Reducing The Burden of Environmental Contamination

The use of adhesives and stickers on containers and medical devices has become a potential problem. Issues with residue on devices have led to a surge in citations from The Joint Commission for facilities not properly removing adhesive labels and the associated residue. It is evident that the practice of using stickers, a potential environmental contaminant, may be on the decline even for labeling devices for instrument tracking software. According to a paper published by The Joint Commission, tape or other adhesive residue are at the top of its list of items identified for preventive maintenance to reduce the burden of environmental contamination. Read on to discover what Case Medical can do.

All healthcare facilities use labels to identify procedure trays, containers, and individual items for instrument tracking. Adhesive labels are handy, but also leave behind residue, a sticky adhesive that is difficult to remove, which can attract contaminants to medical devices almost like fly paper. After several washes, the bar code on the sticker smears and is hard to read or scan. Handwritten count sheets commonly used need to be placed in peel packs or paper bags to avoid chemical residue on trays and containers wherever the ink touches the surface. For this reason and more, facilities are using software and digital documentation for record keeping.

Initially to solve the issue of tape adhesive and ink residue, Case Medical provided an Ink and Adhesive Remover. Currently updated as our previous version has been replaced with a safer and more sustainable option that displays the U.S. EPA Safer Choice label, a testament to the product’s safety and effectiveness. Nevertheless, we can do so much more. Our products are developed to solve problems. For example, if handwritten count sheets can be eliminated, adhesive labels replaced with a reusable barcode plaque, and count sheets digitized and accessed with a simple scan is there any need to be concerned about ink, tape or sticky residue, potential environmental contaminants?

Over the past decade, sustainability initiatives within health care systems have looked for alternatives to hazardous chemical usage, single use devices, and paper and pen. Case Medical, a U.S. EPA Safer Choice Partner of the Year, has been at the forefront of this movement by developing, safer cleaners, cloud-based software and reusable products with laser marked 2D barcodes for identification and asset management. Why use stickers or paper when a unique barcode on the SteriTite container latch links the specific container to a human readable UDI plus our IFU translated into 37 languages, and by subscription to CaseTrak360. Case Medical’s 360 Degree Thinking has emerged as a more effective way to enhance process flow and asset management in medical facilities. Join us next week to learn more about our sustainable solutions that can meet your needs and contribute to a safer world.

Visit us anytime at www.casemed.com to learn more about our products and services. We are here to help.

Kindest Regards,

Marcia Frieze and the Case Medical team