Updated March, 2026
Hospitals and large physician group practices are equipped to identify and respond to medical emergencies, but what happens when they need to summon emergency services like the police or the fire department? By law, dialing 911 from any phone should instantly reach emergency services and automatically route accurate location information. But, in some cases, healthcare providers with multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) may inadvertently fall short of the requirements put in place by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Learn how healthcare organizations can experience gaps in 911 compliance—and how to take action.
Scenario 1: Lack of awareness
The FCC has two statutes, Kari’s Law & RAY BAUM’s Act, which were implemented to improve access to 911 and identify a caller’s location.
- Kari’s Law requires direct dialing of 911 (instead of pressing another button to reach an outbound phone line). The statute also requires that telecom systems installed after February 16, 2020, must send a 911 alert to a central location within the network, such as a front desk or security office, with the caller’s location and callback number.
- RAY BAUM’S Act requires that a “dispatchable location,” such as the address and floor or suite number of the caller, be relayed to the dispatch center.
The ability to reach an outside line and relay location information is especially important in a multi-floor hospital or extended campus environment. Still, staff may be unaware of these 911-related regulations. In addition, hospital security staff may be aware, but in-house IT staff don’t typically focus on this part of compliance.
Scenario 2: External vendors not completing the 911 setup
In some situations, telecommunication vendors have installed new systems for a healthcare organization, but testing 911 compliance is presented as a separate or optional service. 911 compliance can be complex to manage, and vendors may not test it properly.
In other cases, telecommunications vendors want to get the client’s service up, running, and billing. The client forgets about the 911 component and doesn’t follow up with it until there’s a problem.
Scenario 3: Taking “shortcuts” to 911
Another non-compliant issue involves hospitals “shortcutting” the 911 system. In this scenario, when 911 is dialed, the caller is connected to the hospital’s main security desk. But there are a few significant issues with this situation:
- The security desk may not be staffed 24/7 to gather critical information
- The security desk may be calling 911 from a different building or floor, which could confuse and delay emergency responders.
When other parties become involved in the process, mistakes can happen and time-critical care can be delayed.
Taking action to achieve 911 compliance
As a healthcare-centric consulting practice, Pixel Health is often called when an organization needs an urgent response. For example, some of our clients have received a letter from the state, which says that 911 couldn’t identify a caller in their facility, and now they need to prove that they’ve corrected the issue. In other cases, our clients are proactively looking ahead to prevent potential liabilities.
Pixel Health continues to help hospitals and physician practice groups test their telecom systems and eliminate potential risks in their process. If your organization wants to ensure your 911 telecom system is compliant and calls to 911 are properly routed, we’re here to help. Learn more here.
