Cleaning Medical Offices and Off-site Healthcare Facilities

Ambulatory settings are poised to see a disproportionate share of growth in the healthcare market overall.

Reasonably healthy patients can have issues resolved without visiting a hospital, a setting that many people associate with high expenses and impersonal experiences. Offices and offsite facilities offer patients cost-effective, accessible services that are innovative, high-quality, seamless, and patient-centered. Healthcare organizations expanding into medical offices and offsite facilities must learn to maintain healthcare-grade clean as they do in acute care locations to ensure patient safety and satisfaction.

Types of Medical Offices

Some medical offices and healthcare facilities function as stand-alone services, while others connect with larger systems or networks. Likewise, the services provided in these settings vary. Some examples include the following:

• Ambulatory care centers
• Corporate offices
• Family medical centers
• Freestanding EDs
• Medical malls
• Medical office buildings
• Micro hospitals
• Multi-specialty centers
• Surgery centers
• Urgent care centers

Although the services and settings vary widely, all medical offices share a need for effective and efficient cleaning.

Cleaning Medical Offices: Standards and Procedures

The complexity and volume of procedures taking place within medical offices and offsite healthcare facilities are expanding. As a result, healthcare organizations must place greater emphasis on cleaning standards and procedures. It’s both challenging and critical for healthcare organizations to maintain the same cleaning standards in their offsite facilities as they do in acute care to ensure a safe experience for patients and staff. As popularity for receiving care offsite has grown, so has regulation of these facilities through regulatory bodies such as The Joint Commission and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses. Cleaning medical offices to support more high acuity patients and the rising demand safely require cleaning professionals with healthcare expertise. Companies that clean medical offices should have a plan to address the following in ambulatory facilities:

• Hand hygiene: Any surface can spread pathogens, and hands spread the majority of pathogens.
• Objective measurements: Facilities cannot measure cleanliness simply by appearance. Leverage objective cleanliness measurements to ensure cleanliness.
• Clean cues: Specific signals can indicate a recently cleaned area, whether or not someone was present to observe the team cleaning the medical office. Clean cues communicate to patients, staff, and visitors that a place is safe.
• Augmentation: In high-risk situations, augmentation to basic cleaning procedures such as UV applications, electrostatic applications, air purification systems, and surface-barrier residual applications can further enhance safety.
• Emerging solutions: Cleaning processes should integrate effective new solutions and technologies as they become available.

While the processes for cleaning medical offices will not be identical to those for cleaning hospitals or acute care facilities, healthcare organizations must maintain a standardized and consistent approach. Many outsourced companies tasked with cleaning medical offices lack the systematic approach to cleaning and disinfecting developed in the healthcare world, risking infection and patient safety. By working with a service provider such as Crothall, specializing in healthcare, you can make sure your medical office or ambulatory facility maintains the highest standards.