What Integrated Security Data Means For Medical Facilities

Updated on December 17, 2022
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In a recent study on security in medical facilities, researchers found that around 500 records were breached daily. Both physical and digital security threats can lead to data exposure, but the question is, are medical facilities doing enough to secure medical records?

If you’re curious about why integrated security data can provide increased protection for medical facilities, keep reading. This guide will discuss an integrated security system’s critical components and benefits.

Workspace And Space Management Optimization

Integrated security data doesn’t just help security staff to prevent data theft and intrusion. It can allow them to improve how the facility manages their spaces, ensuring social distancing protocols are correctly adhered to and avoiding overcrowding in areas – which can be a significant hazard.

With a cloud-based security system, medical facilities can implement occupancy management software integrated with building access control systems. Occupancy management software provides accurate and detailed records of access trends and habits. 

It also provides up-to-date information on occupancy levels in the building based on data from access readers and building occupancy sensors. If too many people occupy a single space, this may indicate the need to restrict access to this area. 

However, this can also improve how the staff is allocated to spaces within the facility. You can send staff to help manage building users if one area is bustling.

Occupancy tracking is also helpful to help medical professionals to develop estimates for how many staff members they will need on an hourly or daily basis for optimal productivity and operational efficiency. 

So, the software identifies that they are busiest between 2 and 3 on Monday through Thursday. In that case, they can adjust their staff rotas to provide more assistance during these hours without wasting money staffing the facility during your quietest hours.

Integrating Cyber And Physical Security Strategies

In the modern age, cyber and physical security are becoming linked. Businesses are adopting cloud-based security technologies, and their cloud-based physical security data needs protection. Secondly, you need to secure your digital assets using physical security for a secure medical facility. 

Additionally, many security threats don’t just focus on cyber or physical security exclusively. Instead, they can attack both simultaneously. So, when it comes to your medical facility’s cyber and physical security, you must consider integrating strategies. Here are some of the best ways to integrate cyber and physical security strategies:

  • Using cybersecurity to protect your physical security data.
  • Using physical security (smart door locks and surveillance) to protect areas housing servers and other sensitive digital resources. There are many different cameras to choose to protect these areas, so it’s best to start by evaluating whether bullet versus dome cameras would be suitable to document any security threats.
  • Merging security teams for overall security efficiency. If both teams can collaborate and communicate, they will be able to find the best response strategies for security threats that keep both physical and cyber security in mind.

Authentication For Restricted Areas

Medical facilities are home to many files and resources that you must protect. These vulnerable assets mean that there needs to be authentication for staff entering medicine and file storage rooms. 

Access control can help keep these areas secured from staff members without clearance, along with any other building users who do not have access to these areas. However, there is no measure to stop a motivated individual from stealing a keycard or fob and using it to enter these areas.

So, you’ll need a way of verifying that the person using the keycard is the holder of the keycard – which is where authentication comes in.

With a cloud-based security system and integrated data, you can implement multi-factor authentication for sensitive areas in your building.

You can use a keycard and biometric authentication methods to ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive medical resources. You can integrate thumbprint scanners, retina scanners, or voice recognition tools with your access control system to eliminate forced entry using stolen credentials.

Quicker Decision Making

When your security data isn’t integrated, your security teams can be hindered by slower data accessibility. Hosting your security data separately on different platforms can make it more difficult to quickly analyze and compare data for a fuller picture of security incidents.

However, by hosting your security data on an integrated and cloud-based platform, you can ensure that it is readily accessible. There will be no more data silos between security platforms and tools. All security information will be easier to compare and analyze for a more user-friendly security experience.

QA For Security Data

In addition to making your security data more accessible, integration makes it more accurate by making it more viable for quality assurance. You can apply AI and analytics to your security data to ensure that all data is quality assured and to spot vulnerabilities by identifying anomalous data.

Summary

Building security is part of medical institutions’ duty of care for patients, clients, and customers. Cloud-based security tools are making it easier for medical institutions to implement software that keeps the property secure and performs additional functions to maximize ROI for security investments. Integrated data is more accessible and high-quality, creating a more user-friendly experience for security staff. If you’re planning a new medical facility security strategy, why not consider the benefits of integrated data?