Reusing medical supplies

Nurses General Nursing

Published

What do you think of doctor's offices that reuse medical supplies? I am not talking about things that are sterilized and standard to be reused. Here are two examples.

One, I worked as a CMA for a family practice doctor and he had us reuse the ear pieces for the otoscopes (not sure of the right word for what I am looking for). He would have us clean them with alcohol and reuse them. Personally I thought that was really cheap and not very sanitary.

Then second example, my OBs office sent me home the first visit with a sterile urine cup. Well I bring it in and they rinse it out and wipe it dry with a paper towel and hand it back to me for next visit. I also found that very cheap and unsanitary. I mean if they are that low on money buy the dixie cups instead of using sterile cups and have the patients give urine in the office (which all my previous doctors have done). Needless to say I didn't come back with the cup for the next visit.

Anyhow, wondering what your thoughts are on this. How common is this? Am I wrong to think this is really unsanitary?

Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

how does one sterilize an ear piece or specimen cup? different than instruments that go into autoclave, come on we can see that. and the US is NOT a 3rd world country, we have the resources, and cut costs in many of the wrong places. (such as nursing as well.) And "back in the day", we were not dealing w/superbugs resistant to all but one or two antibiotics, or HIV and strains of Hepatitis that were then-unknown, were we? JMO. Flame at will.

There are such products as cold sterilizations solutions. Meaning, you can soak items in it and they are "sterile". No need for heat sterilization or autoclaving. Alcohol is used as well.

And back in the day...there were superbugs, just that now we have meds to treat them, so they are no longer so super.

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We are nurses. That is we are medical professionals charged with the awsome responsibility of protecting our pt from harm and promoting their well being(health). ANYTHING that will go back on those two things should and must be avoided (yes, even cooties!). Now, the fact is our health care system in the US is going down the tubes in a flash. Many people cannot even afford health care that really need it. That forces many to really on the government for coverage. Costs MUST be cut. They just have to. However, how can someone possibley justify reusing despossible equipment in the US when so much gross over spending is happening elsewhere? There is a reason that insurance for my family would cost me (with the employer picking up some of the tab) almost $500.00 / month with a $1000 deductable and it ain't because doctors are using too many urin cups! Point in case, my grandfather was in the hospital once. One of the doctors (not one in charge of his care) cam by, popped his head in the room and said, "How we doing today Mr. Pribis?" Sure enough, a consultation charge showed up from this doctor on the bill for a one time visit. This is small potatos compared to what is going on out there. In the end, who is suffering because of the overspending? The Doctors? The Hospital VIPs? The Administrators? No, the patients. The people we are responsible for. We are not just there to heal the big diseases and take care of the badly injured, we are there to comfort the dying and to give the occassional back massage too (do they still teach that in school?). The whole pt., remember? (Sorry, cost cutting on the little things to hide the gross fleecing on the big things gets me a bit fired up).

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Geez Brian...relax. Would you like a nice new cup to pee in??

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[And back in the day...there were superbugs, just that now we have meds to treat them, so they are no longer so super.]

EH!???? You need to get back to some of those books you were suppose to have read before graduating. Holy smokes, if I didn't see it with my own eyes I would have thought this was a quote from the 1960s or 70s!

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BTW, my own otoscope (not the cheap kind from the drug store) came with covers that are not a throw aways. They are intended to be cleansed and reused. I use the disposable covers everyday in my clinic b/c I have them available to me and I don't have the time to cleanse the covers over and over. I sometimes wonder how many disposable items were just invented to make someone money. With MRSA, VRE, etc. I do feel more comfortable using disposables but after proper disinfection cleansing, is it really necessary to use the disposables or am I just making someone a buck? I serve over 700 pts in my clinic, my budget for gloves, disposable thermo and otoscope covers, as well as any other items I need to run it is $400 per year! (Fed $), when my budget is gone and the covers are gone..........I bet I'll be disinfecting, cleansing, antisepticing (lol), those covers. What else can I do?

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Alcohol while it dries cell membranes and theoretically kills some, is NO way to be considered a means to sterilize anything.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Originally posted by MishlB

Geez Brian...relax. Would you like a nice new cup to pee in??

ROFL Michelle. Your point is well-taken. But so is Brian's. Administration and others are not taking cuts to save the budget...so why should our patients have to risk their health in so doing to save a few cents?

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Originally posted by flowerchild

BTW, my own otoscope (not the cheap kind from the drug store) came with covers that are not a throw aways. They are intended to be cleansed and reused. I use the disposable covers everyday in my clinic b/c I have them available to me and I don't have the time to cleanse the covers over and over. I sometimes wonder how many disposable items were just invented to make someone money. With MRSA, VRE, etc. I do feel more comfortable using disposables but after proper disinfection cleansing, is it really necessary to use the disposables or am I just making someone a buck? I serve over 700 pts in my clinic, my budget for gloves, disposable thermo and otoscope covers, as well as any other items I need to run it is $400 per year! (Fed $), when my budget is gone and the covers are gone..........I bet I'll be disinfecting, cleansing, antisepticing (lol), those covers. What else can I do?

I would be willing to pay the few cents (the cost outlay it REALLY represents) to get new otoscope covers and specie cups myself I am quite unwilling to bring a USED pee cup home ----where do I keep it with kids around? And WHY would I? ICK! As far as replacement ear pieces and cups, sadly, I would likely be charged about 100x that worth in the average hospital. It is an outrage what they can get for a single tylenol or pair of sterile gloves in recoupment charges! But I am willing to cover *real charges* for my own health's sake, and that of my family. But that is just me.

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Let me first add that my issue was not with reusing disposable items as much as it is not properly sterilizing them. If you want to reuse otoscope covers then they should be soaked at the end of the night in the cold sterilization chemicals that the rest of the equipment is sterilized in. The way the doctor was doing this there was no checks and balances to be sure that these items were actually getting sterilized at all. You were just supposed to wipe them down with alcohol when you cleaned up the room.

Secondly as far as the urine cups, seems ridiculous. I understand that the sterile urine cups may be more money. Why use them at all though if you aren't collecting a sterile specimen. I know I can go to the grocery store and get 200 dixie cups for $3. I am sure a doctor's office buying in quantity can get them even cheaper. I understand my results aren't probably being effected by reusing the urine cups, but why use sterile cups in the first place if you aren't concerned about having a sterile specimen.

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Originally posted by brianpribis

[And back in the day...there were superbugs, just that now we have meds to treat them, so they are no longer so super.]

EH!???? You need to get back to some of those books you were suppose to have read before graduating. Holy smokes, if I didn't see it with my own eyes I would have thought this was a quote from the 1960s or 70s!

Shows how old you are, EH? Books aren't the only source of learning, young Brian.

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Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

I would be willing to pay the few cents (the cost outlay it REALLY represents) to get new otoscope covers and specie cups myself I am quite unwilling to bring a USED pee cup home ----where do I keep it with kids around? And WHY would I? ICK! As far as replacement ear pieces and cups, sadly, I would likely be charged about 100x that worth in the average hospital. It is an outrage what they can get for a single tylenol or pair of sterile gloves in recoupment charges! But I am willing to cover *real charges* for my own health's sake, and that of my family. But that is just me.

Keep those kids away from that dangerous toilet!!!!!!!Ewww gross...yucky poo poo. Gimme a break. Where do you keep anything with the kids around? IT'S A CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!WASH IT!!!!!!!!!

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[shows how old you are, EH? Books aren't the only source of learning, young Brian.]

Oh yea! Maybe it does and myabe it doesn't. Gosh, I think I will relax to some music, now where did I put that LP?

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