An Expert Perspective of Errors in Endoscope Reprocessing

Endoscope reprocessing has been identified as a complex procedure that, when completed incorrectly, can lead to patient outbreaks due to cross contamination. Most reported incidents cite human error as the cause, but little research to date has explored the human factors related issues surrounding reprocessing procedures. The purpose of this study was to interview experts in endoscope reprocessing to determine the most difficult steps and error prone tasks in the procedure as well as identify potential contributing factors to error. Relationships between tasks and contributing factors are examined and implications for future research are discussed.