A single hour in a hospital is all you need to see how busy they can be, with patients, visitors, and staff coming and going at all hours of the day. The combination of high foot traffic, multiple entrances, and high-risk spaces leaves hospital administrators with a serious problem—how to keep everyone and everything secure.
Access control systems are the answer. They safeguard sensitive areas and ensure safety in hospitals, preventing unauthorized access to confidential data, pharmaceuticals, and hospital assets while also protecting patient privacy and well-being.
Let’s dig deeper into why hospitals are so difficult to secure and how installing a high-quality access control system can lessen your administrative burden while also keeping people and assets as safe as possible.
Security Concerns in Hospital Environments
Virtually every building needs some form of access control, whether it’s a lock and key or a deadbolt, but it’s especially important in hospitals where people’s lives are literally at stake. Before we go through the positive effects of implementing access control, let’s consider what’s at stake for your hospital.
Common Challenges
These are some of the biggest hurdles hospital security teams have to overcome:
- Multiple entry points: Securing hospitals is complex because they generally have many entrances and exits, and only select ones are open to visitors, guests, and patients.
- Potential criminal activity: Theft of data and physical assets is a top concern for many hospitals, as is violence by visitors, intruders, and patients, with 72% of healthcare workers concerned about this issue in medical facilities.
- Presence of hazardous and controlled substances: Misuse of pharmaceuticals, solvents, and laboratory chemicals could not only injure individuals but also pose a fire risk.
Handling all these concerns without affecting patient care and comfort is no small task, even for the most experienced and professional security personnel.
Potential Impacts of Security Incidents
If the worst happens and someone breaks into your hospital lab, pharmacy, or data room, you may experience profound operational impacts. First and foremost, the incident could disrupt patient care by delaying treatments or procedures. A data breach or physical theft could also affect your clinical workflows, forcing staff to rely on manual, paper-based processes for prescription fulfillment, lab orders, and other critical tasks.
The compliance risks are also severe. If an unauthorized individual enters the space and accesses data or patient files, you could find your hospital in the midst of a lengthy regulatory investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). These investigations can result in fines and in extensive Corrective Action Plans (CPAs), which involve close monitoring and regular audits by the government. In the worst cases, your employees or facility could face lawsuits or criminal charges.
Key Benefits of Hospital Access Control Systems
Now that we’ve covered some of the complexities of hospital security, let’s take a look at the solution. Access control systems not only address these safety concerns but also strengthen your regulatory compliance and financial stability.
Enhanced Patient and Staff Safety
Keeping patients and staff safe is priority number one, and an access control system prevents anyone but authorized personnel from entering certain areas, including labs, pharmacies, data control rooms, and staff rooms. You can also respond more quickly to emergency situations by locking down building zones and giving emergency responders immediate access to normally restricted areas.
On top of that, some access control systems will let you know the second someone tries to enter without access. For example, 2 Krew Security and Surveillance provides hospital access control solutions with real-time monitoring and alerts. If someone attempts to break in, security staff receive an immediate notification so they can respond and resolve the situation.
Reduced Risk of Theft
The list of items someone could steal from your hospital is long—prescription drugs, expensive medical equipment, hospital computers, and personal belongings, just to name a few. Studies estimate between 10% and 20% of an average hospital’s mobile assets are lost or stolen during their lifespan, causing serious financial losses and potentially affecting the quality of care.
An access control system helps keep all these items out of the wrong hands and reassures staff and patients they have a safe place to store their belongings. 2 Krew offers access control systems for doors, gates, buildings, and offices, so you can prevent unauthorized access to employee-only areas and even entire wings of your hospital.
If you make every effort to protect hospital and patient property and theft still occurs, access control logs are useful for investigating the incident. If the theft occurred in a restricted area, the access control system can tell you exactly who was in that space at the time, narrowing down your list of potential suspects and helping you recover any missing items. For extra protection, 2 Krew can integrate your access control and hospital security cameras, so you can verify who was in the space with both access logs and visual evidence.
Consistent Regulatory Compliance
Another advantage of access control is an enhanced ability to meet regulatory requirements related to patient privacy, fraudulent activity, and the distribution of medication. For example, it helps you follow the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). You can prevent unauthorized individuals from obtaining Protected Health Information (PHI) by limiting access to computers, data rooms, and physical files.
If you keep these materials in secure spaces, the only way someone can view them is by using their credentials to enter the area. This record of information is vital if you want to stay audit-ready and compliant.
Greater Accessibility
The main purpose of access control in hospitals is to keep people out of spaces they don’t have permission to enter, but a well-designed system also makes it easier to keep public areas of the building open at all times.
At 2 Krew, we know every hospital needs to balance accessibility and security. Hospitals run 24/7, and patients and visitors regularly need to enter reception areas and waiting rooms. At the same time, you don’t want just anyone to enter data rooms, labs, or pharmacies.
Rather than locking down the entire building or requiring security staff to open doors for each individual, you can use an access control system to keep those spaces secure while doors to other spaces remain unlocked. That means patients can get the care they need and visitors can see their loved ones without putting data, equipment, or medical supplies at risk of theft or damage.
Cutting Costs and Increasing ROI
Some hospitals are hesitant to upgrade their access control systems because of the financial investment, but the change ultimately pays off. By securing your pharmacies, labs, and data rooms, you can achieve a variety of cost savings:
- Streamlined operations with automated administrative tasks, which reduces labor costs
- Risk mitigation and fewer regulatory fines
- Reduced theft, asset replacement, and equipment repair
- Losses due to lawsuits by patients and staff who suffer financial, personal, and health consequences due to security incidents
The money your hospital saves in these areas translates to a significant return on your investment (ROI) in an access control system.
Protect Patients and Property With Hospital Access Control
Patients, visitors, and staff members at hospitals shouldn’t have to worry about their safety, privacy, or personal belongings. Access control systems keep medical facilities secure so everyone can put their focus where it really matters: the care and support of patients.
2 Krew Security and Surveillance is proud to help hospitals and other healthcare facilities in Pittsburgh and the Tri-State area keep their pharmacies, labs, and data rooms secure. Contact 2 Krew for a consultation or to learn more about our customized access control systems for pharmacies, labs, and data rooms in hospitals.
