The Front Line

With the help of an advanced badging system, security can start at the front door

• Dec 01, 2006

LOCATED about as far as a typical Tiger Woods half-wedge shot from the San Antonio Spurs practice facility, the Texas Center for Athletes coan soon be the premier medical facility in South Texas.

The three-story facility, completed in late November, houses the latest in medical technology. Doctors at the Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio, the building's major tenant, have wireless devices that allow them to access the medical records of their clients. High-definition video monitors allow Dr. David Schmidt, the San Antonio Spurs team doctor, to see clients and even an injured high school athlete in another part of the country. The facility has a video conference room that allows doctors to interact with other professionals on treatment plans for their patients.

"These physicians are the top doctors in their field," said John Barker, administrator of Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio. "That is why we wanted this to become the most technologically advanced facility in the city."

Yet, the facility was missing something important -- a state-of-the art security system to match the other technology advances.

Moving In
Enter Rob Schorr, vice president of local company MDI. Schorr worked with Barker, Art Scanlan, the vice president of business solutions for BIF Technologies, and Chris Smisek, president of Freedom Security, the security systems integrator for the entire complex, to develop specific security solutions.

Schorr and Smisek gave the Texas Center for Athletes a four-tiered approach, featuring a keyless, cardless and guardless security approach.

"After walking through the site plan, we agreed upon the use of proximity readers for the employees (keyless), biometric readers for the medical staff (cardless), video-based license plate readers for the parking garage (keyless, cardless and guardless) and video- surveilled intercom stations for after-hours visitors at the lobby entrances," Smisek said.

"After meeting with Art, John and Chris, I recognized that the doctors wouldn?t use traditional access cards, and an out-of-the-box solution would not suffice, which meant that MDI was a good fit here," Schorr said. "With a little configuration, we were able to provide different security levels at different access points and even different restrictions at the same portal, depending on the user. For instance, the fingerprint readers have a built-in proximity reader, so the door will open for a valid employee cardholder during standard work days, but the same door may open with a doctor's finger at any time."

Even beyond flexible user convenience and providing distinct physical layers to the security system, the system complemented with a simpler data management experience -- integrating patient registration within the basic card entry screens -- adding power with integrated video.

Scanlan said he liked the devices not only because of the ease of use for the doctors, but also for other administrative issues.

"Doctors don't want to mess around with an access control card, so a biometric device is perfect for them," said Scanlan, an medical systems integration manager with more than 20 years in the healthcare industry.

Scanlan added the time and attendance feature of the biometric device is another appealing aspect of MDI's services.

"Eliminating the time card and making sure that a biometric device could capture the time and arrival of each worker helps the practice manage its time-keeping functions and evaluate the work of the doctors for bonuses and other incentives," Scanlan said. "Biometric devices provide a standard hands-free security interface not only on access points, but also on their wireless computer tablets used for electronic medical records. Doctors and medical staff will like the ability to swipe their fingerprint on the tablet and log in automatically either to their office or records. This will save time and solve HIPAA requirements."

Added Features
Barker said the addition of video-based license plate readers is another feature which will allow physicians to quickly gain access to their parking spots without issuing additional cards or opening their windows in inclement weather to reach the reader.

While the Texas Center for Athletes features the latest in medical innovations, most doctors are at least five, if not 10 years, behind other companies in terms of technology and security features.

"Doctors are sometimes slow in adopting new technology and other business practices that can save them a significant amount of money," Scanlan said. "Here in San Antonio, only 10 percent of the doctors have adopted electronic medical records even though they will realize significant savings by adapting them. However, once we show how they'll get between an $80,000 to $250,000 return on investment, they will want to change their practice."

Despite some reluctance in the medical community to embrace technological advancements, security dealers should look to target them. In San Antonio, practices like Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio make up an economic impact of $4.2 billion annually in salaries in 2005. According to research by the city's chamber of commerce, one of seven workers is employed in the city in medical-related industries.

"The San Antonio chamber study shows the business influence of medical practices in most communities," said Mike Garcia, vice president of marketing for MDI Security. "Regardless of your business location, the medical industry, with all its government mandates such as HIPAA, should serve as a significant aspect of your marketing focus."

The teaming processes between a security professional and a medical technology effort can take time to develop. The first step for a security professional is to read the business section of their local newspaper or a weekly business publication to find stories about companies working on medical construction or expansion projects. Another way to locate a promising partnership is to search the Internet for a local association of Microsoft certified partners or an Oracle user group. Professional groups like this can help security professionals find technology partners to work together on future medical convergence programs.

Security Pros Move Forward
The effort to find medical technologists is worth the time. Integrators like Scanlan are becoming more common, especially for doctors who build big practices.

"A very successful practice will have its own technology consultant or contract someone to handle technical needs," Scanlan said. "Some smaller practices still have a medical administrator who makes all the decisions for the doctor or makes recommendations to the doctors."

For medical professionals, the path to changing technology and security systems must involve a convergence between both industries.

"When both a security and technology professional provide a unified approach to helping a medical practice expand or relocate, everyone will win," Garcia said.