Top 6 Locations to Put Digital Signage in Healthcare Facilities
Digital signage has changed how healthcare facilities interact with patients, employees, and guests. Hospitals and healthcare centers have implemented digital signage for information, entertainment, marketing, and wayfinding. Statistics show that 78% of patients actively seek out digital signage systems in hospitals whenever available. Markedly, personalized technology that allows patients to communicate immediately and seamlessly is an advantage in these facilities.
Digital signage for hospitals can help streamline patient and employee communication. As a result, hospitals can save time and money and reduce frustration for the marketing and human resource teams. With that in mind, which are some of the most strategic locations to use digital signage in healthcare? Keep reading for more insights.
Where to Place Digital Signage in Healthcare Facilities
Planning your digital screen location is crucial, and you must be intentional about it. Here’s a list of areas that could benefit from digital signage content.
1. Waiting Rooms
Patients who have to endure long queues and wait times feel tortured, worsening an already bad situation. Waiting aggravates their state of being unwell. Conversely, implementing a queuing system in the waiting areas can put the patients at ease. For example, a digitally enabled system that informs them of their expected wait time can reduce their perceived wait times by about 35%.
A well-implemented queue management system integrated with digital signage in healthcare contributes to increased customer satisfaction. Expressively, the system allows healthcare providers to call customers forward and display directions to the relevant till points. That goes a long way in reducing anxiety as the patients wait for their turn to see the doctor.
Similarly, you can use digital displays to inform patients and those accompanying them on various issues. Anything that keeps the audience busy and distracts them from getting impatient as they wait can do. For example, you can display content like social media posts, sports news, weather updates, or relevant medical campaigns.
Patients are less irritable and enjoy a better patient experience when there’s patient engagement. The impact boils down to the employees, who have an easier time dealing with patients. Consequently, there’s a boost in employee satisfaction and experience.
2. Employee Breakroom
Communication with healthcare facility employees in real-time is crucial in enabling them to dispense their duties effectively. Generally speaking, hospital staff give all their attention to nature and events around them. So, if you put up digital signage communication in employee breakrooms, it can be an excellent addition to streamlining communication.
Accordingly, employees can deliver better services and become more efficient in their operations. Furthermore, real-time communication goes a long way in reducing costly employee errors. Lack of communication or mishearing is a leading cause of employee errors in most settings. Statistics show that hospitals incur about $12 billion in losses annually due to inefficient communication. However, they can save up to $8.1 billion annually by switching to digital messaging.
Examples of digital signage content to display in employee lounges include:
- Meeting announcements
- Operational updates
- Departmental alerts
- Updates on patient load
- Upcoming events
Likewise, you can use digital signage to lighten up the moments. Ideas include posting birthdays, work anniversaries, or even the employee of the month to motivate the staff.
3. Entrance Directory
The hospital entrance is the first part of the healthcare facility that patients see. Finding their way around a large, unfamiliar territory can be intimidating and frustrating. The situation can get worse if the facility spans several multi-story buildings. Therefore, you must communicate with them as soon as they set foot in the facility.
Traditional wayfinding signage is hard to decipher and can complicate an already bad situation. Fortunately, digital signage in healthcare can enable you to communicate a lot without saying anything.
One way to connect with patients is to greet them with hospital services, values, and promotions. For the most part, such signage can reassure worried patients and help them calm down. To explain, digital interactive wayfinding kiosks direct patients and provide clear instructions to help them reach their destination regardless of the size of the hospital. Interactive entrance directory signage solutions effectively reduce late appointments and errors arising from interruptions to the staff. The bottom line is improved hospital efficiency and patient experience.
Additionally, great digital signage in healthcare gives your hospital a presentable look. Consider using the displays to highlight your facility’s layout and services. In this case, you’ll cut yourself as a niche in logistical and customer streamlining. Content ideas include:
- A display of the various departments within the healthcare organization
- Graphical illustrations and animations of different services available at the facility
Such information makes it easy for patients to find their way around the facility and know what to expect when they get to each department. Best of all, interactive digital wayfinding or directory content can provide an on-the-go experience if transferred to the patients’ mobile devices.
4. Hallways
One way to enhance the patient experience in a healthcare facility is to ensure they can find their way around the hospital. Digital signage comes in handy to help you achieve this goal. Put up digital signage displays in all the hallways to allow patients to find their way to emergency rooms easily.
Additionally, you can install digital signage in hallways to notify different parties about the various happenings in real-time. You can reach doctors, nurses, and other attendants and inform them of when and where their help is needed.
5. Patient Rooms (Inside)
Ward screens are currently all the rage concerning digital signage placement in health facilities. It’s important to realize that the screens are helpful for patients, staff, and visitors. They find them effective in imparting staff ratios, meal times information, ward statistics, and safety data.
Moreover, digital signage inside patient rooms can help eradicate boredom in the hospital environment. Thus, you can install digital media players to enable patients to access the channels on the TV set already in the patient rooms.
Alternatively, you can liven up the environment with other content ideas. These include daily or weekly meal choices, opportunities for patients and their families, or unique entertainment. Further, you can update content and let patients know the activities they can engage in to make their stay at the hospital less stressful.
6. Patient Rooms (Outside)
On the flip side, digital signage solutions outside patient rooms can help you display who is there and when they need their next medication. Granted, nurses and doctors can use this information to plan their work and improve efficiency while attending to patients. It’s also a strategic location for placing smaller mounted tablet screens on secure screens like Bouncepad, saving on the expense of screens with a fixed solution.
Implement Digital Signage in Healthcare for Improved Efficiency
Digital signage in healthcare facilities is crucial in enhancing the employee, patient, and visitor experience. Nevertheless, the impact largely depends on the location of the digital screens. Overall, digital signs are the new normal for keeping everyone in the health facility well-informed and engaged. If your facility is yet to implement healthcare digital signage, it’s high time to do so to start enjoying the benefits of digital signage.