Ninety-three percent of healthcare leaders view workplace safety and security as an essential or high priority, a new survey from Axon found.
The global public safety firm surveyed more than 250 healthcare and retail leaders across the U.S. for the report (PDF). Most surveyed healthcare leaders (84%) report at least “moderate operational disruption” related to safety or security challenges over the past year, with common effects including employee turnover, reduced productivity, hiring and recruitment costs and insurance or legal costs.
“In healthcare, these pressures do not sit on the sidelines of the organization; they affect the environment in which care is delivered every day,” the report said.
To offset potential disruptions and improve safety, eight in 10 healthcare leaders “strongly favor or favor” increasing investments geared toward improving safety and operational efficiency.
Potential solutions include drones and counter unmanned aerial systems (70%); real-time visibility or monitoring operations centers (69%); employee wellness and resilience initiatives (67%); physical security infrastructure (65%); artificial intelligence-powered solutions (64%); fixed cameras (62%); de-escalation training for frontline employees (62%) and body cameras for security or frontline staff (58%).
In terms of AI solutions, leaders say its appeal is strongest when solutions “can help teams make sense of critical moments faster” and navigate complex environments more consistently. “Support is especially strong for tools tied to real-time awareness and training, but leaders also see value in AI that can ease communication and help staff navigate everyday decisions more efficiently,” the report noted.
Seventy-six percent of surveyed healthcare leaders “strongly favor or favor” real-time alerting for incident response, while 69% support training platforms designed to simulate real-world scenarios.
“Healthcare leaders evaluate safety investments through a wider lens than incident reduction alone,” the report said. “Operational uptime, claims and litigation reduction, and patient experience all rank among the leading measures of success, reinforcing the idea that safety is deeply connected to continuity of care and trust in the care environment. In healthcare, safety outcomes are closely linked to patient outcomes."