Milestone Systems’ open platform IP video management software (VMS) has Briefcam Syndex Pro video synopsis analytics embedded within the Milestone Xprotect Smart Client, in operation at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, helping in its mission to protect and safeguard the health care community. Charged with creating a safe environment, MGH’s security team is simultaneously challenged by the clinical team’s needs for increased efficiency by reducing length of stay and moving patients through the hospital as quickly as possible.
The hospital environment presents unique challenges to security. MGH’s 17-acre urban campus, comprising 29 contiguous and 14 separate buildings (including underground and freestanding garage facilities), is complex. The security team must take into account not only the main location, but also 13 satellite facilities around the Boston area. With 13,000 Axis network cameras recording 24/7 and more than 1,000 investigations to process per year, Massachusetts General Hospital’s security team previously was not able to keep up with the vast amounts of recorded video.
“The number of investigations we were doing was taking huge amounts of time in terms of reviewing video, and that was really a waste of resources,” said Bonnie Michelman, MGH Executive Director of Police, Security and Outside Services, and Consultant for Partners Healthcare. “We can’t cover all of these facilities with security staff. We need to augment heavily with very good, state-of-the-art technology that allows us to combine our intelligence, labour, policies and procedures, in order to create a better holistic approach to enterprise risk management.”
Following the hospital’s digital conversion unified on the Milestone Xprotect video management platform, MGH’s security team was easily able to expand camera coverage from 400 to 1,300 devices, standardised with Axis network cameras connected directly to the IP network.
To deal with the marked increase in video data, MGH’s team chose Briefcam Syndex Pro, a powerful set of tools that reduce the time and effort needed to conduct video reviews, post-event video investigation and real-time video monitoring. The Briefcam solution integrates seamlessly with the Milestone video management solution, providing efficient workflow for investigators. According to Michelman, Briefcam has proven invaluable. A two-year-long examination of video surveillance use at MGH has shown a progressive rise in success rates with the use of video in incident investigations.
