Best Practices in Endoscope Reprocessing to Prevent Infections and Delays

Every patient deserves safe care from the very start. World Patient Safety Day 2025 (September 17) highlights this fact and this year’s focus is on the unique vulnerability of newborns and children. While pediatrics is in the spotlight, one fact remains constant: safe care in hospitals is not an aspiration; it’s an expectation.

For patients undergoing endoscopic procedures, safety begins long before the first scope is used. It starts with reprocessing. When reprocessing is inconsistent, patients face preventable infections, delayed procedures, and diminished trust. When done right (every time), it becomes a powerful safeguard for both patient safety and surgical efficiency.

Reprocessing vs. Sterile Processing: Why the Difference Matters

While sterile processing covers the cleaning, sterilization, and preparation of all surgical instruments, reprocessing refers specifically to the multi-step cleaning and high-level disinfection of flexible endoscopes, such as colonoscopes, gastroscopes, and bronchoscopes, each of which presents unique challenges because they can’t typically undergo standard sterilization methods.”Both are vital, but endoscopes require unique attention because they can’t typically undergo standard sterilization methods.

When teams lack specialized training, or staffing gaps force shortcuts, both patient safety and efficiency are compromised. That’s why hospitals increasingly rely on dedicated surgical support services to maintain quality and compliance.

Why Endoscope Reprocessing Matters

Both gastrointestinal endoscopes and bronchoscopes have been linked to contamination and infection outbreaks when reprocessing steps are skipped or rushed. In fact, recent reports show persistent contamination in patient-ready bronchoscopes, underscoring how essential proper training and oversight are across all specialties.

• Infection prevention: Endoscopes are complex instruments with narrow channels that make them difficult to clean. Without rigorous reprocessing, residual contamination can lead to reportable infections. 
• Operational flow: Incomplete or delayed reprocessing can stall procedures, disrupt schedules, and frustrate clinicians and patients alike.
• Regulatory compliance: Accreditation bodies such as The Joint Commission expect strict adherence to reprocessing standards — and failing to meet them puts hospitals at risk.

The stakes are high. That’s why the question every hospital should be asking is: What are we doing today to prevent contamination and delays?

Best Practices in Endoscope Reprocessing

To ensure safety, consistency, and readiness, leading hospitals and GI centers implement these proven practices:

1. Standardized protocols: Every scope, every time. Following manufacturer instructions and evidence-based guidelines is non-negotiable.
2. Competency-based training: Annual competencies validate staff knowledge and ensure techniques keep pace with evolving standards.
3. Automated tracking systems: Digital logging improves accountability and ensures no steps are skipped.
4. Separation of clean and dirty workflows: Physical and process separation minimizes cross-contamination risks.
5. Regular audits and mock surveys: Proactive assessments prepare teams for Joint Commission surveys and identify gaps before they become findings.
6. Sufficient staffing: Adequate, trained personnel prevent shortcuts under pressure, which is often the root cause of many lapses.

How We Can Help

At Surgical Solutions, we partner with hospitals and ASCs to strengthen reprocessing practices:

• Ensuring teams can have Joint Commission compliance and pass Joint Commission inspections with confidence.
• Supporting yearly competencies and ongoing training.
• Providing scalable staffing models that reduce burnout and turnover in endoscopy units.
• Offering real-world expertise to help you prevent reportable infections and delays.

Patient Safety Is the Goal

On World Patient Safety Day, we recognize the clinicians, nurses, and reprocessing technicians whose diligence protects patients every day for children and adults alike. Whether it’s a colonoscopy, bronchoscopy, or any other endoscopic procedure, patient safety starts with reprocessing. The unseen work of technicians and support staff directly protects patients in every specialty. Endoscope reprocessing may happen behind the scenes, but its impact is felt in every safe outcome.

At Surgical Solutions, we partner with hospitals and ASCs to strengthen these processes, ensuring that every scope, every time, meets the highest standards for safety and compliance. Safe care doesn’t happen in the operating room; it starts long before, in the details, in the processes, and in the hard-working, diligent people who carry them out in the reprocessing centers.

Patient safety starts here.

What practices are you implementing in your GI or endoscopy unit to prevent contamination and delays? Let’s start the conversation.

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Let’s start the conversation.