Reports on cell phone use in hospitals ‘inconclusive’
Thursday September 13, 2007 -- Jason Thompson
Leigh Popov says the cell phone policy at The Credit Valley Hospital is in place not because cell phone use poses any serious threat to patient safety, but because it’s in the best interest of the hospital to play it safe.

The manager of technical infrastructure and capital planning at The Credit Valley Hospital, Popov is responding to a published report saying cell phones should not come within one metre of hospitals beds.

The concern is that cell phone usage could cause medical equipment to malfunction as a result of electromagnetic interference. The authors of the study, published in the online journal called Critical Care, say policies restricting cell phone use in hospital should continue.

The authors also stated that the majority of equipment malfunctions in their study stemmed from the latest iteration of signal technology which allows electronic devices to access the Internet wirelessly.

The policy at The Credit Valley Hospital states that cell phone usage is allowed in the lobbies and in waiting areas however it is not permitted in critical care areas.

Popov says the information that is collected in regards to cell phone use in hospitals is largely inconclusive, adding he’s read some reports saying cell phone use is permissible while other reports condemn the use of cell phones, especially at the bedside.

“We have no way to disprove that, but we have no way to prove it either so we’re taking a cautious approach,” Popov says. “There’s a fairly substantial consensus out there that there is inconclusive evidence that there is any problems with cell phone use.”

According to a report on CTV.ca News, the study published in Critical Care, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Amsterdam, contradicts a study performed one year ago by Mayo Clinic researchers which found regular cell phone use caused no noticeable interference with patient care.

Popov says he isn’t aware of any incidents at The Credit Valley Hospital where patient safety has been compromised as a result of cell phone usage.

“I think you’ll find more and more hospitals are becoming agreeable to cell phone use depending on where (in the hospital),” he says. “It’s slowly starting to lift but hospitals are very cautious organizations, which is probably good for me and you because you don’t want them taking chances with peoples lives, so you can understand why they’re cautious.”