The healthcare industry relies heavily on sharing and exchanging information. Let's look at the benefits of digital signage in the healthcare industry.
Patients need to disclose their personal information and medical history to the staff. Nurses who undertake initial treatments will have to brief the doctors on the progress of the treatment, the medications administered, and the patient's overall state. Doctors will then have to clarify the patients' conditions, walk them through their treatment plans, and keep them updated on their progress.
Aside from these, information is necessary in many other areas, from coordinating with laboratories to conduct the required tests to helping the patients navigate their way to the hospital's amenities.
In a setting where effective communication is crucial for success, digital signage serves a very important role in facilitating the sharing of information, streamlining healthcare processes and procedures, and overall improving the patient’s experience.
Benefits of Healthcare Digital Signage for Patients
Digital signage in the healthcare industry can benefit three main groups: the patients, the staff, and the practice itself. Let’s first explore how digital signs can be of service to patients.
Educate Patients on Healthcare
A healthcare setting is perfect for educating patients on the best health practices and habits to help them live healthy, wellness-focused lives. It’s an environment that has a sense of credibility on the subject, and patients are much more likely to listen to a healthcare provider than to a random article they read online about how to keep their health in check.
Use this opportunity to show valuable content on your facility’s digital signs. Some examples include videos about the importance of drinking water, getting enough sleep, having a healthy diet, or exercising. For dental practitioners, you can also display tips on proper oral hygiene, flossing guides, or skin health for dermatologists.
You can even display content about your expertise in the field, such as showcasing staff credentials, services, and success rates, to reassure patients that they’re in the right place for their healthcare needs.
Entertain Patients
Being in a hospital or doctor’s office can be quite an overwhelming experience. There’s a high likelihood that the patient will be on edge or anxious the entire time. You want to help them alleviate those nerves, and digital signs provide the perfect distraction.
You can install them in the waiting area, hospital lobby, patient rooms, or queue areas and display fun and engaging content. These can include live streams of TV programs, RSS news feeds, social media updates, educational videos, and other interesting content to ease the waiting time.
Help in Wayfinding
A hospital encompasses a large space, often with multiple buildings, rooms, and hallways. To make matters worse, every corner and every floor looks exactly the same! It’s so easy for a patient to get lost trying to find their doctor’s office or return to their room after a lab test.
Warehouse digital signage can assist patients in navigating the sprawling areas of a hospital. From directional signs in strategic areas and interactive maps on every floor to digital landmark identifiers, wayfinding through digital signage will eliminate confusion and make the hospital a more accessible place for everyone.
Improve and Speed Up Waiting Time
Visiting a doctor often involves long wait times. Patients will have to wait in queues for several minutes to hours, often unsure of how much longer until it’s their turn to see the doctor. To improve the waiting experience, digital signs in waiting areas can display dynamic videos and readable content to help pass the time.
Hospitals can take this further by installing digital signs in the facility’s restaurants and cafes that show the current queue. This way, patients don’t have to stay stuck in the waiting room for hours — instead, they can grab a coffee and head to their appointments when the sign tells them it’s almost their turn.
Interactive digital signs where patients can input their information and retrieve a queue number make appointment processing much more seamless and save crucial time compared to manually filling out a printed form.
Provide Effective and Personalized Patient Care
While impacted by modern technology, the healthcare industry still relies heavily on traditional methods. We see bulletin boards of patient information outside their rooms, whiteboards that are updated manually, and doctors holding clipboards of paper records.
It’s time for healthcare to incorporate digital signage to streamline patient care and provide more personalized treatment. With digital displays, healthcare staff can easily update patient information, record vital signs, take note of treatment plans, and communicate updates with doctors and nurses.
Digital signs installed in patient rooms can also give patients access to treatment information and test results. They can even be programmed to alert patients when it’s time to take their medications or to enable remote monitoring and telehealth access.
Benefits of Healthcare Digital Signage for Staff
Digital signage provides patients with a more pleasant stay in a healthcare facility. But they’re not the only ones who benefit from this technology. Digital signage can also be used to improve internal communication and facilitate more efficient operations for hospital staff.
Allow Real-Time Communication
Effective communication can be difficult in a patient care setting, especially in large hospitals. With digital signage, hospital staff can streamline communication with one another and deliver essential information on-screen, significantly reducing the time spent on voice or personal communication.
Deliver Emergency Information
In the event of an emergency, healthcare personnel must act swiftly. Digital signage allows messages to be flashed across all screens at the press of a button, giving all staff and patients the information they need to react to emergencies like fires, security breaches, or medical alerts.
Improve Information Sharing
Instead of using outdated methods like printed charts, healthcare staff can improve communication and information sharing with digital signage. Information such as medications, test results, treatment schedules, and health warnings can be displayed on screens, making it accessible to all relevant staff members.
Provide Staff Training
Every day in a healthcare setting is an opportunity to learn. With digital signage, staff members can stay updated with training videos, compliance guidelines, and hospital policies. This ensures continuous learning, reinforcing best practices and knowledge.
Speed Up Diagnosis
Doctors no longer need to sift through numerous paper records for patient information. With interactive digital signage, they can access a comprehensive, real-time view of a patient’s records, allowing for faster and more accurate diagnoses.
Benefits of Healthcare Digital Signage for the Practice
The use cases of healthcare digital signage we’ve discussed so far all redound to the benefit of the entire practice. But the facility can also utilize it for a range of purposes.
Allow Brand Promotion
In addition to being a communications tool, digital signage has become an effective medium for promotional content across industries. By placing digital signs in high-traffic areas, healthcare facilities can increase visibility for their brand and services at a lower cost than traditional signage methods.
Collect Data on Patients
Interactive displays allow patients to self-check in, update their records, and schedule appointments. This self-service functionality speeds up patient intake and allows doctors to access the necessary information more quickly.
Recognize Donors
Donors are the lifeblood of healthcare facilities. Using digital signage to recognize donors and their contributions creates an immersive and attractive way to celebrate their support, motivating others to donate.
Upscale Your Facility with Healthcare Digital Signage
Digital signage helps healthcare facilities improve communication, streamline processes, and create a better experience for both staff and patients. Get started with healthcare digital signage today by signing up for our free trial and seeing firsthand the difference it can make to your practice.
Digital signage in healthcare is more important than ever, offering benefits that include improved communication, enhanced patient engagement, and streamlined operations. With the increasing demand for modern and efficient solutions, now is the time to embrace the power of digital signage and take your healthcare practice to the next level.
Get started with healthcare digital signage and improve your practice today by signing up for our digital signage free trial offer.
