Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC)

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• Critical medical equipment/devices

  Medical equipment/devices that enter sterile tissues, including the vascular system (e.g. biopsy forceps, foot care equipment, dental hand pieces, etc.). Critical medical equipment/devices present a high risk of infection if the equipment/device is contaminated with any microorganisms, including bacterial spores. Reprocessing critical equipment/devices involves meticulous cleaning followed by sterilization.

• Semi-critical medical equipment/device

  Medical equipment/device that comes in contact with non-intact skin or mucous membranes but ordinarily does not penetrate them (e.g. respiratory therapy equipment, transrectal probes, specula etc.). Reprocessing semi-critical equipment/devices involves meticulous cleaning followed by, at a minimum, high level disinfection.

• Non-critical medical equipment/device

  Equipment/device that either touches only intact skin (but not mucous membranes) or does not directly touch the client/patient/resident. Reprocessing of noncritical equipment/devices involves cleaning and may also require low level disinfection (e.g. blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes).