IAHSS Announces New Body Worn Cameras Guideline for Healthcare

IAHSS Announces New Body Worn Cameras Guideline for Healthcare Security and Safety

The IAHSS Council on Guidelines is announcing Healthcare Security Industry Guideline 02.10: Body Worn Cameras in the Healthcare Security Program.

To assist healthcare organizations bolster security department operations, the IAHSS Council on Guidelines is announcing Healthcare Security Industry Guideline 02.10: Body Worn Cameras in the Healthcare Security Program.

Guideline 02.10: Body Worn Cameras in the Healthcare Security Program can be found published online: Free for IAHSS Members

The new guideline includes a definition of body worn cameras, considerations for who should be on the multi-disciplinary decision-making team, suggested legal research that should be factored into the decision-making process as well as guidance on policy and procedure surrounding training, usage, and retention of captured audio and video.

Alan Butler, IAHSS Council on Guidelines Member and System Director of Public Safety & Security at Cox Health in Springfield, Missouri, stated, “body worn cameras have shown to significantly reduce legal and reputational risk for organizations and is expected to be standard equipment in most healthcare security programs in the next few short years.”

Today’s healthcare organizations are continuously looking for ways to improve security and patient care while being confronted with more disruptive and volatile events than ever before.  The changing societal climate has placed even greater emphasis on individual training and tools to best manage and combat the possibility of litigation stemming from the way certain challenging situations are managed by security staff. Healthcare facilities may receive complaints from individuals not familiar with the entire situation or an active participant incapable of making a sound decision in the moment, such matters can create financial and reputational risk to an organization. Healthcare administrators continue to look for reliable ways to capture the essence of what happens in these situations. With the implementation of body worn camera technology (captured audio and video), healthcare organizations can combat misinformation or inaccurate interpretations of how events unfold and help protect the organization while demonstrating transparency.  Additional benefits come from using captured footage as a valuable teaching tool for personnel and a means to deter undesired behavior.

The IAHSS Council on Guidelines is comprised of volunteer IAHSS members who are seasoned healthcare security professionals and leaders. Each year the Council on Guidelines develops new industry guidelines and reviews existing guidelines on a three-year cycle. 

About IAHSS

The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) is the only organization solely dedicated to professionals involved in managing and directing security and safety programs in healthcare facilities. IAHSS is a professional association with more than 2,200 members who are healthcare security, law enforcement, safety, and emergency management leaders.  For fifty years, IAHSS has educated and served members and the profession by offering exclusive resources and benefits including industry and design guidelines, local and international educational and networking opportunities, and the celebrated bi-annual Journal of Healthcare Protection Management.  IAHSS has certified tens of thousands of dedicated professionals who keep healthcare facilities, patients, staff, and visitors safe. IAHSS offers the Basic, Advanced and Supervisor certifications, a Safety Certificate Program, and maintains the prestigious Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator (CHPA) certification, the standard for the healthcare security leader dedicated to the profession.