effective Jan. 1, 2008, matches with current recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as those of various accrediting entities and insurance companies. The change is part of increased industry-wide initiatives to promote patient safety by reducing the incidence of infections.
The ISDH monitors compliance through both audits and complaint investigations.
Further clarification>>
(Posted March 11, 2008).
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