Teladoc Health, the global leader in virtual care, announced the launch of a new offering to help hospitals and health systems address workplace violence. This is the latest innovation within Teladoc Health's Clarity monitoring solution, which includes AI-enabled software, hardware and services that empower care teams to monitor care settings and quickly direct the right resources. The solution serves multiple use cases, including virtual sitting and now virtual workplace safety intervention.

Workplace violence is a growing challenge facing hospitals. A recent survey found that more than 80 per cent of nurses have experienced workplace violence, and nearly half say violence has increased in recent years. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics, healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence, compared to employees in other industries. Additionally, workplace and community violence costs hospitals more than $18 billion annually, according to a recent report from the American Hospital Association.

The new capability uses video and audio clues to analyse facial expressions, sense threatening gestures, and detect aggressive language. As an incident is escalating, the solution will provide intelligent, timely notifications to the appropriate care teams and staff to enable early intervention. It will actively identify specific safety risks, such as a person aggressively stepping into a nurse’s space or tampering with medical equipment.

“Healthcare workplace violence is a persistent and growing threat impacting care team safety, patient wellbeing, and health system operations,” said Andy Puterbaugh, President, Hospital and Health Systems at Teladoc Health. “While traditional tools are often reactive—relying on human vigilance or panic buttons—our new workforce safety capability is purpose-built to transform insights into action, using AI to empower early intervention and improve the safety of everyone in the care setting.”