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Additional Q&A from COVID-19 Healthcare Security Webinar

Additional Q&A from COVID-19 Healthcare Security Webinar

Insights & Perspectives
breathing easy post covid

This article was originally published on May 7, 2020 and updated on January 7, 2021.

To help tackle COVID-19 challenges, Ross & Baruzzini is putting together a series of webinars to share industry-tailored insight. In the first episode of the series, aired Thursday, April 30, 2020, host John Desch, Ross & Baruzzini Chief Commercial Officer, along with security experts Bernard J. "Ben" Scaglione, Ross & Baruzzini | Senior Security Consultant, and Daniel Morro, Ross & Baruzzini Principal Security Advisor, discussed immediate next steps, recommended security measures, and the future of Healthcare Security.

Here are answers to participant questions that due to time constraints were unable to be answered during the webinar:

Question: Will we see newly deployed devices at airports/transit/federal sites, such as additional health screening viral breathalizers, for example, for rapid screening for health status; beyond temp?

Answer: Viral breathalizers are being explored as options and underdevelopment as some researchers have argued it is a far more accurate test in that it measures air directly from the lungs where the infection is focused. That said, I would see the implementation issues similar to those with alcohol breathalyzers, the necessity for constant calibration of the device itself, and training for those administering it. 

The keyword is “rapid” screening. There are also possibilities with wearable devices, but again, implementation (as well as cost) is the issue. The functional component of visitor/patient/passenger flow will be the challenge until any of these new technologies can be administered in a timely and efficient manner.

Question: What are some of your clients doing relative to building access and screening patients and visitors? Are tracking devices being considered?

Answer: Limiting access by closing off unnecessary entrances and passageways. Setting up a pre-registration questionnaire with specific health questions. Tracking (live or historical) is being explored through various technology paths, as well as the associated implications.

Question: What resources do you think are best to rely on currently since many of us hospital executives have not experienced a pandemic such as this one?

Answer: Hospital executives need to form a specific internal committee to self-evaluate and prepare, and then reach out externally to experts/consultants for solutions/validation. They should leverage the available federal funding that may follow for emergency preparedness related to pandemic planning/response. 

Watch the replay of the 'COVID-19: Healthcare Security. What We've Learned so Far' webinar.

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