For years organizations have been installing hardwired duress buttons or panic buttons at cashier counters, reception desks, cash collection areas, and other areas deemed sensitive. When these devices are activated, an alert is sent to security or other first responders who respond to the location. This issue with hardwired devices is that they do not move as the staff member moves throughout the facility.
Advantages of Wearable Panic Buttons and RTLS Integration
The deployment of wearable duress buttons provides staff with a portable panic button that is always within reach. The deployment of wearable solutions has been a common strategy to improve staff perception of safety, to improve security response and to reduce incidents of workplace violence. These devices have become part of the overall Real Time Location Tracking System (RTLS) strategy.
Related Article: How RTLS in Healthcare Builds a Foundation for Safety and Efficiency
In the past RTLS systems were used to track assets and people. Today’s RTLS systems provide great data to leadership that improves the maintenance of equipment, provides data on customer wait times, customer or product throughput and response times to events.
Strategic Investments in Workplace Violence Prevention
When I am on a healthcare client’s site conducting a workplace violence program or security assessment, one of the solutions that consistently comes up in conversation is wearable panic buttons for staff. I have found that concealed weapons detection systems and wearable duress solutions are typically at the top of their capital investment strategy to mitigate violence in the workplace.
I often tell my clients that concealed weapon detection systems will improve the staff’s perception of safety and mitigate the risk of a weapon entering the facility and causing a catastrophic event, but they will not necessarily reduce the frequency of workplace violence incidents. Deploying wearable duress solutions for the staff will also improve the staff’s perception of safety but will also contribute to reducing the frequency and severity of workplace violence incidents.
Leveraging AI and Predictive Analytics for Incident Forecasting
The future of wearable duress buttons is exciting because of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The data that is gathered through the wearable panic button solution software and other integrated systems, like electronic medical records, staff scheduling software, and incident reporting systems, will provide incredible insight into past alarm activations.
Most importantly, these technology advances will provide predictive analytics that can forecast potential incidents before they occur. This information will provide campus public safety leaders with opportunities to re-position or re-deploy security resources to areas within a facility where incidents are more likely to occur.
The data can then be analyzed to measure the impact on employees and customer safety. Did the deployment of wearable duress buttons reduce staff injuries, the number of use-of-force incidents, patient restraints, and negative patient outcomes? I truly believe that the answer is yes.
Related Article: Campus Emergency Communications Survey Highlights Advances in Mass Notification and Panic Alarm Systems
The panic button data will also allow leaders to not only capture response time but determine how many staff members responded, how long they were on scene, and if the right staff responded to the alarm activation. The system will learn over time and will be able to locate the closet first responder and determine the number of staff needed to respond to an alarm based on historical data.
Future Capabilities Include Ambient AI and Biometric Monitoring
There will be a significant and swift change to using ambient AI to listen for audible clues that could signify a need for an emergency response. Just imagine, in a hospital setting, a nurse provides direct care to a patient, and they begin to get assaulted by the patient. The nurse cannot activate the wearable solution with their hand, so instead they say, “Dr. Armstrong”. Ambient AI is listening in the background and automatically sends the alert identifying the staff member by name and location and sends the alert to the closest staff members and other first responders.
Wearable duress solution will also monitor staff for heart rate, temperature and stress levels. The systems will be able to exclude staff members from responding to alarms and can alert others that the staff member may be in distress.
Integrating wearable panic buttons, advanced AI, and predictive analytics represents a transformative approach to enhancing workplace safety, especially in high-risk environments like healthcare. These technologies work in tandem to provide rapid, hands-free alerts, monitor staff well-being, and proactively identify potential threats.
By enabling immediate responses and smarter resource allocation, these solutions will significantly reduce the risk of violence and create a safer, more supportive environment for staff and patients alike.
Paul Sarnese, CHPA, MSE, MAS, CAPM is a consultant and owner of Secured & Prepared Consulting and was named Campus Safety’s Healthcare Director of the Year in 2022.
Note: The views expressed by guest bloggers and contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, Campus Safety.
