Conducting Access Control Security Audits
Evaluating your hospital’s entrance security now will help to ensure you comply with Joint Commission standards and effectively respond to emergencies.
During an emergency, hospitals can be overrun with patients desperately seeking treatment or trying to locate loved ones, which can jeopardize security. When crises occur, it is imperative that healthcare organizations be able to lockdown quickly so they effectively manage who comes in and out of their facilities. Photo courtesy Ingeroll Rand.
These latest advances in facility security have been shown to go a long way in helping to maintain perimeter access and control intra-facility movement during an emergency. First of all, an access control system with strategically placed readers and electronic locking solutions has become an increasingly popular way to enable the instantaneous lockdown of a facility in the case of an emergency.
Secondly, what makes an access control system so helpful in emergency situations is the ease by which administrators can deny access to the perimeter or any intra-facility area, thereby giving the administrator autonomy in regards to traffic flow during an emergency. When implemented, the access control software centrally manages user authorization and door status within a facility. This control can even extend to vendors, contractors and visitors.
There are now more options than ever to insta
ll electronic hardware that meets the credential and network requirements of your current system. If an access control system is already in place, but does not control all of the openings required to be effective in the case of emergency, there are a number of open architecture solutions that can easily be integrated into your existing system. With advanced design strategies, innovative hardware and careful authorization of personal access, healthcare facilities can better control the access its inhabitants have in and around the building as well as protect its assets.
4. Credential Management. During Hurricane Sandy, more than 100 volunteer practitioners were brought in to help New Jersey area hospitals treat the increased number of patients. These volunteers worked and slept at the hospitals, needing access to many different areas of the facility. This shows that not only do you need a credential plan for employees but you also need to have plans for badging and controlling the movement of prospective volunteers who are major participants in emergencies.
With an access control system, you can gain better control of perimeter, facility, patient and other areas of your facility. You can quickly add, delete or edit credentials of employees, doctors and temporary workers. You can even set up temporary access codes for contractors and volunteers. And audit trails and analytics are available whenever needed. A wide range of credentials may be used, including the most popular magnetic stripe and proximity cards, but more and more facilities are migrating toward a smart card solution.
Based on the employee’s requirements, smart credentials provide access to the facility, laboratories, pharmacies and other rooms — or not, depending on one’s access level. Using smart card technology also allows organizations to provide one card that can be used for a number of different applications. Not only can they access physical locations, but also the hospital’s computer networks and EMR (logical access). They can be used to match a healthcare provider with the patient to ensure safety during care. And, employees will find them convenient for payments at the cafeteria or vending machines, to check out scrubs, equipment, and tools, for time and attendance and other applications. Because of the advanced capabilities and increased security that smart cards provide over mag stripe and proximity cards, it’s a smart strategy that will take you into the future.
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Ann Geissler Timme is Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies’ healthcare marketing manager.
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