Medical Gas Compliance Blog

As healthcare facility managers, you have to leverage real-time data to make informed decisions to ensure compliance and become more impactful leaders.

But the problem lies in when you have to pull stacks of paper which is (was) the standard method when showing compliance for a medical gas systems program.

One can see how this paper-based process is an invitation for inefficiency, lost time, and potential error. Nowhere is this more likely than in multi-site healthcare systems, with facilities spread across a city or even a broad geographic region.

Traditional testing, with its reams of paper, has proved insufficient. It’s a slow, tedious process overflowing with the potential for mistakes and inconsistency.

Read what K2 Enterprises and the International Data Corporation (IDC) say about paper statistics, especially in the healthcare industry...

Statistics reveal that the number of pages consumed in U.S. offices is increasing at a startling rate of 20% per year (K2 Enterprises). Additional research indicates that the healthcare industry spends twice as much time with paper than any other industry (IDC). [source]

At CHT, we believe every second counts, and you shouldn’t waste time managing your documentation. We want your medical gas management automated, accessible anywhere or anytime, so you can make those critical decisions.

If you want to ditch the outdated binder system, get instant reporting visibility, save money on repairs, and make data-driven decisions faster...

Keep reading.

Healthcare facilities are not without risk when it comes to cyber attacks. The Department of Health and Human Services noted that there was an 84% increase in healthcare-related data breaches from 2018 to 2021. (source)

2022 was an even more troubling year for Healthcare related cyberattacks. Out of any global industry sector, The healthcare industry had the highest increase in weekly cyberattacks in 2022. (source)

Threats will only continue to increase in volume and sophistication. As a result, securing healthcare data is a top priority. As a healthcare facility manager, knowing the ins and outs of healthcare cybersecurity will leave your facility less vulnerable to attacks. 

As with most healthcare aspects, medical gas systems continue to evolve to provide a safer, more effective patient experience. The NFPA 99 Health Care Facilities Code is no exception, and the 2021 edition has some noteworthy changes and additions of which facility managers should be aware.

What is the NFPA 99 2021 code?

The 2021 National Fire Protection Association code (NFPA 99) is a healthcare facilities code that establishes criteria for levels of healthcare services or systems based on risk to patients, staff, or visitors. It delivers the foundation for building risk-based performance criteria for the healthcare facility's environment.  

This most recent edition was published in October 2020. While there is no current indication the 2021 edition will be adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), some of the updates highlight the importance of having qualified individuals managing and maintaining medical gas systems.

Without a proper understanding of compliance codes, ongoing maintenance, and implementation of new equipment, medical facilities would not be able to function properly. This is why your position as a Certified Healthcare Facility Manager is critical to the healthcare industry. The facility, along with its patients, depends on you to provide the best equipment and services available.

Navigating evolving security and safety concerns resulting from a rapidly evolving healthcare field is a priority for cultivating a safe and productive workplace.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than employees in other industries. In addition, a survey of nurses from all 50 states found that workplace violence is on the rise, with a 119% increase from 2021 in nurses reporting increased workplace violence. 

This article discusses how to protect healthcare facilities by recognizing where the problems and potential issues exist. Implementing new security solutions can increase a facility's efficiency, improve performance and, most importantly, reduce violent behavior.

Let's take a look at some of the top security challenges plaguing healthcare facilities.

Every facility manager faces different challenges, and although we typically share similar goals, some facilities get stuck with high fixed expenditures, while others have trouble finding the most efficient HVAC system for their building's needs.

Preventive maintenance that gets ignored can cause repairs to be put on hold.

Deferred maintenance - waiting for future budgets or funds to become available - can create costly consequences and increase the chances of significant problems down the road.

This article takes a look at the broad spectrum of costs associated with facilities. Below, we list the dangers of deferred maintenance and emphasize the importance of maintaining a maintenance program to avoid asset failure and, in some cases, health and safety implications. 

Optimizing the flow of vacuum in your OR enhances the productivity of your surgical staff by allowing your team to spend their valuable time and effort operating. With this, you protect the patient with less available time, and clinicians have less distraction and better turnaround time in the OR.

With optimum vacuum flow, you will boost the morale of your surgical staff by not distracting or delaying their work with poor suction, reducing requests for repairs or remodels of ORs and procedure suites.

A skilled, certified technician will perform our patented Vac Wash Program during your scheduled OR downtime to optimize your system, giving your patients, OR staff, and budget the best possible outcome.

While the Joint Commission (TJC) and the CMS keep us on our toes with current standards and recommendations they continually roll out, one thing has stayed consistent for healthcare facility managers looking to keep their patients safe:

The need for quality suction equipment, specifically a medical vacuum system.

Suctioning is a critical part of patient care and, in some instances, a potentially life-saving procedure. While the vacuum you create in the pump room makes surgery faster, safer, cleaner, and helps patients breathe more efficiently, vacuum systems like the compressed medical gas systems need regular care.

A medical vacuum pump system is designed to provide a safe, sufficient flow of gas or vacuum and the required pressure.

Before we talk about the various kinds of vacuum pumps and their inspection requirements, we need to consider the most significant challenge most hospitals run into with vacuum systems: what they suck up. The entire piped system is designed to pull just air out of the way but often drags with it fluids, solids, and aerosols that all want to stick to the piping, parts, and the pump's internal components.

Sentinel events occur when a patient is seriously injured (permanently or temporary) or causes death, happening outside the predictable course of the patient’s disease process.

Sentinel events are debilitating to both patients and healthcare providers involved in the event. The Joint Commission works closely with organizations to address sentinel events and to prevent them from occurring in the first place.

CHT is a national leader providing support to healthcare facilities in identifying and developing compliance programs regarding their medical gas needs and environmental monitoring to protect patients and employees. We understand the contributing factors and actions facilities can take to reduce the risk of these events.

Based on our experience, we thought we would address sentinel events with examples, statistics, and a 5-step process of what to do when and if a sentinel event occurs in your facility.

The number of hospital airborne infection isolation rooms is limited. An outbreak of infectious disease produces a demand for a large number of rooms. 

The past year and a half have highlighted navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare facility managers have come to terms with the extreme realization of the critical importance of medical gas systems, the effects of increased demand on the hospital infrastructure, and the need for more hospital isolation rooms and negative pressure rooms. 

As a result of pushing the facilities beyond their limits, additional considerations are acknowledged, and now more than ever, the need to address the management of infectious disease is at the forefront.

Medical gas is critical to the function of hospitals and many other healthcare facilities. Knowing the most common types of gases, understanding how each is used, and then maintaining your systems for each gas will ensure your facility's success.

At CHT, we understand it's essential to keep your medical gas running smoothly, so you have no unexpected failures, and you have the proper equipment to do your job competently and worry-free. 

In this article, we discuss five types of medical gas used in hospitals: 

1. Medical Air - Used in the ICU and NICU areas, medical air is supplied by a specific air compressor to patient care areas.
2. Oxygen - Oxygen is medical gas required in every healthcare setting and is used for resuscitation and inhalation therapy. 
3. Carbon Dioxide - Used for less invasive surgeries
4. Nitrogen - A medical support gas primarily used for powering surgical tools and other equipment.
5. Nitrous Oxide -  A medical gas is used in numerous surgical procedures as both an anesthetic and analgesic.