Importance of HEPA Filters in Healthcare

Environmental safety is critical in clinical settings and any area where there are people with compromised immune systems. The past pandemic saw an increase in the use of air purifiers in hospitals, healthcare, and dental offices. This trend has continued as many doctors and dentists see a benefit to having an increased focus on air quality and using air cleaners at their facilities in order to protect their patients and staff.  Recent studies conducted during the pandemic found that portable air cleaners “demonstrated significant potential to prevent and mitigate the impact of bioaerosols in healthcare environments, regardless of the scenario and methodology used. These results were especially prominent in settings with poor ventilation, such as dental clinics, where economic issues or lack of guidelines may limit the installation of an appropriate ventilation system.” (NCBI) It is important to consider the patient room layout and current ventilation system when addressing the spread of airborne particles. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends all healthcare industries use “portable air cleaners to supplement increased HVAC system ventilation and filtration, especially in areas where adequate ventilation is difficult to achieve. Directing the airflow so that it does not blow directly from one person to another reduces the potential spread of droplets that may contain infectious viruses.”

Impacts of Air Pollution in Healthcare

Biological contaminants are one of the main concerns in hospitals, healthcare practices and dental offices. Biological contaminants are produced by living things and include:

- Bacterial and viral pathogens

- Dust

- Mold

- Pollen

- Mites/Cockroaches

These contaminants can cause many different health conditions including hypersensitivity pneumonitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma, infectious illnesses, allergic reactions, shortness of breath, dizziness, lethargy, fever, and digestive problems. According to the EPA it is important to clean spaces daily, do regular HVAC maintenance and HVAC filter changes, have adequate ventilation, moisture control, and use air cleaners.

The Importance of HEPA Filtration

HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air. The filters are designed to filter 99.97% of particles with a diameter of 0.3 microns, and advanced medical offices know that HEPA filtration systems are extremely effective at capturing and removing airborne particles. HEPA filters can remove dust, pollen or fibers, and biological material such as viruses, bacteria, mold spores, fungi, bioaerosols and other contaminants. HEPA filters have become essential for dental offices. A previous study found that, “during dental treatments, saliva may become aerosolized, and microorganisms in such aerosols from the oral cavity contribute to the spread of infectious diseases. Our previous study proved that running air purifiers in suitable locations can remove aerosols in dental clinics significantly, resulting in the reduction of dental healthcare worker (DHCWs) exposure to aerosols ranging from 80% to 95%.” The study went further and found that the use of HEPA filters were more effective and protective for dental healthcare workers than air purifiers with fine filters.

In most healthcare facilities or offices, you’ll find portable air cleaners with HEPA filtration in areas such as operating rooms, treatment rooms, testing and research laboratories, equipment rooms, compounding pharmacies, isolation rooms, infectious disease areas, and any other departments where clean air is especially vital. It is also important to regularly change your HVAC return filters with high quality filter replacements.

The Most Effective Air Purifiers

For the absolute best protection against airborne particles for your patients and staff, take a dual approach to air quality. Use an individual air purifier with advanced HEPA filtration in all patient areas, offices, or open spaces and regularly change the filters to keep it running efficiently. In addition to the air purifier, make sure that your HVAC is serviced regularly and all filters are changed quarterly. Be mindful of the air flow and make sure that the units are sized correctly for each space and there is proper ventilation.

The FDA-cleared MA-40 is the perfect sized unit for medium to large sized offices or patient rooms. The HEPA filter material is tested to remove 99.97% of airborne particles from 0.1 to 0.3 microns. For larger spaces, the FDA-cleared MA-112 purifies 4,455 square feet in 1 hour or 891 square feet every 12 minutes.

Peace of Mind

All Medify Air purifiers come with a Limited Lifetime Warranty for their units. Medify stands behind the quality of their products and materials and gives businesses and healthcare offices confidence in their investment. Don’t put your patients or clients at risk by improperly filtering the air. Invest in a Medify Air purifier for every space and help protect against airborne particles. If you need help determining which units are best for your organization, reach out to our experts.