Hospital staff review their sterilization procedures for surgical equipment and determine them to be among the best in the nation. However, the hospital has abnormally high rates of infection from improperly sterilized equipment. Why might that be?

Having strong sterilization procedures on paper does not ensure they are followed consistently. If surgical staff do not comply with those procedures, equipment may still be improperly sterilized, causing high infection rates. A poor patient education program would not explain this equipment-related problem.

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