Page 10 - Campus Security & Life Safety, March/April 2019

“A non-invasive, frictionless facial scan is particularly beneficial in hospitals where staff must be hypersensitive to the inadvertent spread of germs and bacteria.”
Hospitals and medical facilities expe- rience the intake of hundreds of thousands of different people annu- ally, from surgeons to visitors, while playing host to extensive scientific research, medical training, and hundreds of clinical trials. They oversee an open environ- ment that welcomes patients, families, and various health care stakeholders through their doors every day. At the same time, they must maintain the utmost security and pro- tection for their staff, patients, drugs, equip- ment, lab facilities, confidential patient information and records, and much more.
Moreover, hospitals are not contained entities. Their campuses typically spread across numerous buildings with varying lev- els of security present at each location. While some spaces are designed to welcome patients and their visitors, others are reserved for private research, patient files, and lab equipment.
Therefore, when it comes to successfully constructing and implementing a proper access control system, there is no one-size- fits-all approach. Collaboration between multiple security subsystems, such as video surveillance, access control and alarm, is common and necessary; concurrent versa- tility is essential. As a hospital’s security needs grow and evolve, the ability to add features and integrate with new systems must be mastered.
In the United States, the medical facilities that currently enjoy the most successful access control systems have embraced the latest offerings of facial recognition technology.
The Dana Farber Cancer Institute is one of them. Located in Boston, Mass., they are an internationally renowned clinical and research institute that supports more than 320,000 patient visits annually and is involved in approximately 700 clinical trials to provide state-of-the-art cancer care. They have experienced the full scope of access control challenges firsthand, and have adopt- ed a system that meets those challenges head-on.
For Dana Farber and others like them, the centerpiece of their access control regime is near-infrared (NIR) facial recognition. By uti-
By David Dunlap
Securing Our Hospitals and Protecting Your Privacy
No-contact access control systems are particularly useful in healthcare environments
facility security
nata-lunata/Shutterstock.com
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campuslifesecurity.com | March/April 2019
lizing this powerful technology, Dana Farber has made its overall security infrastructure as industry-renowned as the institute itself.
Ranked in the top four nationally by U.S. News and World Report in both adult and pediatric cancer care, Dana Farber under- stands the importance of having to fulfill a wide range of security needs while simulta- neously keeping their facilities friendly and welcoming to patients and physicians alike. It is a balance that any successful hospital or care facility must strike.
NIR facial recognition technology allows hospitals to accomplish that balance in a capable and cost-effective manner. With an access control system that also provides strong accountability and reliable data interoperability, facilities can ensure that patients and medical personnel are fully pro- tected yet totally unburdened by cumber-
some glitches and roadblocks.
By definition, facial recognition devices
do not require physical contact with any hardware, unlike, for example, fingerprint scanners or keyboards. Even iris scanners usually require repeat attempts and some physical involvement. Devices that use NIR lighting can quickly scan a person’s face within less than one second to verify his or her access permission status.
A non-invasive, frictionless facial scan is particularly beneficial in hospitals where staff must be hypersensitive to the inadvertent spread of germs and bacteria. It also allows day-to-day operations to proceed without the interruption that comes with having to sort through one’s pocket or purse for multiple access control cards (when they’re not acci- dentally left in a briefcase or desk drawer) or forgetting one’s access code when typing on a