Video evidence management and advanced analytics are rapidly transforming healthcare security practices.
Healthcare environments pose unique security challenges. Beyond the traditional concerns of any facility, hospitals and healthcare centers must prioritize patient and staff safety, safeguard sensitive medical equipment and supplies, and maintain public trust by protecting patient data.
Video evidence management and advanced analytics are rapidly transforming healthcare security practices, offering solutions and strategies to mitigate these risks.
Enhancing incident response
Video evidence management is crucial for timely incident response in healthcare. Real-time monitoring allows security teams to spot unfolding situations, empowering them to intervene quickly before adverse events have a chance to escalate. Recorded footage serves as invaluable evidence, improving post-incident investigation and supporting legal proceedings.
“Video evidence solutions empower healthcare facilities to respond promptly to security incidents and safety concerns,” said Robert Wall, CTO of Edge360. “Real-time monitoring and rapid access to recorded footage allow security personnel to identify and address issues as they occur, minimizing the impact on patient care and safety.
“To further enhance video evidence solutions, hospitals should consider integrating with other security systems, such as access control and alarm systems, to provide a comprehensive security infrastructure. These integrations can enable automated incident response workflows, such as triggering alarms or locking down access points in response to security breaches.”
By integrating video systems with other security elements like access control and alarms, automated incident response becomes possible. Intrusion detection can trigger alarms or lockdown protocols, protecting patients, staff, and the facility as a whole
Video in mental health settings
The use of video technology extends to specialized areas within healthcare, such as mental health. Recordings offer vital insights for clinical teams, helping them review incidents to understand potential patient triggers and refine treatment approaches. This contributes to proactive risk management and enhanced patient care.
“In the mental health sector, recorded video has now become crucial in allowing clinical teams to review incidents quickly and to work with external investigators whenever required,” said Jamie Barnfield, Senior Sales Director at IDIS Europe. “With recorded video and audio, it’s an important tool for improving patient care, as is allows clinicians to understand what sounds or sights might trigger patients. This can help them to improve care practices and avoid trigger situations, and help to reduce risks in communal situations.”
Video is also instrumental in maintaining accountability in secure mental healthcare facilities, providing critical footage to support investigations of serious incidents. Detailed recordings help clinicians accurately complete legally mandated reports and contribute to quality assessments.
Surveillance for safeguarding assets
Video monitoring, particularly when enhanced with AI, plays a significant role in safeguarding valuable drugs and medical equipment. Securing drugs storage areas and expensive medical equipment are a key security challenge for many hospitals.
“The latest edge AI cameras can provide an affordable solution, with alerts for line crossing, loitering detection, and intrusion detection,” said Barnfield. “These highly accurate alarms provide security operatives with video pop-ups so they can check for suspicious activity and respond appropriately before losses of high-value medicines or equipment occur. Locating mobile medical equipment particularly across large hospitals is another common challenge as under pressure staff often forget to return items to storage or bay areas.
“By utilizing the same AI powered analytics helps security and clinical teams re-locate equipment by time stamped video events or by using metadata tools by rapidly search streams of footage saving time and streamlining patient care.”
And these alerts can also be directed to mobile apps so that security managers, officers and authorized clinicians can receive real-time alerts on patrols or working remotely.
Perimeter surveillance and auto-tracking can alert authorities to attempts to traffic contraband or compromise facility security. Analytics, such as line crossing, loitering, and intrusion detection help secure sensitive areas within a hospital. AI assists in locating potentially misplaced or lost mobile equipment, saving time and boosting efficiency.
Improving efficiency with video management
Advanced video evidence management systems facilitate streamlined data handling. Efficient video management leads to faster incident resolution, more robust legal support, and overall enhanced security operations within a healthcare setting.
“The use of advanced video evidence management systems helps healthcare facilities manage video data more efficiently,” said Alan Stoddard, CEO of Intellicene. “This is crucial for quickly dealing with incidents, supporting legal processes, and boosting overall security. Integrating these systems into the wider security strategy allows for a more effective response to threats.”
Mobile integrations bring a new dimension to incident response. Security managers and other authorized personnel can receive real-time alerts on mobile devices. This empowers timely incident awareness and rapid response, regardless of location.
Unified platforms and digital evidence
Many healthcare institutions are turning to unified security platforms, bringing together their video management (VMS), access control systems (ACS), and other critical components. This centralized approach allows security personnel to pool data, view incident events from multiple perspectives, and trigger coordinated responses across all systems from a single interface.
“When video management solutions are unified with other physical security systems, operators in control centers can pool data and leverage multiple sources to see different angles and understand different aspects of an incident,” said Courtney Whaylen, Account Executive, Enterprise, Genetec. “This speeds up investigations and streamlines processes, like managing access badges for staff.”
Having real-time views of data from multiple VMS and ACS centralized on a single interface also facilitates quicker responses to help deescalate violent or stressful situations, offering better protection to staff, patients, and visitors.
“There is also the ability to trigger public address announcements as well. And with interactive mapping capabilities, staff can visualize events, locate security operators close by, pull up cameras, lock down or unlock doors, or activate other devices - all from the same interface,” Whaylen said.
Streamlined incident management also extends to handling evidence. Digital evidence management integrated into a unified security platform allows healthcare facilities to organize case files and evidence securely on the digital platform. This eliminates the need for DVDs or shared drives, and enables the secure sharing of evidence with authorized individuals both inside and outside the facility.
The future of healthcare security
Video technology and AI-powered analytics are revolutionizing the way healthcare organizations approach security. These solutions offer the tools to mitigate risks, respond effectively to incidents, protect patients and staff, safeguard assets, and ultimately foster a more secure environment.
As video technology continues to advance, healthcare facilities will undoubtedly uncover even more applications for this powerful tool.