55% Healthcare Workers Faced Increases in Violence — How Is Security Adapting to Protect Them?
The 2026 State of Physical Security Report from Genetec reveals security incidents in hospitals and healthcare organizations increased in 2025. How are these organizations responding to rising threats against staff?
Healthcare Security Incidents Increase
The report determined the top five security incidents that rose in the previous year. The safety concern rising the most was physical assaults against employees, at 55%. In descending order, hospitals and healthcare organizations also faced in increase in verbal attacks, unauthorized entrances, break-ins, and insider thefts.
When identifying the highest incidents of workplace violence by sector, healthcare often ranks high for external threats. A report from the American Hospital Association (AHA) in June 2025 determined these external threats have notable financial repercussions against organizations, calculating the total cost of violence to be $18.27 billion.
Top Challenges in Healthcare
According to the 2026 State of Physical Security Report, the greatest challenges currently facing the sector are:
- Upskilling staff (42%)
- Outdated IT infrastructure (40%)
- Difficulty attracting and retaining talent (38%)
How Security Is Adapting to Protect
Many hospitals and healthcare organizations are seeking to modernize security equipment to confront these challenges. The report found institutions are updating how security information is shared and utilized, with over half submitting access activity data from the security operation center (SOC) to other systems. Additionally, many share alarms, incident information, and video/audio data. SOCs are intaking data from cybersecurity tools, threat intelligence sources, HR systems and intrusion and asset monitoring systems.
These organizations are leveraging physical security information to benefit outcomes outside of conventional security matters, including:
- Safety/security improvements (60%)
- Operational efficiency for security teams (52%)
- Regulatory compliance (49%)
- Employee/patient experience (44%)
Furthermore, 39% of respondents indicated collaboration with other departments to be a priority, emphasizing physical security’s interconnected role for organizations.
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