Message from Board Chairman and Secretariat Head of Japanese Society for Medical Gases

June 2016

Dear Society Members:

We hope this message finds you in good health during the hot weather of summer.
At the standing committee meeting held on 11 November 2006, I, Junzo Takeda, assumed the post of board chairman in place of Takeshi Shibuya (deceased).

Together with pharmaceutical products, like anesthetics, medical gases fulfill important roles for equipment, such as anesthetic machines and monitors in anesthesiology medical care - indeed, such gases are used widely throughout all fields of medical treatment. And, in particular, medical gases such as core ones like oxygen need to be supplied safely and stably, to the point that they can be regarded as hospital lifelines like electricity and water. Yet, in medical care, there are many gases defined as “medical gases” that are not regulated by law, hence current usage is ungoverned. In recent years, medical gases are being recognized as gaseous pharmaceuticals - accordingly, an urgent issue is to make sure that medical gases are supplied safely and stably.

Up to now, we at the Japanese Society for Medical Gases have held several discussions with the Japan Industrial and Medical Gases Association, the body overseeing production and supply of medical gases. Japan Industrial and Medical Gases Association would like to introduce safety measures for gases being used at medical sites, tackle issues to ensure safe and stable supply of such gases during normal times as well as establishing information/acquisition procedures and a supply system for times of disasters like earthquakes. In specific terms, with regard to issues such as the creation of standards for safety, creation of manuals and protocols for gas supplies and development of laws to cover the usage of ungoverned gases, we would like to see increased pressure applied to the authorities (such as the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency) and medical care bodies (such as the Japan Medical Association) to persuade them to incorporate proposals and suggestions that our society will work out with the above relevant associations.

We look forward to the cooperation and support of all society members, as from here on we intend to further strive for safety and stable supply of medical gases in such a way that the Japanese Society for Medical Gases will become synonymous with the word safety for all that are members, and, thus, develop the society into one that is recognizable and important to everyone.

Yours faithfully,

Junzo Takeda, chairman
Yoichi Sato, secretariat head
Japanese Society for Medical Gases