Introduction
Clear and accessible communication is the best way to enhance patient experience in healthcare institutes – which in turn also promotes healthier outcomes and gives your organization’s brand a better visibility. Digital screens are the best way to communicate important, real-time information while also providing a warm and comforting atmosphere in a place where most people arrive in pain or feeling anxious.
Here are some tips on how digital signage can enhance patient experience in all aspects of a medical institute.
Wayfinding
Many hospitals and healthcare facilities are big and busy places, often with maze-like designs, which makes it difficult for patients to get to places on time for their appointment, and creates an instant negative impression of the organization.
By providing digital wayfinding screens, hospital staff are freed up from directing traffic and there are lesser up-close interactions in hallways – which is particularly important after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. With touchscreen capabilities, visitors can find customized directions, showing them exactly where they must go. Bright and responsive interactive screens can be paired with content management systems for instant updates with accurate information. For example, if a doctor’s consultation has been shifted to a different room at the last minute, the automated screen can inform patients of the new location within seconds.
Patient/Visitor interaction
Interactive digital screens can offer basic services such as check-in to a room, book a consultation appointment and inquire about lab reports, so that guests who are comfortable with digital interaction can help themselves without waiting for a medical assistant to serve them. While interacting with the screen, patients can be presented with feedback prompts and any comments can be entered so hospitals can reduce perceived waiting times and also gather more information on how to improve their patient experiences.
Communicate important information
Traditional communication methods such as flyers and cluttered bulletin boards are messy, ineffective, and may lead to important messages going unnoticed. Hospital digital signage allows strategizing in what has to be shared and when it should be shared.
In addition to promoting hospital services and events, there is other important information to be conveyed to patients and visitors such as public safety announcements, patient safety recommendations, waiting times for appointments, clinic hours for different doctors, wellness awareness content and so on. Administrative staff can also push real-time alerts and Covid related information as and when appropriate.
Hospital cafeterias can also be modernized with digital displays. Instead of updating menu boards manually with chalk or printing more fliers, digital menu boards are more convenient and flexible.
Reduce waiting room anxiety
A hospital waiting room is the most anxious room in the world! Everyone in there is either in pain or waiting for someone to come out of surgery. Lighten some of that anxiety by informing patients of the exact waiting time, and other engaging health content to distract them from stress and reduce perceived wait times.
For waiting room digital signage content, you can include reminders about certain services such as immunizations, teeth whitening, fluoride treatments, physiotherapy, and so on. This content should be a way for your patients and their families to embrace a healthy lifestyle, thereby making healthcare a higher priority.
Sometimes television shows are broadcasted in waiting rooms – which is also helpful to distract patients but should not have negativity, violence and other inappropriateness. In this case, short-form programming is a better idea – you can show several 2–5-minute clips of favorite family-friendly television content. This means you don’t have to keep changing channels, no commercials will be displayed, and guests are occupied during that brief period that they are in your waiting room.
Another option is to connect visitors to the outside world by displaying information about nearby restaurants, news, traffic and weather.
Improve quality of care
Incorporating digital signage solutions into healthcare facilities means doctors and nurses can quickly share critical information without having to deal with bulky folders and charts. For example, having a display located outside each patient’s room with diagnosis, allergies, and other conditions would be helpful for anyone who enters the room. This screen can also be used to identify which nurse is on duty at present and on the next shift. Patients with language preferences can have specific nurses assigned to them.
Digital signage also helps increase the speed and efficiency of a diagnoses. Widescreen monitors can display more information at once without having to switch between windows – doctors and nurses can view x-rays and EHRs in one glance. Better resolution means X-rays, CT scans and other charts are interpreted with precision.
Although digital signage is quite simple, upgraded tools like these within the workplace makes your staff feel empowered and proud to be working in such an advanced environment. Patients and visitors will appreciate the attention to detail in providing an exceptional experience, thereby making them calmer and more relaxed, which is especially important when on the road to recovery.
Notify patient’s families
For those family members awaiting news regarding surgeries, status updates can be shared via digital screen by using patient numbers rather than names (to protect patient privacy). Members in waiting rooms can see what time their loved ones went into the operating room, how long they had been in there, what time they were moved to recovery, and information on how to further care for the patient at home. Anxiety is greatly reduced by conveying this information to family members, and the staff also is free from having to update them regularly regarding the status of the patient.
Personalized customer experience
For hospitals, engaging and educating patients is top priority. The better you educate a patient about their condition, the better they will take care of themselves. Over the years, hospitals are focusing more on patient-centered care and shared decision-making, as a result, improve the patient experience and reducing re-admissions. Personalized content during a patient’s stay includes room phone number, vital signs indicating their condition and names and photos of their care team. These digital screens can be combined with the television network and other educational medical videos related to the patient’s condition, allowing the patient to educate and entertain themselves while they are resting. Integrating the hospitals health record system will also allow patients to access their test results, treatment plans, and other medical information via the screen.
Conclusion
Digital signage distributors offer an array of options to improve patient experience. From small to big sizes, high to low resolution and all sorts of interactive screens. Don’t think twice; make use of the variety available on the market, and the proven benefits of digital signage to implement a campaign that will transform patient satisfaction and experience.
