Benefits of Digital Wayfinding for Healthcare Facilities
If you work in a hospital, you likely have experience fielding navigation questions from patients and visitors regularly. But even people who haven’t spent a lot of time in a healthcare facility can easily understand how hard it can be to find their way around one. Any building or campus with various departments, multiple floors, and dozens or hundreds of rooms presents wayfinding challenges. Add to that the stress of making an appointment on time and dealing with whatever illness or ailment brought you there, and you already have a very stressful situation. Now imagine getting lost on top of all that. It’s enough to cause anxiety just thinking about it.
If you’re trying to create a less stressful environment in your healthcare facility, you should consider digital wayfinding. With dynamic mapping options and interactive touchscreens, digital wayfinding offers fast, hassle-free navigation. Users simply search for their destinations to obtain clear sets of instructions. They can view and interact with a map of the entire facility on the screen of a wayfinding installation, such as a kiosk, or even receive turn-by-turn instructions on their smartphones. The best part? That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the features and functions your patients, visitors, staff, and organization can benefit from. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top benefits of digital wayfinding for hospitals.
Benefits of Digital Wayfinding for Patients and Visitors
Hospital patients and visitors are distracted. They have their minds on things like test results, surgery, and pain, which can influence their ability to find their way around a large healthcare facility. A digital wayfinding solution can assist with navigation needs while promoting a more positive overall experience.
● Reduced Wait Times - How often do you hustle to make it to an appointment on time just to sit in a lobby or room waiting for your turn to see the doctor? Many people would say nearly every appointment, and that’s because both patients and doctors encounter delays that influence wait times. An integrated wayfinding solution can give patients and visitors the information they need to plan their visits. Real-time updates on traffic delays, room-to-room navigation, and notifications to patients about appointment delays prior to their departures can reduce wait times and help the hospital operate more efficiently.
● Reduced Stress and Anxiety - With a clear set of instructions and information, patients and visitors feel more confident about getting where they’re going on time. More importantly, most will be able to avoid getting lost.
Benefits of Digital Wayfinding for Hospital Staff
People who work in healthcare don’t have a minute to waste. Digital wayfinding solutions can help solve pain points and optimize processes so hospital staff can have more focus and control in their jobs.
● Fewer Staff Interruptions - Lost patients and visitors put additional stress on busy healthcare workers. Having the ability to guide patients effectively throughout the entire facility from the moment they walk in the door can greatly reduce the number of staff interruptions.
● On-Time Appointments - Digital wayfinding can save hours of time for both patients and healthcare workers. When patients have the information they need to show up on time, most will. And by integrating wayfinding with hospital scheduling systems, parking systems, and Google maps, doctors and other healthcare workers are better equipped to keep timely appointments too.
● Increased Patient Satisfaction - Every reputable healthcare organization cares about patient satisfaction. Providing a solution to help patients get timely appointments, easy access to information, and improved communication can go a long way.
Benefits of Digital Wayfinding for Healthcare Organizations
● Painless Updates - When doctors and departments transfer to new locations in a facility, wayfinding makes updating as easy as a few keystrokes.
● Improved Communication - The screens on digital wayfinding solutions can be used to communicate and educate users. Share news, public health advisories, wellness tips, and more. Digital wayfinding can even be used for advertising purposes or double as an emergency warning and paging system.
As technology advances, the benefits digital wayfinding for the healthcare world will only continue to grow. If you’d like to learn more about how digital wayfinding can transform your facility, contact Oppna Digital. Our wayfinding solutions for healthcare facilities are custom-designed with a focus on providing solutions that are user and operator-friendly.
We also provide agency-level creative design, all-inclusive hardware solutions, a pain-free implementation process, and reliable maintenance and support. Call 651-237-5677, or fill out this form to request a demo today!