Busy Offices Can Lead To Medical Device Theft; Unless Alpha Thunder Tags Are A Part Of Your Practice

 

Alpha Thunder Tags-5                                                                                                                  WC blog 88
I-pad Theft – 3
Tablet Theft-3
Busy Offices Can Lead To Medical Device Theft; Unless Alpha Thunder Tags Are A Part Of Your Practice
     What distracts you during your busy day?  I ask this because as I was preparing to write this article, I started thinking about what my days look like and what impact it has on what I may be doing at any given time.  Both of my jobs are customer service focused.  I work in an academic library as an overnight shift supervisor and in my job I assist students with research questions, finding materials and sometimes even help someone who is stressed out in the wee hours of the morning.  In my second job I work in retail on the sales floor providing customer service, as well as completing other assigned tasks.  In both cases, I have been in situations where I was working on paperwork or using some type of device and put it down momentarily to assist someone and when I returned, I could not immediately recall what I did with the item.  Now, imagine working in a clinic or doctor’s office and you are using mobile medical devices to help patients.  How easy would it be in a hectic situation, to put down a mobile medical device and experience an i-pad theft or tablet theft because a thief took advantage of a situation and grabbed a device and walked out of the building without anyone’s knowledge?
         How can you protect your mobile devices against theft in a busy, customer service oriented situation?  What if your mobile devices were protected with Alpha Thunder Tags?  An Alpha Thunder Tag is an anti-theft device that is attached to mobile devices and protects against tablet theft and i-pad theft by working with an electronic article surveillance system.  If a device has a Thunder Tag on it and someone walks out a door protected by an electronic article surveillance antenna the alarm on the antenna will sound and flashing lights alert staff that a device is being removed.  The device itself has an alarm built into it that activates if a thief continues through the antenna and out the door. Even if multiple people are exiting at roughly the same time, the alarming device will identify the offending party.  
     I reflect on watching the activity in an emergency room when I have had the need to be in one.  Medical staff checking on patients, people trying to get checked in, everyone wanting immediate assistance, and suddenly an ambulance pulls up and a gurney is being wheeled past, it can appear to be controlled chaos.  How susceptible to theft is a medical facility in a situation like this?  I can easily picture a situation where a nurse or physician is entering information on a mobile device and unexpectedly an emergency situation requires their attention and the device is put down so they can address the crisis.  In that moment the device becomes secondary and is forgotten.  Someone in the room spies the device and picks it up and leaves the building.  The device and all patient information contained on it is stolen.  The potential ramification of patient data compromise becomes a real threat.  Not only could patient information be stolen and create problems for the clients who had information stored on the device, the fines and penalties for a medical data breach can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  
     Installation of an electronic article surveillance system and using Alpha Thunder Tags will prevent medical i-pad theft and tablet theft.    Electronic article surveillance antennas can be installed at all facility entrances, including employee doors.  By doing so, even if a staff member were to forget they had a protected device in their pocket when they leave for the day the alarm will sound and they will be reminded to return the device before going home.  While it is not a pleasant thought, it would also protect the facility from a dishonest employee who may attempt to steal a device.  And I failed to mention, should someone attempt to remove an Alpha Thunder Tag, a tamper alarm would sound alerting staff of a potential theft attempt.  
    Protect your patient’s information from data breaches and protect your practice from potential lawsuits and onerous fines.  Use Alpha Thunder Tags on your mobile medical devices and install electronic article surveillance antennas at your doorways.  
For more information on Alpha Thunder Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

What distracts you during your busy day? I ask this because as I was preparing to write this article, I started thinking about what my days look like and what impact it has on what I may be doing at any given time. Both of my jobs are customer service focused. I work in an academic library as an overnight shift supervisor and in my job I assist students with research questions, finding materials and sometimes even help someone who is stressed out in the wee hours of the morning. In my second job I work in retail on the sales floor providing customer service, as well as completing other assigned tasks. In both cases, I have been in situations where I was working on paperwork or using some type of device and put it down momentarily to assist someone and when I returned, I could not immediately recall what I did with the item. Now, imagine working in a clinic or doctor’s office and you are using mobile medical devices to help patients. How easy would it be in a hectic situation, to put down a mobile medical device and experience an i-pad theft or tablet theft because a thief took advantage of a situation and grabbed a device and walked out of the building without anyone’s knowledge?

 

How can you protect your mobile devices against theft in a busy, customer service oriented situation? What if your mobile devices were protected with Alpha Thunder Tags? An Alpha Thunder Tag is an anti-theft device that is attached to mobile devices and protects against tablet theft and i-pad theft by working with an electronic article surveillance system. If a device has a Thunder Tag on it and someone walks out a door protected by an electronic article surveillance antenna the alarm on the antenna will sound and flashing lights alert staff that a device is being removed. The device itself has an alarm built into it that activates if a thief continues through the antenna and out the door. Even if multiple people are exiting at roughly the same time, the alarming device will identify the offending party.  

 

I reflect on watching the activity in an emergency room when I have had the need to be in one. Medical staff checking on patients, people trying to get checked in, everyone wanting immediate assistance, and suddenly an ambulance pulls up and a gurney is being wheeled past, it can appear to be controlled chaos. How susceptible to theft is a medical facility in a situation like this? I can easily picture a situation where a nurse or physician is entering information on a mobile device and unexpectedly an emergency situation requires their attention and the device is put down so they can address the crisis. In that moment the device becomes secondary and is forgotten. Someone in the room spies the device and picks it up and leaves the building. The device and all patient information contained on it is stolen. The potential ramification of patient data compromise becomes a real threat. Not only could patient information be stolen and create problems for the clients who had information stored on the device, the fines and penalties for a medical data breach can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  

 

Installation of an electronic article surveillance system and using Alpha Thunder Tags will prevent medical i-pad theft and tablet theft. Electronic article surveillance antennas can be installed at all facility entrances, including employee doors. By doing so, even if a staff member were to forget they had a protected device in their pocket when they leave for the day the alarm will sound and they will be reminded to return the device before going home. While it is not a pleasant thought, it would also protect the facility from a dishonest employee who may attempt to steal a device. And I failed to mention, should someone attempt to remove an Alpha Thunder Tag, a tamper alarm would sound alerting staff of a potential theft attempt.  

Protect your patient’s information from data breaches and protect your practice from potential lawsuits and onerous fines.  Use Alpha Thunder Tags on your mobile medical devices and install electronic article surveillance antennas at your doorways.  

 

For more information on Alpha Thunder Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547