Don't use cell phones, hospital asks visitors
A Vancouver hospital has warned visitors that their cellular telephones can endanger patients. St. Paul's Hospital warns that radio signals from cell phones "can reset flow rates on IV pumps, turn ventilators off, even reset alarm criteria on monitoring equipment. In fact, they can alter the proper functioning of almost any kind of electronic medical equipment, even when the phones are on standby and not in use."
Owners may not be aware of the danger their cell phones pose in acute care hospitals that have enormous amounts of electronic equipment (see Hamilton J: Electromagnetic interference can cause hospital devices to malfunction, McGill group warns. CMAJ 1996; 154: 373-375). However, cell phones are almost impossible to track in a hospital because they are small, portable, easily hidden and carried from area to area.
| CMAJ April 15, 1996 (vol 154, no 8) |