checking in at hospital

How a Visitor Management System Enhances Patient Care

Effective visitor management is essential at any medical facility, but perhaps never more so than at children's hospitals and pediatric specialists. The right type of hospital visitor system can contribute towards care, giving children and their families the time, safety and reassurance they need to reduce anxiety and stress. Even more importantly, monitoring and controlling visitor populations reduces risks, especially those related to the spread of infectious disease.

Strong but sensitive visitor policies and procedures ensure that a child isn't deprived of much-needed care and attention at a particularly vulnerable time. Medical facilities need to be able to rely on a visitor management system that puts the needs of children, visitors and employees first while still offering robust security.

An intelligent patient visitor management solution can balance accessibility and safety, allowing the right types of visitation without compromising on necessary security policies.

Families Can Create Trusted Visitor Lists

A verified, trusted visitor list is an excellent way to ensure only approved and authorized visitors are granted access to a child. This list can automatically provide access to specific visitors based on their relationship to the child. In addition, a list makes repeat visits much more manageable.

Patients Can Specify Who They Want as Visitors 

A child patient can influence visitation policies by agreeing on allowed and do-not-allow lists.

Security Kiosks Can Reduce Wait Times

Specialized kiosks can pre-approve visitors based on security policies and/or the patient's specific visitor list. Kiosks help to reduce wait times at the front desk and make for smoother interactions.

Adaptable Security Policies Can Reduce Patient Risk

Smart security policies may reduce the risk of external infection through the limitation of unnecessary visits, visitor vetting, and adjustment of policies based on seasonal, patient, or epidemiological profile.

 

Children's hospitals typically experience a high rate of respiratory tract infections, and the last thing an ill child needs is to acquire an infection from outside. While little Anna's whole soccer team may want to visit her when she's laid up with pneumonia, having so many potentially sniffly visitors in a pediatric wing at once may not be the best idea. Smart policies that limit the total number of visitors and vet visitors for potential illness can serve to decrease the number of infections brought from outside but may be difficult to implement without the right automated support. — HID Global, Protecting the Community of Care

 

Properly Implemented Security Policies Make It Easier to Access Allowed Areas

The last thing a family wants to deal with is refusal of entry to an area they should be permitted to visit. Streamlined credential management for visitors ensures their badges are registered to relevant security checkpoints to minimize delays and frustrations. It’s also beneficial to the hospital staff who carries the burden of this administrative task. They can focus more on the people in their care and be less distracted by the processes.

HID SAFE™ Creates a Positive Visitor Experience for Children and Their Families

Of course, the key to providing a positive experience is empathizing with patients and their families. Administrators and security professionals need to find ways to make medical facilities more welcoming, especially since visitors will probably be spending many hours with a sick child.

Every security interaction must be considered; from going outside for a breath of air, to leaving for a meal or just coming in from the parking lot. Too many checkpoints and unnecessary procedures create an additional burden that families don't need.

HID SAFE streamlines the visitor experience, helping patients and visitors feel safer, so they can focus on getting better. In healthcare, an environment of trust benefits everyone.

Ready to see how HID SAFE can help your healthcare organization? Request a demo today.

 

Your patients deserve the best care possible, which has led facilities like yours to purchase advanced equipment that saves lives, create welcoming spaces for patients to recover, and hire professionals whose commitment to patient health is undeniable. The last piece to support excellence in your facility may be a visitor management solution like HID SAFE Intelligent Patient Visitor Management, with capabilities that help facilitate patient well-being by providing a safe, compliant, and efficient environment. — HID Global, Protecting the Community of Care

 

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Janette Andler is Director of Vertical Market Development in IAM Solutions. In this role, she works with healthcare organizations across North America to help solve their physical identity and access management challenges. Based in Dallas, Janette has been a member of the security industry for over 12 years.