Articles: Why Do Medical Gas Systems Have to Be Certified?

While regulations and certification can appear cumbersome and costly, when it comes to medical gas, these regulations are in place for sound reasons. Primarily, the certification process, including regular updates, helps promote a safer environment for patients as well as medical facility personnel. Ignoring or circumventing the certification process can put an institution at risk for explosion, contamination, fire, crossed-connection, and improper pressure.

While a well-constructed and well-maintained medical gas pipeline system is safe, it is vital that the initial location of the bulk oxygen tank is correct. Without proper oversight, the location might pose a hazard to the institution and will not pass inspection. To ensure safe operation, it is critical that a facility-wide medical gas alarm system be installed. Accidents are less likely to occur when an alarm system is in place and operational.

Once installed, certification of the system ensures that pressurized medical gas equipment meets minimum standards. The certification process involves testing to ensure that pressures and flow rates are accurate, that the system has been designed properly, that the medical gas equipment is working correctly, and that everything is safely operational.

Both patient safety and employee safety are at issue in making decisions about how to build and maintain medical gas systems. The testing and certification process can help to ensure the safety of both. Establishing emergency procedures, in advance, and training employees to recognize the risk that medical gases may pose under certain circumstances can make the difference between life and death.

Guidelines are meant to ensure that mistakes are not made in filling bulk oxygen tanks, and that the connectors for hoses are safety-keyed for each type of medical gas, thereby reducing the risk that an oxygen tank is mistaken for nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide. Proper labeling is necessary, particularly in an emergency, as it allows emergency personnel to shut-down the oxygen system, by location, in the event of fire.

Once a facility has been constructed, ongoing certification is recommended in order to identify equipment that may not be functioning properly. Inadequate pressures can impact the delivery of life-saving gases to the patient, malfunctioning alarm systems may misinform hospital personnel or worse, not communicate at all when gases are running low. Improperly labeled or unlabeled medical gas zones can lead to confusion and delay in the event of fire. Making sure that all of these safety issues are considered is the main goal of ongoing medical gas certification.