HSI Consulting Services
Working Together to Create Safer Healthcare EnvironmentsLeverage HSI’s expertise, research, and innovation
Work with us 1-on-1 to bridge the gaps and tackle the challenges of reducing HAIs spread via contaminated surfaces.
The Value of HSI Consulting Services
HSI recognizes the importance of collaboration and will ensure the right people are at the table when working with each of our clients. Our organization encompasses a wide and diverse group of healthcare professionals, scientists, thought leaders, experts, and innovative solution providers.
For more information or a quote, please contact our Executive Director, Linda Lybert.
Who We Work With
Healthcare Professionals & Facilities
We help healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities:
- Minimize patient risk
- Reduce repair and replacement costs before you purchase products, knowing that cleaning and disinfection won’t damage the products or materials.
- Gain clarity around IFUs and accompanying documents to verify consistency and reduce confusion.
- Have higher confidence in purchasing products following a full evaluation of the IFUs, companion documents, and testing documents.
- Reduce the chances of voided warranties by ensuring infection prevention cleaning and disinfection guidelines are compatible with manufacturer IFUs.
- Ensure the surface materials and products are appropriate based on location, level of contamination, and cleaning and disinfection timelines.
Architects & Design Professionals
The ability to effectively clean and disinfect healthcare environments is critical in reducing microbial contamination. We can help you:
- Provide your clients with a comprehensive packet of information and documentation on cleaning, disinfection, care, and maintenance for the specified materials and products.
- Based on the environment in which they are being specified, it is important to know if a surface material will support the rigorous cleaning and disinfection requirements without being damaged.
- Provide your client with the names of specialty disinfectants.
- Utilize surfaces strategically.
Manufacturers
We help manufacturers of surface materials, medical devices, patient care products, and medical instruments to:
- Gain clarity from the confusion that often comes from working in such a dynamic industry. Change is inevitable.
- Reduce warranty claims.
- Reduce testing costs.
- Build a bridge of communication with multiple areas of expertise, all of whom are involved in the final decision-making process.
- Create IFUs that healthcare professionals understand and follow.
- Understand barriers and challenges when working with key professionals so they have confidence when purchasing your products and services.
Consulting Services Overview
Instructions for Use (IFU) Research and Evaluation
There are many challenges/ barriers to successfully implementing manufacturer IFUs; it is another to find them, understand them, ensure they are updated, and ultimately be able to implement them. Moreover, there is not just one IFU; there are many: disinfectant IFU, manufacturer IFU, infection prevention guidelines, and care and maintenance guidelines, which are companion documents.
Our team will:
- Search for and find both the IFU and companion care and maintenance documents for the surfaces being evaluated, i.e., environmental, medical devices, patient care products, scopes, and instruments.
- Review for any potential conflicts between all documents.
- Review manufacturer warnings.
- Review infection prevention guidelines and evaluate other products located in the same area to determine whether they can be cleaned and disinfected with the same type of disinfectant without causing damage.
Surfaces Matter™: Surface Selection for Strategic Support of Infection Prevention
The selection of surface materials has a significant impact on microbial acquisition and transmission of biofilm formation, room turnover, effective cleaning, disinfection of patient care environments and products used for patient care, sterile reprocessing of medical devices, and more.
Our team will:
- Research options for the selection of surfaces that have been tested to validate cleanability and compatibility within the healthcare setting.
- Review and provide IFUs, care and maintenance documents, and guidelines for cleaning and disinfection based on where and how materials and products will be used.
- Receive types of cleaning disinfection and reprocessing infection prevention guidelines.
- Receive the cleaning and disinfectant product list from the facility.
Focus Groups: Building Bridges to Sustainable Solutions
Addressing the communication gap to find sustainable solutions and reduce HAIs. Improving patient safety and reducing HAIs remains a persistent challenge. This problem is multifaceted, and at the root of the challenge is a gap in understanding and communication between diverse groups – including healthcare professionals, manufacturers, regulatory agencies, and others – which continues to put patients at risk and hinders the development of sustainable solutions.
Our team will facilitate discussions between:
- Manufacturers who are developing innovative products or environmental surfaces and the teams within healthcare who hold accountability and responsibility for cleaning and disinfection.
- Architects and design professionals designing healthcare environments and infection prevention professionals need to understand how the selection of surfaces affects cleaning and disinfection challenges, room turnover times, and surface damage.
Deliverables
While deliverables may vary based on the scope of work (SOW), some examples include:
- Provide a detailed report based on current state gaps, action for improvement, and future state.
- Copies of IFUs and companion documents.
- The IFU template meeting will be based on IPC and provider cleaning, disinfecting, and maintenance requirements.
- A crosswalk template for use with each provider to identify specific areas requiring intervention.
- Focus group meetings will be recorded for reference following the meeting.
Healthcare Surfaces Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; all donations are tax-deductible. Copyright © 2023 Healthcare Surfaces Institute. All rights reserved. Surfaces Matter™ is a trademark of Healthcare Surfaces Institute.
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