Sanitation practices involving endoscopes have been highlighted by recent revelations that an Ottawa private clinic didn't always follow proper infection prevent and cleaning protocols.

Following are some questions to ask the hospital or clinical officials before undergoing a procedure:

  • Is the endoscopist licensed?
  • Has the endoscopist had formal training, ie., not learned during a short two- to three-day course or through self-instruction without supervised experience.
  • How many procedures do you perform annually?
  • Do you have endoscopic privileges at a licensed health care facility or hospital?
  • Does the endoscopic facility have dedicated reprocessing (disinfection) personnel and equipment?
  • Does the facility employ a trained endoscopic assistant or nurse?

Source: American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy