Hospitals, clinics and medical offices — with staff, patients, and visitors moving in and out at all hours of day and night — are starting to rely more on technology, particularly in the areas of safety and security, according to an article on the Facilitiesnet website.
The goal should be balancing the need for a secure environment and allowing staff and visitors to move through a facility without too much hassle, the article said.
"When you look at technology, you have to go in with the mindset that it has to be a long-term solution — will it be relevant in three years? — and not just a fad," David LaRose, director of safety/security and EM Management at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland, Fla., said in the article.
One area where security technology is making protection easier is tracking. Tags to keep track of infants are not new, but they only worked in a specific area of a hospital. With the use of WiFi, an infant can now be tracked across an entire facility.
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