The IAHSS Security Design Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities, 4th Edition, offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date best practices for designing appropriate security measures into each new construction and renovation project. Developed by leading healthcare security experts and design professionals, this new edition reflects significant updates and new guidelines for outpatient facilities (medical office buildings and outpatient clinics), and design principles that can help mitigate violence in healthcare such as weapons screening.

This publication is intended to guide healthcare security practitioners, design teams, and building owner representatives involved in the design process to consider and integrate these best practices, where appropriate, into each new and renovated Healthcare Facility (HCF) space.

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The updated guidelines include:

General Guideline Primary Intents:

• The General Guideline recognizes that new construction or renovation of existing HCFs presents the best opportunity to effectively integrate security principles in HCFs.
• The initial planning and conceptual design phase of all newly constructed or renovated HCFs shall include a Security Vulnerability Assessment led by a Qualified Healthcare Security Professional.

Content Sections:

• Inpatient Facilities
• Emergency Departments
• Behavioral/Mental Health Areas
• Pharmacies
• Cashier and Cashiers and Collection Areas
• Infant and Pediatric Facilities
• Protected Health Information Areas
• Utility, Mechanical, and Infrastructure Areas
• NEW - Weapons Screening and Detection
• New - Outpatient Facilities
• Residential/Long Term Care
• Emergency Management

The guidelines provide specific best practices in each of the above areas including a statement that introduces the subject and provides some background. Intents follow the statement with providing specific details relating the area within the guideline. 

Released April 2025. 80 pages.