SUNY Upstate Medical emergency department staff dealing with violent patients say communications badges allow them to summon hospital public safety staff in just over a minute, according to an article on the Health IT News website.
The mean response went from 3.2 minutes to 1.02 minutes.
Those 2.18 minutes saved can feel like a lifetime to staff members when they have a patient who, either through a behavioral problem or an innocent but scary mental health crisis, may be endangering public safety, the article said.
The hospital conducted a non-scientific survey of emergency department staff before and after the badges and it showed that staff felt an improved sense of safety and security.
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