Tips for Implementing Effective Digital Wayfinding in Healthcare Facilities

At its core, interactive wayfinding serves to improve hospital efficiency and patient satisfaction by making healthcare facilities easier to navigate. But digital wayfinding signage systems aren’t just improving healthcare efficiency and patient satisfaction these days. In forward-thinking hospitals, they’re doing a whole lot more.

Healthcare facilities that are currently at the forefront of interactive wayfinding innovations are using digital wayfinding software in a variety of ways. They’re reinforcing their branding, boosting brand recognition, and ultimately, differentiating themselves in a competitive market.

Let’s take a look at what it takes to plan and design a multi-functional hospital wayfinding solution.

Ensure Consistent Communication

For an interactive hospital wayfinding system to work well, both for navigational and brand-reinforcement purposes, its messaging must be consistent. And that messaging must align with the way hospital staff communicate with patients and visitors too.

Brand values and design elements should be consistently communicated across the campus-wide wayfinding system. Staff members should also mimic the terminology on wayfinding displays to help patients and visitors learn how to use the system efficiently.

Use Cues and Landmarks

Though interactive wayfinding can direct patients and visitors throughout even the largest facilities with ease, landmarks and cues improve navigational recognition. In large hospitals, many wings and corridors are virtually identical — using cues and landmarks in these environments aids in efficient wayfinding.

Something as simple as hanging art on the walls or theming specific areas of the building helps provide a visual cue for visitors to recall. Tying these cues in with the facility’s branding creates a welcoming environment that aids visitors and boosts brand recognition simultaneously.

Maintain Constant Contact

Integrating an interactive hospital wayfinding system with a downloadable mobile app gives visitors more control over their navigational experience. They can send turn-by-turn directions straight to their smartphones for no-fuss navigation and route updates when certain areas of the facility may be congested or out of commission.

Facilities with multiple parking lots, roads, and buildings can use proximity beacons to help visitors navigate through outdoor areas efficiently. Implementing a geofence can allow the system to ping visitors' phones as soon as they enter the parking lot. The visitor gets an opportunity to download or activate the wayfinding app as soon as they arrive, which helps ease any navigational concerns from the get-go.

Make It Clear and Cohesive

Every interactive wayfinding and digital signage display throughout a healthcare campus should use clear, easy-to-understand language and cohesive visuals. Easy-to-read fonts, high-contrast backgrounds, and clear communication help visitors find what they need quickly.

Given the fact that senior patients comprise the largest percentage of hospital visitors (and this segment of the population is the least technologically adept), displays must be large enough and clear enough to attract use.

Maintaining cohesive design across all displays helps reinforce branding and unify all components into an easily recognizable and comprehensible system.

Ready to Discuss Hospital Wayfinding Solutions?

If you’re looking to improve communication, efficiency, and patient satisfaction at your healthcare facility, get in touch with our team at Oppna Digital today. We provide end-to-end digital wayfinding solution design and implementation for large-scale healthcare facilities throughout the United States. Check out our recent healthcare project in LA to learn more about our work!

To get started, feel free to request a demo or give us a call at 651-237-5677. You can also connect with us online, and we’ll be in touch.