In 2022, who could have imagined the headlines to read “ Hospital Warns Thousands of Patients of Possible Infection Risk from Improperly Cleaned Equipment”? 

40 years after the publication of the first official guidelines to prevent hospital- acquired infections, the risk still remains. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 1.7 million patients suffer from an hospital-acquired infection each year, and another 100,000 die from one.

The good news is that, thanks to the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), sterilization processes can be improved and the risk of transmission of diseases from patient to patient can be reduced. Let’s take a look at how digital solutions hold the potential to prevent hospital-acquired infections.

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A bit of history

For a few decades now, nosocomial infections, also known as healthcare-associated infections, or hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) have been taken seriously. The term “nosocomial” is derived from two Greek words, “nosus” meaning “disease” and “komeion” meaning “to take care of.” Nosocomial infections thus refer to any infections contracted by a patient while being in the hospital (or under medical care). In the 1980s, the CDC published its first guidelines for infection control, sterilization of medical devices and disinfection of the healthcare environment. At the same time, with the blood scandal in France, the world awoke to the risk of patients leaving the hospital in a worse physical condition than they were in upon arrival (though the issue was not due to medical devices but to the blood itself).

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Sterilization and inventory of reusable medical devices are key

As modern healthcare employs many types of medical devices, the risk of infections is ubiquitous. Infections can be associated not only with the devices used in medical procedures, such as reusable catheters and surgical tools but also with invasive devices such as orthopedic implants that are left inside the patient’s body.

Fortunately, most hospital-acquired infections are preventable. By knowing exactly whether the items have been properly sterilized and which surgical kit has been used on which patient, one can prevent infection, limit the transmission of diseases from patient to patient as well as cases of retained surgical instruments (RSI).

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After all, IoMT is the hospital's best friend.

With the deployment of IoMT devices, infection prevention can be greatly facilitated. Medical devices that are connected can now be easily located within the hospital premises, enabling a precise inventory of tools before and after a procedure. When associated with smart tracking solutions, automated reports are generated providing valuable information regarding how medical items are used, moved, and sterilized, and when and if they have reached their maximum number of use. Connected medical devices are expected to reach 7.4 million units by 2026. Medical devices providers with smart solutions have the opportunity to optimize the sterilization and inventory processes, thus playing a key role in the prevention of HAIs.

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So when the Telegraph reports that “not all steps were followed to ensure safe cleaning or sterilization between patients” in the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin, one can only advise hospitals to promptly adopt smart digital solutions in order to optimize their sterilization and inventory processes. For the sake of patient safety.

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