What Are the Dangers of Cell Phones in a Hospital?
Have you ever been in a hospital and noticed the "Cell phone use restricted" signs? These signs are there for a good reason: Cell phone use in hospitals can interfere with medical equipment, having devastating effects on patients.
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Interference with Highly Important Medical Equipment
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Cell phone usage in hospitals has been linked to the interference of medical equipment, such as ventilators, breathing tubes, feeding tubes, and pacemakers. This interference can cause this medical equipment to completely shut off or give incorrect data on machines.
Interference with Two-Way Radios
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Emergency personnel use two-way radios to communicate with one another as well as hospital staff. Cell phones may interfere with the lines of communication for two-way radios, causing a delay in transmission or even disabling their use.
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Setting Off Alarms
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Cell phones interference can cause alarms on machines to go off for no reason, inhibiting patient care.
Ineffective Monitoring of Blood Pressure
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Blood pressure monitoring is very important in hospitals. The use of cell phones in hospitals has been linked to the ineffective monitoring of blood pressure, resulting in incorrect readings.
Interference with Monitor Displays
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Although the findings have stated that the interference of monitor displays is a mild danger of cell phone use in hospitals, it is still a hazard nonetheless. This can cause disrupt communication of patients' medical information.
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Scott McLeod
