Patient Frustration or Disorientations Leads To Unauthorized Facility Elopement
When patients check-in to a hospital or care facility, the primary goal is to ensure that they are regaining their health, are well-cared-for, and safe. However, there are some occasions where – for whatever reason – patients decide they no longer want to be in the facility, or simply no longer be in their bed.
In some cases, patients that elect to leave without being medically discharged may be well enough to do so and just frustrated with how long it takes to receive care – especially in Emergency Departments. However, for patients who have just undergone surgery and may be heavily medicated or who are living with a cognitive disease such as Alzheimer’s or Dementia, they may be confused as to where they are, agitated that they’re not in their homes, or otherwise leading them to believe they should head home – which is usually a decision that they aren’t medically – or mentally – well enough to make for themselves.
In any case, it’s imperative that hospital and care facility staff know the whereabouts of their patients – and equipment – at all times and that if a patient does begin making their way out of their room, floor, or facility itself, they can be stopped, retrieved, and brought back to a safe location as quickly as possible. According to one study, there is a 25% fatality rate when a patient wanders, is not located, and isn’t brought back to a safe environment within 24 hours of their unauthorized departure.
With Patient Elopement Prevention Solutions, your doctors, nurses, security personnel, and administrators will have a clear picture of where patients are and be able to get them back to the safety of their rooms quickly and without further incident.
Detect
Surveillance equipment – such as Avigilon Cameras – in corridors, stairwells, and elevators can be remotely monitored and retroactively searched to see where the patient identified as missing may have gone.
Analyze
Images of the patient on file can be compared to the historical and live video surveillance footage to automatically analyze if that person can be seen on any of the cameras. This will allow security personnel to track their movements and determine their location quickly without having to review footage from many cameras and wasting valuable time in getting the patient back to safety.
Communicate
Once the patient’s location has been determined, security staff and personnel close to their last seen location will be notified to be on the lookout. When the patient is seen, personnel can quickly move to retrieve them and help them back to their room or to another location for observation or treatment, if necessary.
Throughout this process, the care team can provide assistance to the security team by providing them details via radio communication that can assist with calming the patient down. And, of course, the security team can call for additional resources if they need assistance or if the patient is in need of medical care.
Respond
Once the robust combination of surveillance, analytical, and communication solutions has enabled facility staff to retrieve the patient and bring them to a safer location, they can fill out the incident reports. Integrations between many systems, including Wave PTX Dispatch and Avigilon Control Center, mean that Ally Incident Management will already have many details and supplementary information – such as video and photo evidence – automatically included.
About MCA
Mobile Communications America (MCA) is one of the largest and most trusted integrators in the United States, offering world-class voice, data, and security solutions that enhance the quality, safety, and productivity of customers, operations, and lives. More than 65,000 customers trust MCA to provide carefully researched solutions for a safe, secure, and more efficient workplace. As your trusted advisor, we reduce the time and effort needed to research, install, and maintain the right solutions to make your workplace better.
Our team of certified professionals across the United States delivers a full suite of reliable technologies with a service-first approach. The MCA advantage is our extensive service portfolio to support the solution lifecycle from start to finish.