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The March 10 issue of ISMA Reports notified physicians of a new Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) requirement mandating autoclave spore testing every seven days.
To clarify the rule, the spore testing must be performed within seven days prior to the current sterilization procedure. In other words, testing is linked to usage. For offices that do not use their autoclaves very often, this is not an absolute requirement to spore test every seven days. Instead, spore testing must be performed within seven days prior to any autoclave usage, whenever that occurs.
According to the ISDH, some offices are reporting backlogs with their spore testing vendors. For those offices, the ISDH recommends documenting your efforts while searching for other vendors.
The revised rule became effective Jan. 1, 2008.
If you have questions about the new rule, contact ISMA’s Legal Department or Jean Svendsen at the ISDH at (317) 233-7825.
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