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As places where people often enter in agony and anxiety, hospitals and healthcare clinics have a pressing challenge: creating an instantly inviting, reassuring ambiance. Hospitals and medical practices rely on open lines of communication to enhance the quality of treatment their patients get and increase the likelihood of favorable health outcomes and the exposure of their brand. Digital signage has emerged as the most reliable and efficient medium for disseminating time-sensitive healthcare information.
To that end, this article will discuss the uses of hospital digital signage technologies.
1. Provide individualized patient care
Healthcare facilities place a premium on patient participation and education. Improved health outcomes are possible when people are well-informed about their conditions and are motivated to recover. The patient experience and the number of readmissions have benefited hospitals' recent focus on patient-centered care and collaborative decision-making.
The advent of digital whiteboards has revolutionized patient rooms. During a patient's stay, traditional paper newsletters and dry-erase boards must be manually updated regularly. Using digital displays instead of these old-fashioned methods makes it much simpler to customize and update patient data such as their most current vitals, the room number and the names and images of their care team.
In-room tablets provide patients with a more relaxed method to view procedural and instructive movies before, during and after their treatments. Patient test results, treatment plans, daily schedules and other medical data may be made available on-demand through a digital whiteboard solution by linking the hospital's electronic health records (EHRs) system. Digital signage in the patient room, when combined with a camera, may provide telehealth and remote monitoring.
2. Direct visitors to their destinations
It might be difficult for patients to find their way through a crowded hospital in time for their appointment. Medical professionals are often interrupted by patients who need assistance finding their way. Negative impacts on patient satisfaction aside, hospitals lose around $220,000 annually due to these navigational delays.
Visitors may obtain instructions tailored to their needs thanks to interactive digital navigation signs with touchscreen capability. Hospital employees may spend less time managing traffic thanks to self-service navigation and less time interacting with patients and visitors face-to-face, which is especially important during outbreaks of contagious diseases.
These signs serve as directional aids for visitors and workers alike. Some displays may be instantaneously updated with the most recent information when combined with a dynamic content management system (CMS). Patients may quickly and easily check-in for appointments and locate their healthcare providers' offices using self-service kiosks installed in waiting areas.
3. Facilitate quicker diagnosis
Improved patient diagnosis is a possible boon of digital signage in healthcare facilities. With the extra real estate provided by widescreen displays, medical professionals may swiftly peruse anything from X-rays to electronic health records. Improved clarity allows doctors to examine images such as X-rays and CT scans more precisely.
Meanwhile, doctors may digitally annotate patient images using interactive whiteboards. These notes may be easily shared with the patient or other care team members with just a few taps. Doctors can make more accurate diagnoses and provide better service to their patients by not having to move between windows and constantly go through their notes.
4. Real-time communication with visitors
Whether it's time-sensitive safety notifications, suggestions, advice, hospital services, events or general wellness awareness, hospitals have critical information to share with patients and visitors. Traditional advertising methods, such as posting flyers on bulletin boards, often need to be more organized and efficient. The speed at which information gets out of date and the difficulty in getting people's attention for significant news increase when dealing with paper.
As a result of digital signage solutions, hospitals may be more deliberate about the content and placement of their displays. Digital information is simple to update, and administrators may provide real-time safety warnings if an incident occurs. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues updated safety measures and recommendations in the event of an infectious disease epidemic, digital signage may swiftly disseminate this information to visitors and employees.
Displays in the lobby are another great way to share your organization's history with visitors. Confidence in the clinic is boosted by moving images depicting doctor biographies, patient success stories, and testimonials. Patients may get information about services, new treatments, and frequently asked questions all on the same screens.
Digital menu boards in the hospital cafeteria make it simple to announce new food options to customers. The staff no longer has to manually update chalkboards or reprint flyers if the daily specials, sold-out goods, pricing changes or other adjustments need to be made.
5. Reduce anxiety in the waiting room
The waiting game is tough for everyone, but it becomes much more stressful when someone you care about is unwell or recovering from surgery. Anxiety may be reduced with digital signs in the waiting area, which can provide information about how long people can anticipate waiting and entertain and inform them.
To maintain patient anonymity, digital signs in surgical waiting rooms may instead use patient ID numbers when communicating with family members about their loved one's condition. Those at home may track real-time when a family member is taken to the operating room, how long they stay, and when they are sent to recovery. Having this information shown in real time reduces stress for the patient's loved ones and frees medical professionals to provide the best treatment possible.
6. Share information among hospital personnel
Without the requirement for paper charts or cumbersome files, digital signage may let doctors and nurses swiftly disseminate vital patient information. For instance, the patient's allergies and any other relevant health warnings (such as fall danger or quarantine) might be shown on a tiny patient information screen placed outside the patient room. You get to reduce human mistakes while still meeting HIPAA standards.
Digital signs at nurses' stations may provide information such as who is on duty, when shift changes occur, and which nurses should be assigned to which patients depending on their linguistic needs. Nurses' stations with widescreen displays may serve as central centers for teamwork by providing quick access to electronic patient information and notes.
These are but a sample of the many possible applications. Accessible and up-to-date information is essential for patients and healthcare providers, and digital signage makes this possible across healthcare institutions. The potential uses for hospital digital signage created by innovative sign companies and IT departments are boundless.
