Reprocessing Medical Equipment

Consultation on this standard closed on April 22, 2022. 

About the standard

The current Reprocessing Medical Equipment standard requires physicians to follow directions given by  CPSA’s Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Committee and ensure all reprocessed medical equipment is properly cleaned, disinfected and sterilized to manufacturer and CPSA standards.

What’s changed

• Rename Infection Prevention and Control to address broadening of standard and to indicate the content of the standard
  • The current standard only addresses one subset of IPAC’s standards (Medical Device Reprocessing)
• The draft calls attention to the General Standards and, in particular, the new section on single-use medical devices (Part A)
• Clarify that the standard applies to all regulated members and their responsibility to prevent the potential spread of infection in clinical settings
• Add requirement for all regulated members to practice in accordance with all Infection Prevention and Control General Standards
• Clarify the requirement for using reprocessed medical devices in a non-hospital setting and extend to unaccredited facilities (e.g., community clinics)
• Add requirements on:
  • Single-use medical devices in a non-hospital setting or unaccredited facility
  • Ongoing quality assurance through monitoring practices and making changes accordingly
  • Fully cooperating with any IPAC-related visit in accordance with the Health Professions Act

NOTE: Concurrent work is being done to rename the IPAC General Standards and Medical Device Reprocessing Standards to differentiate them from the standard of practice. See the rationale for changes to IPAC standard of practice.