There are different technological options that help these spaces to more optimally manage their security and monitoring.
By Alberto Muñoz*
In these days of the coronavirus pandemic, hospital management becomes a vital issue to safeguard the lives of anyone everywhere. This covers countless fronts that multiply for each patient who enters and requires permanent attention to their state of health; such is the function of the cameras that are part of the infrastructure of these medical centers, with a common objective to that of the professionals who are supporting there: to support the care of each human being who shares this space in which the safety of all is a primary good.
According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a safe hospital is a health facility whose services remain accessible and operating at their maximum installed capacity and on its own infrastructure immediately after an emergency or disaster. However, other factors arise on a day-to-day basis that affect providing the safest conditions for timely and effective medical care. In those cases, the multiple functions of a camera can become a vital aid.
Cleared area
It all starts from the single parking area of the ambulances. The parking of individuals in these places has been a critical problem over time, since the arrival of an ambulance with its lights on indicates that there is an urgency in development, and in that process every second to offer the attention of the appropriate specialists with the required equipment takes on an exceptional value.
To avoid this possible blocking situation, for example the Hanwha Techwin X Plus series camera can identify a perimeter of entry and exit of vehicles so that, as soon as it detects an event that hinders the entry of ambulances, it activates an audio that is charged with the message of 'please clear the area'. In this way, free access is guaranteed at all times.
Efficient control
Clinical warehouses handle high-cost drugs, which require careful control over their dosage and delivery, since the loss or loss of any of them entails legal action.
In September of last year, in the Mexican city of Aguascalientes, the police arrested the mayor of a hospital belonging to the Mexican Institute of Social Security, who along with another person stole without clinical authorization 145 vials of medicine with the legend HEPTEC 10,000 Ul RPB, Sodium Heparin. The administrative sub-inspector of the hospital lodged the corresponding complaint with the authorities.
This case, however, was known because in their surveillance tour the officers detected a black vehicle that acted evasively, which led to a preventive inspection of it, and in this they found a plastic bag with the stolen medicine.
However, this detection procedure could be done from cameras with the ability to incorporate appearance/disappearance edge analytics on some critical medical equipment. In this way, every time a person opens the gondola or counter to take out a high-cost drug, the camera generates a mark on the video; likewise when the electroshock carriage is removed from the area where it is designated that it must remain. By performing an audit, it is possible to search each time that mark was activated, and thus know which people were, in what time, and cross that information if any loss or bad download is recorded. This with the aim of carrying out a more efficient control.
Secure information
One of the most sensitive points in the doctor-patient relationship is the famous clinical secret, an approach that must be counted on by the cameras located in every health establishment. If I have access to equipment that does not comply with computer security, anyone with access to CCTV images of a clinic could violate that patient confidentiality.
On the other hand, if the hospital is running networks for telemedicine such as DICOM or PACS, which contain highly encrypted protocols, how can a network, which is so secure, be taken care of with a CCTV subnet that does not meet or is not on par with a medical image security standard?
Our brand's extensive experience and development in the field of cybersecurity supports this, regularly conducting training courses and webinars for end users and integrators to share best practices.
Non-intrusive loitering
In intensive care corridors there is a functionality called loitering, which measures the downtime of an object or person. This analysis is vital to eventually know if a person fell or fainted.
By measuring downtime, this can well be evidenced in early morning shifts, in which the flow of people decreases ostensibly in relation to daytime hours, and in which a camera can detect that someone passing through a corridor of high traffic, without chairs, is several seconds without movement and alarm about the situation.
On the other hand, this monitoring becomes an extensive help for a head of nursing who manages several beds or medical rooms, and thus know the movements of the nurses in charge in their respective positions, if they carry the respective medications, and at the same time be aware of any movement of a patient at night. All this through multisensor units that allow to have fewer cameras, and with it a clearer and less invasive surface for patients covering the same.
Hanwha Techwin, on the other hand, has a range of stainless steel solutions, ideal for areas of greater asepsis such as intensive care units and operating rooms, where hygiene standards require equipment that is on par with these conditions.
In this way, both patients and medical staff have a 24/7 accompaniment at the service of their integral security.
* Alberto Muñoz, Applications Engineer at Hanwha Techwin for Latin America.
Leave your comment