Speech privacy: Beyond architectural solutions

HIPAA regulations have brought unparalleled pressures on healthcare organizations to protect private and confidential information from reaching third parties. Yet, as this paper explains, often in the middle of noisy corridors and waiting rooms, this same information needs to be quickly transferred from physician to nurse to family member to others for the care of patients. Research and examples are presented that show that when families, patients, staff are participating together, although independently, in the same or adjacent spaces, the ‘‘caf effect’’ produces rising noise levels as each person competes to be heard. This threatens the very confidentiality demanded by HIPAA. Solutions to this problem are not easy or completely resolved by engineering or design specifications. This paper makes the case that it is ultimately the culture of a healthcare organization that determines the ‘‘sound’’ of a hospital, and any other organization that battles openness with privacy. It presents and discusses proven solutions to address culture in tandem with architectural and acoustic design interventions.