What exactly does "Hospital Grade" mean?

One of the tests is the drop test. It goes something like this. The outlet is mounted 50 inches from the floor. A 3 foot cord with a hospital grade male cord cap and a 8 pound weight at the end of the cord is plugged into the hospital grade outlet. The weight is dropped straight down at the outlet height. The cord must stay plugged in and no damage done to the outlet to pass the test for hospital grade.

Jea48, I have heard of that device but I have never used it. I remember hearing that the device is connected to the ground pin only. It has to stay connected to a hospital grade outlet with 4 oz of pressure for a certain amount of time. I concur with your statement about removing a plug under a load from an outlet will cause an arc, regardless of the type of outlet.

What nomenclature did Robert read claiming that hospital grade outlets are guaranteed spark free in the Stereophile article? How can this be true?