Dec 23, 2015

The efficacy of video surveillance is often framed in the context of law enforcement and transportation. Security staff and investigators regularly turn to video surveillance to ensure public safety, and look for potential leads to information, respectively. Similarly, airports and hubs for public transit rely on the benefits of video surveillance to keep the trains on track, so to speak.

That said, the value proposition of a reliable video surveillance solution extends well beyond these sectors and into a variety of verticals – not the least of which are related to health care. 

Hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and homes for the elderly

Video surveillance is useful in any situation where security monitoring can in some way improve public safety. An example of this is in hospitals and other emergency care facilities. Visitors regularly come and go from these frenetic, high-stakes environments, which immediately makes them somewhat susceptible to safety threats. For example, if a patient leaves his or her room for any reason, the ability to locate them from a security monitoring room is invaluable.

This is especially true for recovery and rehabilitation facilities and homes for the elderly. Reliable video surveillance at a mental health facility, for example, can help staff monitor the grounds, giving in-patients more freedom to roam. Likewise, homes for the elderly can use video surveillance as a way to monitor stairwells, corridors and other areas that may present physical hazards to inhabitants. 

Another less likely, albeit just as realistic, threat is cases of identity fraud, or theft. These worst-case scenarios are rare, but they have occurred. A recent example took place in Lenox Hill Hospital, where a married couple managed to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from as many as 80 patients. One of the suspects worked in the hospital, and had access to the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of patients. The suspect shared this information, which was then used to perpetrate identity theft. 

Video surveillance can help mitigate risks of injury among patients, and can help improve facility security. 

Mobile infrastructure may give emergency responders a boost

Mobile infrastructure for video surveillance solutions is also providing first-responders with new opportunities to assess an emergency situation prior to arriving on the scene. For example, New Rochelle law enforcement recently revamped its video surveillance with mobility controllers. Using this technology, law enforcement officials have identified the next step in improving security monitoring and public safety is to stream the new feeds directly into police vehicles. 

Applying this concept to emergency health responders may also be beneficial in certain circumstances. EMTs and paramedics are trained to think on their feet, but if they were able to stream feeds of an incident that happened to occur in a well-surveilled area, these health professionals might be able to better preempt the needs of patients. This can be extremely helpful in venues or public spaces that may have access limitations for emergency health responders. These are only a few examples among many in which video surveillance – especially when bolstered with mobile infrastructure – can be of great value in health care.