Unifying Physical Security and IT To Transform Hospital Security

To thrive as a healthcare facility, it’s more important than ever to make patient and staff safety a top priority and meet the evolving range of threats. While this need is often met using basic security surveillance, new frontiers in video networks can improve patient care and create opportunities to enhance hospital efficiency and productivity. By taking advantage of this technology, it’s easier to transform a hospital into a state-of-the-art healthcare institution.

As security professionals, working cross-functionally with the Information Technology (IT) department is essential to enacting a strategic security plan that can take advantage of the latest technology. Bridging the gap to IT isn’t always easy. Convergint, partnered with Axis Communications, works symbiotically with the security and IT teams to create a surveillance strategy ensures that patients and staff remain safe, while also advancing the quality of care through new video analytics technology.

Healthcare facilities as a whole have traditionally used surveillance cameras to simply record footage to be played back later in case of an incident. While this feature of security technology certainly is important, modern network video analytics are capable of so much more. Instead of passive protection, network video analytics offer active protection for hospital staff and patients, identifying potential threats, and reporting incidents in real time to the proper personnel.

It’s critical to think about what is needed to develop a strategic security plan. It begins by working in conjunction with IT and other branches of hospital administration. These two areas can thrive when working cohesively, so ensuring cooperation between security and IT is essential to implementing the best possible strategies.

Bridging the gap between security and IT is essential to creating and maintaining a strong security strategy. Everybody involved in healthcare security has the same goal, to create a secure and efficient hospital that provides optimum care and safety. Partnering with IT to achieve this goal can produce several key benefits.

Creating a structured and organized platform for easy access and adaptation for the future is equally important to building a lasting security system. Building on the established systems is essential for long-run success; making sure updated technology is easy to install and simple to run are priorities for security management. These goals may seem lofty for the security department on their own, which means reaching out and building relationships with IT is paramount to success, both in the short term and the long run.

Partnering with IT increases efficiency, budget, and scalability in healthcare security projects. Overcoming the differences between physical security and IT may seem daunting at first, but the long-term impact far outweighs any of the challenges or obstacles. By working symbiotically, security and IT can ensure patient and staff safety and enhance operations for years to come.