Special report. Electronic article surveillance systems in health care--an update.

Patients who wander from hospitals and nursing homes are a challenge to personnel in charge of their protection. Patients with Alzheimer's disease, head injuries, Parkinson's disease or other forms of dementia are likely wanderers. In our special report on Electronic Technology and the Wandering Patient (February 1986 issue,) we reported that several hundred nursing homes and a few hospitals had turned to Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems that detect wanderers. Since then, the same type of technology has been extended to protect newborns from being kidnapped from hospital maternity wards as well as protect hospital property from being removed. In this report we will describe many of the leading EAS systems in use in the health care environment. We'll also present firsthand reports by users on their experience with this technology.