The practice and business of health care services have increasingly been served by the use of various types of visual electronic media through diagnostic images and workstation display. 

 

Now electronic digital signage (EDS) is serving customer service and administrative goals in hospitals, clinics and medical offices. EDS signage allows for messages to be presented at a time and the location most relevant to patients, visitors and staff. 

 

This centrally controlled video presentation medium has been on a compound annual double-digit growth trajectory for close to 10 years. Still, with more than a million health care establishments in the U.S., only a fraction of them are equipped with EDS systems.

 

Economic census data reveals there are more than 1,619,454 health care establishments across the United States. But according to estimates by Cambridge, Mass-based Northern Sky Research, only about 134,257 (8.3 percent) of these establishments are currently equipped with some form of digital signage. That’s a lot of untapped market. Let’s look at some of the ways that EDS systems can be employed in health care institutions.

 

George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., recently announced the implementation of an EDS communication method, based on NetPresenter communication software. The solution allows GW Hospital to inform and motivate staff, update visitors and patients and warn all with one single system. (Photo courtesy of NetPresenter)

Hospital Patients and Visitors 

Displays with patient and visitor messaging typically provide wayfinding, health-related information, treatment progress reporting, and information about the specific facility, all of which reduces the perceived waiting time and reduces anxiety. 

 

• Wayfinding: While increasing the efficiency in traffic flow, an EDS wayfinding system reduces the burden of staff providing directions and can increase the use of on-site amenities such as cafeteria, café, gift shop, education classes and donor acknowledgement, as well as awareness of nearby amenities such as hotels, public transit, parking, etc.

 

• Health-related information: Patients and their families involved in diagnosis and treatment decisions have a keen interest in all aspects of the specific ailment and a heightened interest in health in general. The dynamic display can communicate what to expect and reinforce approaches to improve recovery, while reinforcing healthy living choices. 

 

• Treatment/visit progress reporting: The burden on staff in responding to treatment status enquiries by the patient companion is reduced or eliminated by using an interactive treatment status display. A unique patient number offers privacy on a digital display board that shows patient treatment progress through stages such as preparation, procedure, and recovery. This reduces patient companion anxiety and allows them to better use their waiting time, including reducing the pressure on the waiting area and visiting amenities. 

 

Hospital Staff Communications

Visual messages and graphics that are presented beautifully improve staff training and communications. Displays with staff messaging are used in many ways to improve workflow capabilities, safety, the workplace experience as well as recruitment and retention.

 

• Training and reminders: Training program availability and education schedules are easily presented on staff-facing signage. Mayo Clinic was an early user of dynamic signage for staff communications. Nursing units are receiving customized information for 24/7 training. In some facilities, localized content can complement institutional and enterprise news including the celebration of accomplishments. 

 

• Team building and workplace pride: Dynamic signage is a highly efficient way of presenting a large number of team member profiles and staff announcements, making it a useful tool for team building. Key operational priorities can be communicated and recognitions provided to increase workplace awareness and pride in belonging. Staff services such as education and training information, event schedules, etc. can be presented on specific relevant displays.

 

• Cafeteria, coffee shop and menu: Display in food service areas increase message flexibility and promotional success while enabling inclusion of nutritional information according to FDA requirements.

 

In a large facility such as a hospital, electronic digital wayfinding systems can be extremely helpful, especially if the interactive software used can generate a directional line between the starting point and end-destination. (Photo courtesy of Here2ThereSoftware.com)

Hospital Operations

Warren Harmon, Head of Section, Media Production and Operations, Division of Media Support Services at the Mayo Clinic, says, “Digital signage is a multi-purpose tool that can reach many audiences.” Harmon advices “don’t ignore this communications tool as a way to deliver better patient care. We are expanding our networks and the way we use it to achieve patient service and business goals. We started with staff communications and our most recent additions are for use in wayfinding and as menu boards which includes nutritional information.” 

 

• Workflow information boards: Electronic digital displays can provide information on treatment status and workflow in treatment areas and operating rooms (OR) to maximize the use of facilities. For example, a system in use at St. Joseph Hospital, in Orange County, Calif., employs eye-level displays in restricted personnel areas of the OR facility that provide a clear, continuously updated status list of each patient in the operating and treatment areas informing staff which rooms are available, which patients are ready for transport, and what actions need to be taken for smooth operation of the facility.

 

• HCAHPS information: EDS displays can be used to show hospital staff current information on Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) goals and recent scores, census, facilities capacity management and house alerts, effective utilization and scheduling of care-giving resources, decision support  and graphical data displays and other information useful to the achievement of service and business goals. 

 

• Meeting and conference rooms: Dynamic signage is used for room use information and inside the meeting room. 

 

• Hospital branding: Digital signage is well suited to presenting branding images and messages that inspire confidence and comfort while adding ambiance. Video walls or architectural features that use digital displays within the facility offer flexibility in image and message presentation.

 

Employing electronic digital signage in waiting areas at health care institutions can help lower perceived waiting times, such as this example from UK-based South Birmingham Primary Care Trust (NHS) which now delivers content to patients at 65 surgeries across South Birmingham from their head office in Kings Norton. (Photo courtesy of ONELAN Digital Signage)

Clinics and Doctors’ Offices

A growing number of clinics and medical offices are using digital signage in waiting rooms to provide health-related information, promote their services, reduce perceived waiting time and generate third party advertising revenues. Family physician and specialty practices, multi-practice medical centers, family and group health centers, medical laboratory, X-ray and ultrasound clinics as well as outpatient and specialty treatment centers are increasing their use of the benefits that digital signage delivers. 

 

In its study of electronic digital signage in medical offices, Arbitron, one of the primary providers of analytics and metrics for digital out-of-home networks, notes that:

 

• Screens reduce perceived wait time. Multiple network studies have shown that customers perceive their wait in line to be an average of 30 percent to 50 percent less when screens are present.

 

• On average, viewers have a decidedly positive attitude toward most digital place-based programming. 

 

• More than three-quarters of retail video viewers find the screens helpful. And 78 percent of the consumers who have seen video feel the displays that feature product of sales information is either very or somewhat helpful.

 

Nursing and Retirement Homes

Scheduled events can be highlighted at suitable times, directions can be provided and visitors can be informed of upcoming events and news. The ability to display messages in large print fonts and place displays at typical meeting places offer particular value.

 

Critical Mass

The growing base of about 300 networks that are entirely advertising based have produced a critical mass of displays that motivate advertiser use. Nearly 1.4 million electronic digital signage displays are now deployed across the North American economy and growing at 24 percent annually. 

 

Existing medical office digital signage network operators offer the ability to easily add digital display with relevant content to the waiting room area. Health care services are information intensive and the visual presentation of information enables service delivery success and healthy living choices. Patients and their companions, medical and support staff, administrators, patrons and volunteers are all served by visual messaging and EDS displays. Electronic digital display technologies have advanced significantly. Early adopters and suppliers offer useful lessons in best practice to assure that communicators make best advantage of this powerful medium. 

 

Editor’s Note: The full version of this story, Digital Signage in Health Services, is available in white paper form at www.LyleBunn.com.