Page 70 - Security Today, November/December 2023

CAMPUS ANALYTICS IMPROVING THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE DEPLOYED SYSTEMS CAN HELP IMPROVE OPERATIONS AND FUNCTION AS FORCE MULTIPLIER AUTHOR MATT KJIN IS THE SEGMENT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, HEALTHCARE AT AXIS COMMUNICATIONS. IMAGE T o remain competitive, today ’s hospitals are becoming “smarter”, applying analytics and artificial intelligence to deliver a superior patient experience. Leveraging the latest generation of technology to optimize clinical processes, communications systems, facility operations, resource management, and–of course–security has become the norm. Most security professionals are fa- miliar with how analytics improve their security operations, but they may not realize that the systems they ’re deploy- ing can help improve operations in other ways, too. Today’s communications devic- es, such as cameras, sensors, intercoms, and speakers allow healthcare campuses to transcend the typical physical security PEOPLEIMAGES.COM - YURI A/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM workflows. Let’s begin with the most intimate setting–patient rooms–and work our way outward. Patient rooms. A growing number of hospitals are installing cameras in patient rooms. Room cameras enable virtual rounding, nursing, and remote provider consultations, and they can do more with analytics added by serving as a force multiplier for critically un- derstaffed nursing teams. Camera analytics can recognize conditions that require attention, like when patients leave their bed or take a fall. They can sense if a visitor is in the room – or if there are too many visitors. Harmonic sensors, integrated within cameras or mounted as separate devices, can detect coughing, yelling, sounds of aggression and other noises to trigger an alert to relevant care providers. With staffing stretched thin, the intelligence provided by these systems directs nurses’ attention to patients with imme- diate needs while documenting the status of others who can be 26