Digital signs in hospitals can take your healthcare institution to the next level improving communication, providing better wayfinding and giving space for recognition and promotion of things that matter. Let’s walk through the ways to make it happen using screens.
A hospital visit is frankly not the most comfortable activity to do for the vast majority of people. While it’s beneficial to health and absolutely indispensable, still it brings such hard feelings as fear, anxiety, stress and doubt. However, there is a great way to transform the patient experience and show people that you care. Digital hospital signs are this tool and your institution can use them to improve the whole paradigm of patient relations.
Even without a global emergency hospitals were in need of modernization but the COVID-19 pandemic has made things more complicated for the healthcare industry. American Hospital Association estimated between $53 billion and $122 billion of revenue losses from the pre-pandemic levels as well as a surge in hospitalizations that is unlikely to be down by the end of 2021.
The whole healthcare system is under a strain and it is important to adopt solutions that can help get out of the crisis. Digital hospital signs are there to bring power and flexibility by cutting down costs and increasing engagement.
Let’s go through the amazing advantages of digital signs in hospitals.
1. Hospital wayfinding digital signs make it hassle-free
It is easy to get confused with directions when visiting a hospital for the first time. Often these institutions are big and labyrinthine, leaving patients desperately looking for the right room and wandering hopelessly around the premises. It shouldn’t be this way, hospital wayfinding digital signs can transform the way a patient navigates from point A to point B at your institution.
Hospital wayfinding solutions bring clarity to the often confusing floor plans of modern hospitals. Also, placing screens lets you to combine the directions with other types of content, so your hospital gets an awesome versatile tool.
Why is proper wayfinding essential? Because it is a basic comfort feature, the face of your hospital. If it’s confusing (or lacking), the patient would get negative thoughts from visiting the hospital and you are risking losing his trust. On the other hand, if you use digital signage, it will send a clear message that:
- you care about the patient journey and you’re ready to facilitate it
- you are moving hand in hand with the latest digital developments
- your hospital is a future-thinking institution
Example of doing wayfinding right:
Install screens at the spots of your hospital that are frequented by people. Make your homework and learn about what problems visitors may have had earlier while navigating the premises and use this information to perfect your wayfinding. Place screens at strategic positions and make directions clear and informative. Hospital wayfinding solutions will guide a person exactly where she/he is supposed to be and the whole experience will be hassle-free.
2. Reducing stress
People are different and they perceive a hospital visit differently. As usually, one comes to a medical institution to seek help for some deteriorated health condition or visiting loved ones who fell ill, it brings feelings of anxiety. That’s why hospitals should find ways to reduce it and make the visit as comfortable as possible for patients. Turning to digital signs in hospitals allows institutions to use the visual power of the screens for the mental health benefit of both patients and healthcare workers.
Here are the ways you can make digital signage a great stress-reducing tool:
- Queue management
Nobody likes waiting. You can drastically reduce waiting times by introducing a digital screen-powered line management system. Queues at the hospitals are something of a nightmare for anyone visiting. And it doesn't take rocket science to make them a thing of the past. With a screen-facilitated system, the whole thing will be organized and each person will know exactly when it's his turn.
- Creating uplifting ambiance
Use content to cheer up your visitors, show calming videos, broadcast interesting facts, motivate healthcare workers by recognizing their wins. It's an excellent way to show your humane side as a healthcare institution. It speaks volumes when the hospital is genuinely interested. So be that place and get the trust as a prize. Because it's the trust that makes people coming back to a place where they feel secure and cared about.
3. Providing clear communication
Communication was extremely important even before the pandemic broke out. Right now it is vital to make sure that hospitals remain operative and everyone inside remains safe. The virality of the novel coronavirus provides a challenge for indoor institutions as the risk of an outbreak is as high as ever. That’s why hospitals should follow the social distancing requirements and digital signs are the best way to communicate that.
With screens healthcare institutions have a tool to share important alerts in seconds, update patients on the latest developments, react to emergencies and constantly remind both the visitors and the staff about the social distancing rules. The good news is that the screens are not a static solution, you can change the content you’re showing and one display can fulfill a couple purposes at once.
Another great advantage of digital signs in hospitals is their power to positively transform workplace communication. It can be used as a tool for information exchange between nurses and doctors. Also, digital signage helps to reduce costs as your hospital would completely drop the practice of slow and costly printed leaflets, brochures, schedules, etc.
4. Perfect for promotion of hospital services
Making revenue is one of the important sides of a hospital operation and when it comes to sales there is no better marketing tool than digital signage. Remember those screens we installed at the strategic spots around the premises of the hospital for wayfinding and communication purposes? Now they can be equally effective for promoting services your hospital offers and highlighting special propositions.
The key here is to find the right balance between purely informational content and the promotional one. It is important to show patients something they will relate to and will care about and not overdo it.
5. Branding and donor recognition
While branding is not the first thing we think about when it comes to hospitals, it is still important for visibility and marketing. Digital signage offers a great way to level up the branding efforts by providing an engaging canvas that instantly captures the attention of the visitors. Screens can be used to fortify your brand, promote social media channels and increase familiarity.
Also, signs are perfect for donor recognition. Celebrate your donors by showing their names and contributions on the displays and inspire more to come.
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