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Controversy Swirls Around Use of Cameras to Monitor
Nursing Home Care
July 28, 2004 - New and
proposed state laws authorizing the use of Web or video cameras to
monitor the care of residents in nursing homes has kicked up a storm.
Proponents of the
cameras, dubbed "granny cams," say their use in nursing homes could weed
out abusive employees and document incidents of substandard care, while
nursing-home owners term video surveillance an invasion of privacy that
could actually decrease care by making it more difficult to attract and
retain good staff.
About a dozen state
legislatures have granny-cam legislation under consideration. Earlier
this year, New Mexico joined Texas in allowing nursing home residents or
their representatives to install monitoring cameras in their rooms.
Under the laws, a
resident must let nursing-home operators know ahead of time of the
placement of the camera. If the operator is not notified or if the
equipment is not open and obvious in the room, the camera is considered
covert surveillance and illegal.
Although no law
expressly prohibits the use of cameras in nursing homes, there are
various practical barriers to their widespread use, including the strong
opposition of the nursing-home industry.
The controversy has its
roots not only in the march of technology, but also in the surge of
Americans who are entering nursing homes.
About half of Americans
currently 65 or older will be admitted to a nursing home at least once,
writes Selket Nicole Cottle in an article in the Elder Law Journal,
which is published by the University of Illinois College of Law.
This tide is only
expected to rise as baby boomers approach their golden years.
At the same time, about
30 percent of the nation's 17,000 nursing homes have been sanctioned for
deficiencies that put their residents at risk of harm. About one in 20
nursing home residents suffer from abuse, according to the Florida
Agency of Health Care Administration, and this figure appears to
understate the problem because many instances of physical and sexual
abuse go unreported.
Use of such cameras is a
positive step in reducing the potential for elderly abuse, Cottle, an
editor at the journal, concluded. In particular, Web cameras hold the
greatest potential for restoring public confidence in nursing homes by
giving family members access to "real time" or to recently stored
footage.
Commercial outlets now
sell Web-camera systems to the elderly at prices from $629 to $1,584,
depending on the specifications of each camera, plus a $20 monthly fee
to access the server and $10 a month for a data-only line to upload
images.
"Certainly some families
have the financial means to provide this quality of technological
protection, however the majority of Americans do not," Cottle wrote. To
be effective and properly regulated, granny-cam technology should
therefore be mandated for all nursing facilities.
"Mandating the use of
granny cameras in nursing homes will ensure that all nursing home
residents are equally protected," she wrote.
While not trifling, the
cost of installing equipment in a nursing home is on par with the cost
of updating recreation, housekeeping or food services. And some of the
cost would be defrayed by lower liability insurance premiums, according
to Cottle.
What's more,
surveillance equipment has advantages for operators by reducing
unwarranted or frivolous litigation and minimizing their legal
responsibility in cases of resident-on-resident abuse.
Cameras also could
monitor many of the basics of resident care, such as drug administration
and diaper changing. By linking the camera feed to the Internet, nursing
homes could handle routine assignments more efficiently.
But because of
understandable concerns over privacy, Cottle advocates placing the
surveillance systems in the hands of independent companies, which would
then monitor the equipment and be responsible for making the data
available online.
"In this way, families
can check on their loved ones and nursing homes can check on their
residents, and everyone will sleep a little better at night knowing that
the independent source is regulating and reviewing the tapes should any
problems arise," Cottle wrote.
"This service, like the
cost of the cameras or of the tapes, is an added institutional cost that
the nursing home will incur. Nevertheless, it is likely the best option
to preserve the integrity of the tapes and ensure that only families and
authorized officials gain access to them."
Cottle's article is
titled "Video Surveillance in Nursing Homes." |
