Healthcare settings face unique security and safety challenges. They have to balance speed and efficiency, the safety of patients, valuable equipment, controlled medications, and restricted areas in buildings often shared by patients, visitors, healthcare workers, support staff, and contractors. It can be a busy, chaotic environment with high compliance demands and major security needs.
How Can Healthcare IDs Help?
Medical facilities of all kinds need to implement healthcare ID cards to restrict access to appropriate personnel only and help patients identify staff when they need assistance. Institutions need healthcare ID cards that are durable and professional to help identify doctors, nurses, staff, and even patients or visitors. They may also need proximity access cards that help keep the general public or unauthorized personnel out of restricted areas, such as areas where controlled drugs or valuable medical equipment can be accessed.
Medical facilities often need to print ID cards on the spot for patients and visitors. They can do so with an in-house ID card printer.
When it comes to staff ID cards, healthcare workplaces need watermarking and holographic features to prevent counterfeiting and ensure the security of their premises. ID badges are the first step to developing more robust security protocols in a healthcare environment.
Drug Diversion Prevention Strategies
Drug diversion is one of the most pressing issues facing hospitals and healthcare settings from a security standpoint. While drug diversion can be perpetrated by patients or pseudo-patients, it’s an even bigger issue when healthcare workers divert controlled substances. An alarming 79% of controlled drug loss reports are unexplained. Not only are these losses expensive for healthcare operators, but they are contributing to unprecedented opioid-related mortality.
There are already robust policies healthcare operators must comply with when it comes to restricting access to controlled substances and recording who signs out controlled substances. Access cards and ID cards can help physically limit access to controlled drugs and should be considered as part of your diversion prevention strategy.
Improve COVID Safety in Health Facilities
Looking beyond hospital and pharmacy environments, health facilities like gyms and fitness clubs have a big task ahead of them. In some jurisdictions, they’ve been shut down due to COVID-19 for the better part of a year. Listed as high-risk environments, they can expect continued limitations on capacity as they reopen.
They are going to have to take extra steps to lower risk levels and re-establish the trust of their members. As much as people are eager to get back to their fitness routines, there are still plenty who will be reluctant to get back to indoor environments unless they’re confident that their health and safety are primary concerns.
There are many different guidelines for reopening across North America, but reduced capacity is a common theme. A membership card that monitors activity and helps administrators know exactly how many people are in their facility at the same time will go a long way toward providing a safe health club environment.