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Standardizing endoscope hand-off communication is one of the simplest ways to strengthen safety, traceability, and consistency across the reprocessing workflow. My team and I receive many questions from the field that point to the same issue. When key information does not travel with the scope from point-of-use to decontamination, the receiving team loses the context needed to verify, prioritize scopes appropriately, and document the process accurately.
ANSI/AAMI ST91:2022 addresses this directly. In Section 7.2.2, ST91 states that hand-off communication from point of use to the decontamination area should include, at minimum, the patient identifier, the procedure date, and the time point-of-use treatment was completed.
One question that comes up often is whether this expectation applies only to channeled scopes, or whether it also includes non-channeled flexible and semi-rigid endoscopes. The best practice interpretation is to treat it as an “all scopes” requirement. ANSI/AAMI ST91 applies broadly to flexible and semi-rigid endoscopes. Standardizing the same minimum hand-off elements for every scope type helps reduce confusion, simplify training, and prevent gaps that can occur when different devices follow different documentation practices. If your team is already tracking this information, extending the same approach to all scope types helps keep the process clear and consistent.
For teams looking to tighten up the process, the goal is straightforward: make hand-off easy for point-of-use staff and crystal clear for the decontamination team. Whether the information is captured on a tag, a label on the transport container, or electronically, those minimum elements should be present at drop-off and easy for staff to access in real time. When combined with clear expectations for point-of-use treatment and prompt transport, standardized hand-off documentation becomes a practical bridge between departments and a strong foundation for survey readiness and patient safety.
Dr. Mary Ann Drosnock
Head of Clinical Affairs
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