Omer Aziz and colleagues from Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK, propose three reasons for lifting the mobile-phone ban: (1) almost 10 years after the ban's introduction, there remains an absence of evidence of any real risk to patients' safety; (2) mobile phones have evolved greatly since the ban was introduced. Evidence suggests that Digital Global System Mobile (GSM) phones currently in use interfere less with medical devices than did their analogue predecessors; (3) the reality is that mobile phones are used in hospitals by patients, their relatives, and medical staff. At present, even when on hospital premises, many consultants prefer to be contacted by mobile phone. Some hospitals have issued specialist registrars with mobile phones so that they can be contacted directly by general practitioners.
Omer Aziz comments: "The absence of any real evidence of risk to patients' safety, coupled with advances in handheld technology, should cause hospital trusts and their advisory bodies to reappraise the current restriction against mobile phone use in hospitals."
Contact: Dr Omer Aziz, Flat R, 11 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 3UL, UK;
T)44-207-402-9678;
E) doc_omer@hotmail.com
The Lancet