GREENSBORO, N.C. — Effective Monday, visitors to Moses Cone Hospital Emergency Department will have to present a photo ID for scanning as part of an increased security system.
NEW VISITOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The new technology, called a "visitor management system," will not impact how a person checks into the emergency department as a patient for treatment, according to the hospital.
"It will have a positive impact on patient wait times," said Jason Upham, Director of the Moses Cone Emergency Department.
The new security protocol is designed to make the hospital safer for patients, guests, and employees.
With the old security protocol, visitors were not required to present a photo ID. They would check in with nurses, who were also taking care of patients, according to Upham. Visitors would receive a hand-written badge with their patient's room number.
"So it kind of caused a bottleneck right in the beginning of a patient's arrival," said Upham. "So having this process allows security to help us out, jointly, for better flow."
HOW NEW CHECK-IN WORKS
Here is how Upham said the new check-in process will work: A visitor walks through the emergency department front door and states the name of the person they are visiting. Next, they check in with a security staff member, providing their photo ID to be scanned and entered into the system. Each visitor will finally receive a printed, personalized badge that includes their photo and the room number of the patient they are visiting.
"The enhanced security involves scanning visitors’ driver’s license and taking a photo," according to hospital officials.
HOW VISITORS ARE TRACKED
Internally, the hospital can keep track of each guest visitor and the length of time they are expected to remain at the hospital.
WHAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PHOTO ID?
If a visitor does not have a photo ID, "security officers will use other tools to verify identity including consulting with verified family members," according to the hospital.
"That badge is just for you. It doesn't get passed on to anybody else, so that's the security piece that we can always make sure the right visitor is there for the patient, and we don't have any opportunities of anything we don't want," said Upham.
PHOTO ID INFORMATION SAVED
Visitors' photo ID and information will be saved in hospital records.
"It's only stored in there to make sure the next time you arrive, we can make it a faster process and learn and improve each time you come," said Upham.
The technology-enhanced security system has been planned for about a year, Upham said.
There was no safety incident or security breach that prompted Moses Cone Hospital to launch the new system, according to Upham.
It is "best practice across the nation, and it enhances what we're trying to do. We're trying to make sure we cover outpatients and protect them," said Upham.
Once the emergency department adopts the new visitor technology system, other hospital departments will adopt it too in 2020 with plans to expand it to the entire facility.
"If we can get it right here, it will be easier across the rest of the hospital," said Upham.
"It may seem at first a little, 'why are they asking?', but in the end, we were going to ask anyways to make sure that we're getting you there where you need to be."
WHAT ABOUT OTHER HOSPITALS?
On Friday afternoon, WFMY News 2 reached out to media contacts with Wake Forest Baptist Medical and Novant Health to learn about their emergency department security protocols. We are waiting to hear back, and this article will be updated if we are sent that information.