Sterile Processing Perspectives

June 24, 2026

Routine multidisciplinary rounding may be one of the most effective tools for preventing adherence drift in sterile processing. By engaging infection prevention, environmental services, facilities, safety, and SPD leadership, health care organizations can identify risks early, improve accountability, and strengthen patient safety. Read how a structured EOC rounding program can help keep departments survey-ready and adherent.

May 27, 2026

Sterile processing departments (SPD) are increasingly being pushed beyond reactive maintenance models as equipment failures, workflow disruptions, and tray defects continue to impact surgical readiness and patient safety. This article explores why SPD may be uniquely positioned for an AI-driven predictive maintenance revolution, examining how systems thinking, IoT integration, human factors research, and real-time equipment monitoring could help reduce disruptions before failures occur. The piece also highlights the growing shift toward treating maintenance as a strategic reliability function tied directly to infection prevention, OR efficiency, and operational resilience across health care systems.

March 04, 2026

When sterile instruments look perfect but hidden soil remains, patient safety is at risk. In this in-depth ICT article, Marjorie Wall, EDBA, CRCST, CIS, CHL, CSSBB, explains why ultrasonic cleaning is not just equipment, but a critical quality system, and how failures in cavitation, lumen flushing, or water quality can quietly undermine infection prevention in the operating room and sterile processing department.

January 09, 2026

Cleaning failures can undermine high-level disinfection of ultrasound probes. Learn why proper cleaning, drying, and inspection matter, and how standardization and automation can improve reprocessing outcomes and patient safety.

December 29, 2025

Look back with ICT at their print issues and look ahead at what ICT's 30th year will hold!

November 18, 2025

With hospitals across the country accelerating investments in automation, why does human competence remain vital?

July 30, 2025

As climate change accelerates, health care’s environmental impact faces increased scrutiny, with sterile processing departments (SPDs) emerging as key change agents. Often behind the scenes, SPD professionals can lead sustainability by turning routine practices into ecofriendly protocols that protect both patient and planetary health.

July 22, 2025

From unsterilized surgical tools in Colorado to a years-long methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) outbreak in Virginia and a surging measles crisis in Canada, recent headlines reveal the fragile front lines of infection prevention and the high stakes when systems fail.

May 16, 2025

Invisible yet deadly, endotoxins evade traditional sterilization methods, posing significant risks during routine surgeries. Understanding and addressing their threat is critical for patient safety.

April 25, 2025

Sterile processing departments face high-stakes challenges daily. At AORN 2025, Marjorie Wall outlined transformative strategies to improve safety, efficiency, and cross-departmental collaboration, and also discussed HSPA 2025.