Vanilla access control technologies can be extended to add value to healthcare environments.
Hospital security is experiencing a major review. Generally acknowledged as an open, customerfocused environment, the changing demographics of hospital visitors is driving security managers to re-assess existing security systems and capabilities.
Gallagher Security offers a new concept in security management with Identity Analytics. Delivered via the Cardax FT access control system, Identity Analytics provides a high degree of control and certainty by ensuring the right people are in the right place at the right time. The system asks, ‘Does this person requesting access have the correct training for this area, are they licensed or competent and therefore compliant with regulations?’ If the answer is no, access is denied and system operators are alerted to exceptions. This greatly mitigates the risk of accidents, theft and corporate liability.
Regulatory compliance with every decision
What was once considered a security access control decision can now be thought of in broader terms as a business workforce enablement decision.
Bi-directional information flow between business systems, overlaid with policy and its effect at the point of entry delivers an ongoing impact throughout the organisation. As rules are set, managers are assured that organisational and regulatory policy is automatically enforced. The effect on day-to-day operations can be felt on the ground by every employee – they have the assurance that their co-workers are fit for work and their working environment is safe. Encouraging news for an environment facing an increase in threats from external factors such as third party assaults, domestic violence or general theft.
Activity of employees can be monitored and measured through a real-time audit trail. This unprecedented transparency means business decisions can be adjusted and actioned quickly in response to their effect. Traditionally, if a person is denied access they have little or no understanding as to the reason. They are left with the frustration of having to report their situation to their manager or security personnel. Identity Analytics provides intelligent access control decisions communicated in a meaningful way on distributed hardware at the door. Staff can be warned via a door reader screen of any upcoming expiry of their licences or competencies, so they can proactively address these issues and prevent them from becoming an impediment to their access. For example, a nurse can be denied access to specialised equipment stores if they have not completed the appropriate training. If denied access, staff are immediately informed of corrective action they should take in order to have access to an area re-instated.
Controlled flexibility
As well as enforcing compliance with business and regulatory policy under a normal operational situation, exceptions can be accommodated, for example, in emergency situations certain staff need access to areas they otherwise could not access, others need to be kept out and a full audit trail of all access events is required. The ability to accommodate exceptions means personnel flow and safety are optimised, no matter what the situation.
Identity Analytics ensures a company’s safety, security, compliance and regulatory policies are enforced before breaches occur. It provides the ability to enforce healthcare providers’ safety and security processes via intelligent access control decisions on distributed hardware ‘at the door’. Enforcement at the mercy of on an online server is now a thing of the past.
Traditionally, this level of functional sophistication has been available only to those with significant ERP (enterprise resource planning) infrastructure. Gallagher, with Cardax FT, is enabling any size healthcare provider to benefit from this functionality. Implementation is at the organisation’s pace through staged rollouts, utilising standard Cardax hardware, and on the Cardax FT system through software upgrades.
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