Healthcare establishments have one of the widest arrays of people onsite at any given time:

• Medical care staff from various specializations and services
• Administration
• Maintenance, janitorial, housekeeping
• Patients
• Visitors
• Security

With this population changing daily, how can you simplify your personnel's identification in a busy medical environment? Identifying personnel, especially medical staff, is essential; your IT department needs a solution that works seamlessly and is sustainable; and it should be easy for security and others to identify everyone.

You need an ID card solution that identifies each section of your medical facility's population at a glance. Add to that access to restricted areas by badge holder type, and your ID card system must combine a photo ID card with access control in a single card.

Photo IDs

A simple plastic card with a photograph printed on it helps you identify people at a glance. Use different colored cards or borders on your card to segregate between types of hospital staff and patients and visitors. This will make it easy for security and others to recognize who belongs where. To make it even easier to identify cardholders, use colored lanyards to coordinate with the colored cards.

When you have so many people onsite daily, you need the fastest way to visually identify who belongs where. Durable PVC cards last for several years, minimizing replacement costs for employees. Everyone is familiar with the credit card format, and a high-resolution ID card printer prints photo quality images. You can even incorporate other visual security elements like holographic images or watermarks to make sure badges are authentic.

Data encoding

You have options for data encoding such as a barcode or a QR code. Some PVC cards come with magnetic strips, while other have smart technology for contact or contactless control. Depending on your needs, you might have different cards for different functions, such as:

• Secure personnel files and data to restricted areas.
• Ensure patient data access to authorized personnel.
• Track work hours with a clock-in system.
• Provide payment in the cafeteria.
• Check out expensive equipment.
• Access to a parking garage, etc.

Printing a photo ID on a data encoded card provides a simple, single solution. But more importantly, a smart card lets cardholders avoid contact to optimize health and safety efforts.

In-house solutions

You can easily incorporate this type of badging system in your office. To produce employee/staff badges, you need a high-resolution ID card printer with encoding modules for the types of data or restricted areas you want cardholders to access. These printers can print several hundreds of cards quickly and offer high quality images.

Consider another smaller ID card printer in the lobby for visitors. You might find that a photo ID card color-coded for visitors is all you need. They won't have access to restricted areas with a simple ID card, yet you can still tell at a moment's notice where they belong.

Controlling your ID cards onsite gives you options for updating cards with new technologies or additional information. It's as simple as entering the new information into the ID card software program and clicking print.

Benefits of bringing your card solution in-house include:

• You control the security of your facilities by identifying cardholders and restricting access to only authorized personnel.
• Prevent your sensitive data being in the hands of a third-party ID card provider.
• Keep your valuable medical personnel up to date with the ability to create badges on demand.
• No minimum order amounts, production time needs, and shipping hassles.

Final thoughts

It's easy to get started with personalized ID cards with access controls. Contact Idesco's ID Card Experts today to discuss your needs. You can also visit our in-person showroom to use different ID card printers to determine which brand best meets your ID card requirements.

There are many options with printing your cards in-house, like double-sided printing, various encoding modules, a laminating module, and more. We can help you find the perfect model for both your current and future business needs. We have over 75 years of experience helping healthcare organizations just like yours find the right solution for the right price. In fact, we guarantee you'll always get the right price at Idesco. Call your ID Expert today at 212-889-2530.