The October 3rd, 2024, deadline looms for Ohio healthcare facilities to become compliant with the new law, House Bill 33 (State Biennial Budget Bill). This Bill, authorizing the state budget, was amended to include language on surgical smoke evacuation from the stand-alone legislation introduced in early 2023. The State’s smoke evacuation law lists, “Each ambulatory surgical facility shall adopt and implement a policy designed to prevent human exposure to surgical smoke during any planned surgical procedure that is likely to generate surgical smoke. The policy shall include the use of a surgical smoke evacuation system. The director of health may adopt any rules the director considers necessary to implement this section. The rules shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.” Previously, smoke evacuation policies have been left up to the discretion of the facility.
As outlined in the legislation, “Surgical smoke evacuation system means equipment designed to capture, filter, and eliminate surgical smoke at the point of origin, before the smoke makes contact with the eyes or respiratory tract of individuals.” Ohio is one of eighteen states that have enacted such legislation.
According to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), “The average daily impact of surgical smoke on an OR team is equivalent to inhaling the smoke of 27-30 unfiltered cigarettes.”1
A leader in the medical device realm, AMT has been ahead of this concern for decades. The Remora® is a smoke and fluid evacuation system designed to remove smoke and fluid from the electrosurgical site. Removing such fluid can improve the conductivity of electrosurgical instruments, which may result in more efficient procedures.
“It is a positive step forward to see this regulation go into effect within Ohio. Such advocacy of our healthcare professionals and protecting them against surgical plumes is critical. We are proud to offer a device like the Remora® to do our part,” shared AMT’s Founder & CEO, Dr. Picha “I personally have used the Remora® for many, many years within my practice. This legislation serves as a testament to AMT’s innovation, knowing we were years ahead of such requirements.”
To place an order for the Remora®, contact us today.
Disclaimer: Anything contained in this blog is general information only and is not, nor should it be interpreted to be medical advice. Always consult with a qualified physician and/or a health care provider for medical advice.
1https://www.aorn.org/get-involved/government-affairs/policy-agenda/surgical-smoke-free-or
