Questionnaire-based evaluation of mobile phone interference with medical-electrical equipment in Swedish hospitals.

National recommendations in Sweden recommend a safety distance of 3 meter (m) between mobile phones and medical-electrical (ME) equipment in hospitals. A questionnaire was used to investigate how often mobile phones were reported to interfere with ME products in clinical practice across Sweden. The results confirmed that ME equipment can be affected by mobile phone use but, the risk of the patient's outcome being affected were minimal; no cases were identified which led to injury or death. In conclusion, the results support recommendations for a general safety distance of 0.5 m between mobile phones and ME equipment in care environments.