When the treatment of a patient requires medical equipment, an essential step is ensuring each piece of equipment is functioning correctly. An anesthesia machine requires a thorough check to ensure it is in working order prior to each case.
To ensure patient safety during operative procedures, each component of the anesthesia machine needs to be checked for appropriate functioning. Failure to perform this check may lead to near-misses or patient injury and increases the risk of severe morbidity and mortality.
National organizations recommend performing a machine check at the beginning of each day or whenever an anesthesia machine may have been moved or serviced or its vaporizers have been changed. In addition, the equipment must be checked before each operative procedure.
Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) Standards address the requirements for maintenance of anesthesia machines.
Standards
18.00.08 Equipment Safety requires all anesthetizing equipment is maintained to conform to safe medical devices/Food Drug Administration requirements. During survey, the Surveyor will review medical record documentation of the anesthesia machine used for the procedures, as well as the machine/equipment check before use for each procedure.
11.05.01 Medical Equipment and Systems Maintenance requires an established, scheduled preventative maintenance program for medical equipment. The equipment must be maintained and tested periodically in accordance with manufacturer recommendations. The Surveyor will also look for the biomed (clinical engineering) sticker to assure proper checks were performed, and the Surveyor will look at the preventative maintenance log.
Tips for Compliance
- Label each anesthesia machine with a unique identifying number.
- Develop a maintenance calendar to service the equipment following manufacturer requirements.
- Maintain service logs for each piece of equipment, and identify each machine by its unique identifying number.
- Develop a spot in the medical record to record the anesthesia machine number and equipment check conducted prior to each procedure.
- Provide education to the appropriate individuals on the elements required to be evaluated during the safety checks and to document all maintenance of the equipment, along with daily and pre-procedure safety checks.
- Audit medical records to ensure compliance with documentation requirements for anesthesia machine numbers and safety checks performed before procedures.
Here to Help
To access the most recent ACHC Accreditation Standards Manual, please contact your Account Advisor or email us at customerservice@achc.org.
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