Kara Nadeau

Boston

Senior Contributing Editor at Healthcare Purchasing News

Contributing Editor at Medical Laboratory Observer

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Articles

Sterile Processing Compliance and Standards Update

1 week ago | hpnonline.com | Kara Nadeau

Halfway through 2025 and after the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) March 2025 Spring Sterilization Standards Week and April 2025 Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA) Conference, there are several new, updated and emerging standards and guidance documents that impact sterile processing (SP) professionals.
Navigating the medical lab landscape: Key trends in costs, contracting, staffing, and technology

1 month ago | mlo-online.com | Kara Nadeau

As U.S. medical laboratories adapt to evolving challenges, both ongoing (e.g., staffing issues and cost pressures) and emerging, respondents to the 2025 MLO State of the Industry (SOI) survey on lab management best practices remain steadfast in some priorities and practices while shifting focus in others.
A Multi-Faceted, Data-Driven Approach to Sterile Processing Transformation and Optimization

2 months ago | hpnonline.com | Kara Nadeau

While some sterile processing departments (SPD) have demonstrated impressive improvements in specific areas of their operations, such as quality, productivity, or education, the UF Health Shands SPD team impacted all these areas in the past year. They embarked on the transformational change of centralizing instrument reprocessing to a 57,000 square foot Offsite Reprocessing Center (ORC), going live with all surgical services locations in just five months.
Automation in the Sterile Processing Department

Feb 25, 2025 | hpnonline.com | Kara Nadeau

Technologies that can automate manual processes in the sterile processing department (SPD), boosting efficiency, assuming physically laborious tasks, and/or contributing to improved instrument quality and safety, have been heralded as a panacea for understaffed and overworked sterile processing (SP) professionals. In this article, SP professionals and technology/solutions providers offer an overview of where automation has taken hold and is providing benefit.
U.S. medical labs embrace digital transformation amid staffing, cost and data challenges: Key insights from the 2025 MLO State of the Industry (SOI) Survey

Feb 24, 2025 | mlo-online.com | Kara Nadeau

U.S. medical laboratory professionals continue on their digital transformation journey, moving from on-premise, legacy laboratory information systems (LIS) to hybrid and cloud-based solutions, digitizing more processes, and increasing use of analytics to support operations, according to the results of the 2025 MLO State of the Industry (SOI) Survey Article on Data Analytics.
Why Water Quality in Sterile Processing Departments is Now a Top Priority

Jan 28, 2025 | hpnonline.com | Kara Nadeau

The topic of water quality and management has been coming up more and more in my conversations with sterile processing (SP) professionals. While the ANSI/AAMI ST108:2023 standard for water quality systems in medical device processing has certainly been a driver, concerns about water quality in the sterile processing department (SPD) aren’t new.
Smart Handling of Scopes Saves Time and Money While Safeguarding Care

Oct 28, 2024 | hpnonline.com | Kara Nadeau

While essential for patient care, endoscopes tend to get a bad rap when it comes to reprocessing and maintenance. Their complexity is a double-edged sword: facilitating advanced procedures, including screening, diagnosis, and treatment, but necessitating a multitude of steps to effectively and safely reprocess. Considering these challenges, HPN presents the story of how Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware, minimized complexities and costs associated with reprocessing unused endoscopes.
MLO releases findings of 2024 SOI survey on MDx

Oct 27, 2024 | mlo-online.com | Kara Nadeau

The 2024 Medical Laboratory Observer (MLO) State of the Industry (SOI) survey on molecular diagnostics (MDx) queried medical laboratory professionals on MDx testing trends, including types of testing modalities used in their labs, methods for handling quality issues, and volume of respiratory testing compared with last year.
Instrument containment, transport and storage success stories

Sep 23, 2024 | hpnonline.com | Kara Nadeau

Effectively and safely containing, storing, and transporting instruments, devices, and supplies involves collaboration among many stakeholders, from sterile processing (SP) professionals to end user clinicians and everyone in between. HPN presents two stories of healthcare organizations that made improvements in these processes, including why and how they did it and the resulting benefits. We also include some of the latest product innovations aimed at containment, storage, and transport success.
MLO’s 2024 survey of laboratory professionals

Aug 28, 2024 | mlo-online.com | Kara Nadeau

The results of Medical Laboratory Observer’s 2024 annual survey of laboratory professionals reveal salaries have increased for most individuals surveyed (73%), more than one-third (33%) received bonuses as part of their 2023 compensation, and employer benefits offerings remain robust in major categories (health/dental/vision insurance, 401k/pension plan, etc.). Regarding challenges facing the profession, staffing shortages persist, although reported not to be as severe as last year.