When it comes to protecting a healthcare facility, camera coverage plays a critical role in both proactive and reactive security measures. It’s not just about watching hallways or entrances—it's about building a layered, strategic surveillance plan that supports situational awareness, forensic investigation, and operational integrity.
In a healthcare environment, where patients, staff, visitors, and contractors flow in and out around the clock, the demands on a security system are constant. That’s why thoughtful camera placement and system design are so important.
Camera systems in healthcare facilities serve two primary purposes:
Situational Awareness – The ability to monitor what is happening in real time, allowing security teams to respond to incidents as they unfold.
Forensic Investigation – After an incident occurs, recorded footage helps identify what happened, who was involved, and how the event unfolded.
Whether it's following an individual through a facility or reviewing footage after a theft or safety issue, the ability to use video for both live response and historical analysis makes it a vital part of any healthcare security program.
The most effective surveillance strategies are built from the perimeter inward. For larger healthcare campuses, coverage should start at the property line. Cameras placed on the exterior help detect unwanted activity before it reaches the facility itself. Whether monitoring parking lots, loading docks, or walkways, perimeter surveillance provides the first line of defense.
As you move inward, the next layer is building entrances. These entry points are especially critical, as they serve as chokepoints—controlled access areas where people must pass through before entering the rest of the facility. These could include staff entrances, main lobbies, emergency department access points, or even turnstiles and automatic sliding doors.
Placing high-resolution cameras in these spaces allows for detailed capture of individuals at close range. You want to be able to identify characteristics like clothing, accessories, or distinguishing features. When it comes to forensic value, nothing is more useful than good-quality video from a controlled entry point.
Once inside the building, common corridors become another vital surveillance zone. These high-traffic areas are used by employees, patients, visitors, and vendors at all hours. Monitoring them helps address a wide range of potential issues—from slip-and-fall incidents to unauthorized access.
Because healthcare facilities are dynamic environments, with visitors and third-party service providers present 24/7, it’s crucial to ensure camera coverage extends to any space with open public access. Equally important is extending coverage into secure or staff-only areas, where internal threats or misuse of equipment can occur.
Another essential use of surveillance in healthcare settings is around high-value or regulated areas—specifically, those involving medications and medical equipment.
Pharmacies, medication safes, and cold storage units must be monitored per compliance standards, and video footage from these areas must be high-quality enough to verify access and actions clearly. Similarly, rooms housing expensive medical devices or mobile equipment benefit from camera coverage to deter theft or track damage.
With so many individuals moving through these spaces—including contractors, delivery personnel, and cleaning staff—video provides accountability and insight that written logs or key card data alone can’t offer.
The value of camera footage hinges on the right technology and setup. When planning installations, consider:
Resolution: Can you clearly identify individuals or read labels?
Field of View: Are you covering the right area without blind spots?
Mounting Height and Angles: Are you getting a clear view of every face, or just the top of someone’s head?
Infrastructure: Are cameras mounted securely to appropriate surfaces with reliable power and network connections?
Each of these technical choices impacts the effectiveness of both live monitoring and recorded footage.
Ultimately, camera coverage is most effective when integrated into a larger system—especially when managed through a centralized security operations center. From this hub, staff can monitor video feeds, respond to incidents, and even follow a person or vehicle in real-time through the facility using camera handoffs.
In healthcare, where every second counts and safety is paramount, having the right camera coverage means more than just recording what happens. It means being prepared to respond, recover, and protect the people and assets that matter most.
As part of the greater “Healthcare Ring of Security,” thoughtful surveillance design doesn’t just support security goals—it strengthens the entire healthcare mission.
Eric's "Healthcare Ring of Security" webinar is available on-demand, allowing you to watch at your convenience. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's leading experts and take your healthcare facility’s security to the next level.
To register and access the on-demand webinar, click here >>
Security professionals are constantly looking for innovative ways to secure their facility and provide a safe environment within their budget. And, they are also constantly looking for resources to help them achieve that mission while expert advice is hard to come by.
Fortunately, we have released a considerations guide that will help security professionals perform their own in-house security risk assessment.
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What's Inside? This guide is intended to assist you with performing an in-house physical security risk assessment. In many cases, assistance from a third-party expert, like Theseus Professional Services, is required. Identification of missing or inadequate physical security measures that safeguard assets (people, property, and information) and critical business functions is of paramount importance. The findings of a security risk assessment are used to measure and communicate the level of risk to the organization.
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