Why More Hospitals Are Investing in Patient-Experience Wayfinding Solutions
Do you remember the days of driving on the road without built-in GPS in your car? How about back when you had to print off map directions on the internet, or even dust off the atlas in your glove compartment before embarking on a road trip? Nowadays, we have more navigational resources than ever before – not just for finding our way while traveling on the road.
In campuses and premises as sprawling as hospitals or healthcare facilities, providing navigational assistance not only ensures patients can figure out where they need to get to, but also contributes to an overall positive patient experience that builds trust and comfortability. Through digital wayfinding technology, more hospitals are improving overall efficiency and satisfaction with their services by giving patients more help when it comes to providing guidance throughout their hospital stay.
When static signs or physical signage simply won’t cut it, digital wayfinding solutions allow for more customizable navigational options, so patients don’t have to disrupt workflow by asking staff members for assistance. When you consider the fact that nearly 33% of all first-time hospital visitors get lost during their initial visitation, the importance of implementing wayfinding resources becomes all the more apparent.
Here’s why more hospitals are investing in digital wayfinding solutions that are specifically engineered to enhance the overall patient experience.
Improving Time Efficiency
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 4.5 days is the average period of time for a hospital stay in the United States. That’s nearly an entire work-week spent inside a hospital, and patients are often not confined to their rooms the entire duration. They might walk around the halls while recovering from a surgery, or simply want to get outside for some fresh air.
During any patient’s stay, it should be assumed that the average person is completely unfamiliar with all of their surroundings. For extended trips to the hospital, providing accessible digital wayfinding resources means giving patients immediate navigational guidance, from everywhere to the nearest restroom to the cafeteria.
Instead of wasting time walking down the wrong hallways or corridors, or taking time out of doctors or nurses’ schedules to accommodate them, digital wayfinding services work to improve time efficiency in a working environment where every second matters.
Personalized Technologies
In this golden era of technology, giving patients more personalized tools to accommodate their needs is imperative to improving the overall patient experience. Through digital wayfinding solutions, hospitals can provide more opportunities to patients to independently resolve any navigation-related inquiries.
One of the biggest wayfinding solutions hospitals are investing in of late is mobile application development, allowing patients to download wayfinding apps onto their smartphone and assist themselves as needed.
Digital signage displays are also ideal for providing instructions or guidance on using or downloading hospital wayfinding apps, especially if utilizing QR codes to provide patients with necessary links to access navigational technology.
Real-Time Solutions
Even staff workers never know what type of environment they’ll be stepping into at the hospital they work at. From construction obstacles to scheduling conflicts, there are plenty of everyday hurdles and setbacks hospitals experience, which only make accommodating their patients all the more difficult.
Fortunately, with digital wayfinding services, hospitals can equip their patients with real-time assistance to aid in any unforeseen or technical difficulties.
Some of these real-time solutions can include:
● Parking occupancy and parking zone or section navigation
● Location-sharing with hospital staff or family members
● Scheduling assistance to adjust, edit, or cancel visitations or consultations
● Real-time mapping with construction or maintenance notifications
● Emergency alerts or notifications with accompanying instructions
All of these resources are examples of how real-time wayfinding resources can immediately accommodate any patient’s needs.
Custom Wayfinding Solutions From Oppna Digital
As medical technologies continue to rapidly evolve, there’s no reason why your hospital wayfinding resources shouldn’t progress as well. At Oppna Digital, we help hospitals equip themselves with innovative digital wayfinding technologies that are specifically engineered to enhance patient experience.
From designing wayfinding apps to installing digital signage displays, contact Oppna Digital today to take care of all your hospital wayfinding needs!