Exploring current risks of mobile telephony in hospital and clinical environments

A decade ago, anecdotal reports of cellular phones causing electromagnetic interference led government and health agencies to advocate the restriction of cellular phone in hospitals. Subsequently, many health facilities have instituted cellular phone restrictions enforced by signage and reprimanding staff. Despite these efforts, cellular phone activity maintains its momentum as the fastest growing source of electromagnetic interference (EMI) in hospitals. However, recent years have seen less EMI-related incidents. Perhaps it is time to update policies on cell phone usage in hospitals. We aim to discern the validity of the notion to lift cellular phones ban in North American and Canadian hospitals. We also present potential solutions for ensuring electromagnetic compatibility between cell phones and biomedical devices.