Month: September 2024

Cleveland Clinic Innovation Study Reveals Increased Concern for Dirty Stethoscopes, and Patient Preference For Novel Touch-Free Barrier Solution

Posted on by Anthony Pham
The DiskCover System is a visible form of elevated patient protection that allows clinicians to make their stethoscopes touch-free in just 2 seconds.

Published by AseptiScope®

SAN DIEGO, Sep. 20, 2024

Amid increased patient concerns about hospitals ‘cleanliness’, as well as newly proposed 2024 stethoscope hygiene guidelines by the CDC, Cleveland Clinic researchers explored patient and provider preferences for various stethoscope hygiene methods. It turns out that patients and caregivers alike are concerned about stethoscope contamination, and patients rarely witness stethoscopes cleaning prior to the exam. This new study, titled “Patients and Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions of Stethoscope Barriers” published today in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (OJIN), reveals new concerns for patient safety, and a common preference for a new solution; the touch-free DiskCover® System.  

Stethoscopes are now recognized as highly contaminated vectors that, just like the hands, share pathogens between each patient examination. In fact, stethoscopes are often referred to as the clinician’s “third hand” for their contamination levels and frequency of touching patients. Ostensibly, this means that stethoscope may be undermining all efforts of hand hygiene in healthcare.  With stethoscopes touching US patients over five billion times a year, it is conceivable that this vital medical device may be undermining infection control protocols everywhere. Touch-free, aseptic, stethoscope “disk cover” barriers are an established technology, with excellent clinical acceptance validated by multiple healthcare facilities in a broad range of clinical focuses across the nation. The study carried out by the Cleveland Clinic’s Nursing Innovation team aimed to find out patient perceptions of this novel solution to stethoscope hygiene.

This cross sectional study, surveyed 240 Cleveland Clinic patients and healthcare professionals who witnessed various methods for stethoscope hygiene.

Key findings indicate that patients rarely observe healthcare providers disinfecting their stethoscopes, with only 5% witnessing regular cleaning. The patient surveys also revealed:

  • They believe clean stethoscopes are important.
  • They rarely see clinicians cleaning stethoscopes.
  • Touch-free, disk cover barriers (The DiskCover System) were viewed positively by respondents.
The DiskCover System makes stethoscopes touch-free for patients.

The DiskCover System is a visible form of elevated patient protection that allows clinicians to make their stethoscopes touch-free in just 2 seconds.

Healthcare providers also favored The DiskCover System over alcohol cleaning of the stethoscope for its potential to enhance workflow, an ongoing infection control compliance factor for busy healthcare workers. They also believed that integrating touch-free barrier application into their hygiene practices would result in a greater improvement in patient satisfaction.

AseptiScope Co-Founder and CEO Scott Mader expressed enthusiasm about the study, stating, “The DiskCover System was designed to help busy clinicians while protecting patients.  However, this new data shows that in addition to actual patient protection, the visible disk cover barrier provides patient comfort that their healthcare provider is keeping them safe”.

In a healthcare environment where hospital-acquired infections remain a significant concern, The DiskCover System offers a bacteriologically impervious solution that is easier to use and more effective at delivering visual evidence of cleanliness, giving both patients and staff greater confidence in infection control practices. The study’s findings make a strong case for integrating The DiskCover System into routine care to safeguard patient health and elevate the patient experience, helping them feel more protected.

Patients come into the care of hospitals to heal, but contaminated stethoscopes and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have been a long-standing threat to this ideal. A report by Press Ganey, referencing patient experience data sourced from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), found that the COVID-19 pandemic “created a dramatic shift in patient perceptions of hospital cleanliness.”

Patient perceptions for hospital hygiene have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Press Ganey, Emerging Best Practices in Response to Evolving Patient Perceptions of Clean. 2022.

Patient perceptions for hospital hygiene have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Source: Press Ganey, Emerging Best Practices in Response to Evolving Patient Perceptions of Clean. 2022.

Co-author W. Frank Peacock IV, MD, FACEP, FACC, FESC states, “This patient data aligns with Press Ganey research showing that demonstrations of protecting patients have become much more profound following COVID. Having a proven and visible safeguard for stethoscope hygiene is not only convenient and effective, but is something that comforts our patients as they receive care.”

This technology is increasingly being utilized in clinical care with real world commentary echoing what has been reinforced by Cleveland Clinic’s patients. Dr. Eric Crawley, a specialist at Hawaii Pacific Health, doesn’t need the study to see the impact on patient satisfaction. “I use this every single day, on every single patient, and, without fail, patients are blown away by it. They are incredibly impressed by our commitment to their safety. I deal with a considerable number of transplants, immuno-suppressed patients, and people that don’t need to pick up resistant pathogens.”

The DiskCover System is produced by AseptiScope, a medical device company based in San Diego, CA. AseptiScope, DiskCover, and related logos are registered trademarks of AseptiScope, Inc.

Cancer Centers Race to Adopt Revolutionary Infection Control Technology as CDC Elevates Concern

Posted on by Anthony Pham

Story by Mod Homez

Published 09/12/24 AT 2:13:44 AM PST

Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) concerns have risen dramatically since the CDC labeled stethoscope hygiene as a critical factor in addressing disease transmission. Scientific literature proves that medical devices may be overlooked as vectors for pathogens spread through touch, disproving the assumption that hand-to-hand contact is the only cause of transmission in clinical settings. After this, stethoscopes are the main perpetrators of disease and bacteria in healthcare facilities due to frequent patient contact and ineffective hygiene methods. California-based medical device startup AseptiScope® has introduced The DiskCover System, a revolutionary technology that prevents stethoscopes from touching patients directly during exams. The company’s novel technology is being adopted by leading cancer centers in the US to safeguard some of the nation’s most vulnerable patients and tackle the issue of alcohol-resistant pathogens.

Disk covers are a new innovation to help cancer centers protect their patients.
A clean glove for the Clinician’s Third Hand.

Commonly referred to as a ‘clinician’s third hand,’ stethoscopes touch US patients over five billion times per year and are as contaminated as unwashed hands. These findings prove that infection control measures have inadequately considered the risk of medical devices such as stethoscopes. Stethoscopes were disinfected per CDC guidelines in less than 4% of encounters, and it’s very plausible that patients are exposed to pathogens during every hospital visit.

Past guidelines have misclassified stethoscopes as a “non-critical” concern, but accrued evidence has shown just the opposite, with experts in the field calling on the CDC to elevate the stethoscope to a concern as significant as clinicians’ hands. In response, this year, the CDC has issued that stethoscopes ‘transmit via touch,’ and that, like hands, hygiene should be conducted between every patient exam.

However, decades of indiscriminately disinfecting with isopropyl alcohol have fueled the development of alcohol-resistant pathogens capable of surviving the recommended 60 seconds of cleaning. Leading experts in major cancer centers have called for novel solutions to this rapidly growing safety concern and updates in the CDC’s guidelines. Disposable stethoscope diaphragms have been proposed as a mitigation strategy to reduce pathogen transmission.

A new technology, The DiskCover System, has demonstrated immediate resolution to stethoscope contamination and transmission. This cutting-edge system is more effective than previously suggested disinfection methods. The DiskCover System eliminates the shortcomings of stethoscope hygiene by eliminating direct contact between the stethoscope and the patient, so that each exam is completely clean, and patients have no exposure to dangerous pathogens during examination.

Recently, experts at the top cancer centers in the U.S. called for stethoscope hygiene to become a prioritized “new normal” and, compared the data associated with all options for hygiene, their conclusion was that The DiskCover System’s aseptic, touch-free barriers are superior across a wide range of considerations. Most significantly, because they provide an “aseptic point of contact 100% of the time,” which elevates patient safety to a new level.

In Houston, the cancer care leader MD Anderson Cancer Center held its annual emergencies in oncology conference, where several abstracts were presented on the subject of stethoscope contamination. One of these publications, entitled “stethoscopes no longer need to touch patients,” received great interest from cancer experts in attendance.“The DiskCover System was created to address this major patient safety issue, and we have designed it to be easy, convenient, and immediate. Most importantly, it was designed to completely halt the transmission of pathogens and elevate patient safety during examinations,” says Scott Mader, CEO at San Diego-based AseptiScope®.

“Cancer patients are more susceptible to infection due to their course of treatment, stethoscope exams, and routine in patient assessment,” said Gerardo Midence, MD, an oncologist at the St. Joseph Cancer Center in Lewiston, Idaho. “We evaluated The DiskCover System and found it useful, practical, and functional. Importantly, it makes stethoscope hygiene more reliable and timely.” The DiskCover System is being placed in hand hygiene stations, where healthcare providers are already trained to stop before seeing the patient. For this reason, it’s no surprise that it is preferred by clinicians who rely on stethoscopes – because of their high-fidelity, time-saving nature.

The DiskCover System is also elevating patient experience, as it is a visible indicator of protection. In a study by investigators at the world-leading Cleveland Clinic, patients reported that they rarely see stethoscopes being cleaned and immediately feel The DiskCover System is a robust measure keeping them safe during exams. Five thousand miles to the west, Dr. Eric Crawley, a specialist at Hawaii Pacific Health, doesn’t need the study to see the impact on patient satisfaction. “I use this every single day, on every single patient, and, without fail, patients are blown away by it. They are incredibly impressed by our commitment to their safety. I deal with a considerable number of transplants, immuno-suppressed patients, and people that don’t need to pick up resistant pathogens.”

Immunocompromised patients, such as those undergoing cancer treatment, can visibly see the additional layer of protection added by The DiskCover System.
The DiskCover System is a visible form of patient protection.

Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) concerns have risen dramatically since the CDC labeled stethoscope hygiene as a critical factor in addressing disease transmission. Scientific…

In a post-COVID era where patients are increasingly concerned about cleanliness in clinical environments, the need for transparent, reliable, and effective infection control measures has never been more critical. Medical literature has long recognized the severity of pathogen transmission through stethoscopes, and providers are beginning to join this movement in light of changing guidelines. As breakthrough technology like the DiskCover System enables touch-free diagnostic experiences, patients can rest easy knowing that providers are committed to reducing healthcare-associated infection, preventing the growth of highly resistant pathogens to protect them in every way possible.

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Article from MSN Microsoft Start: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/cancer-centers-race-to-adopt-revolutionary-infection-control-technology-as-cdc-elevates-concern/ar-AA1qryPI?ocid=socialshare#