While smart hospitals focus on workflow efficiency and patient satisfaction, security is still a major part in a hospital where security incidents, such as baby abduction and violence against staff, are known to happen. Meanwhile, amid rising utility expenses, hospitals also find the need to conserve energy. Surveillance equipment combined with connected IoT devices can play a role in both areas.
While smart hospitals focus on workflow efficiency and patient satisfaction, security is still a major part in a hospital where security incidents, such as baby abduction and violence against staff, are known to happen. Meanwhile, amid rising utility expenses, hospitals also find the need to conserve energy. Surveillance equipment combined with connected IoT devices can play a role in both areas.
For security, equipment such as video surveillance and access control can be helpful. “The camera system could monitor a hall and if someone were to enter an unauthorized space, it could alert the overseeing medical professional. They could then swiftly address the situation prior to the lockdown. This is just one of the many ways video and access control can work together to vastly change the end user experience and proactively help decisions,” said Robert Gaulden, Director Aftermarket and Electronic Sales at
Allegion.
“RFID tags in clinician badges can be used to prevent unauthorized entry into certain rooms of a hospital,” said Patrick Ng, VP of Business Development and Clinical Operations at MedicusTek. “These wireless tags can also be used to prevent infant abductions by locking doors if a baby goes past a certain door without prior notice.”
Axis Communications, meanwhile, cited its project in Czech Republic-based Rehabilitation Institute Hrabyně, where video and access control are combined to offer improved safety. Via the solution, a patient card in the hospital information system is created, and registration of the assigned RFID chip and data about this new user is submitted to the access control system. Based on settings, the system detects which parts of the hospital are accessible for the patient and which parts are restricted – doors will either open or closed based on these rights. In the surveillance center it is possible to check which person is of concern and in case of need verify this through the video recording preview, which is retained for three days. The name of a person who has just passed through a door will be displayed in the video. The entrances to the individual departments all have an intercom system available, which is monitored by a camera. This enables the department personnel to visually inspect the person requesting entry and open the door remotely through the intercom.
Energy savings
Another way in which IoT can help hospitals is savings on energy, which has become pricier worldwide. “If water and electricity become more expensive, then it's a burden for healthcare providers. So we turn to IoT too,” said Kwo-Whei Lee, Superintendent of Changhua Christian Medical Foundation Yuanlin Christian Hospital. “In our hospital, our HVAC, illumination and power usage can all be automated. The system knows when a surgery room is empty, and if it's empty HVAC can be lowered to minimum. Temperatures and air quality can be adjusted based on the data provided by the sensors. As for lights, they can also be adjusted according to the season and the amount of daylight.”
Gaulden echoed those remarks. “For example, when a surgical room is unoccupied, the room automatically adjusts to a certain temperature and decreases the lights to a minimum level. When the first person enters the room, the levels will automatically increase. Likewise, the system can automatically change the user settings to adjust for different kinds of surgeries,” he said.