How to Use Screens to Share Critical Information in Your Hospital

Having an effective communication strategy in place is key to delivering an exceptional healthcare experience. In the current time of the pandemic and social distancing, communication is more crucial than ever, and not only to remind us to keep a 2 meter distance and wear a mask. 

Even though the barriers to digital transformation have always been high in the healthcare industry, many healthcare professionals have been seeking new technologies to disrupt existing communication models. One of them is the overlooked ‘third’ screen or in the more traditional term, digital signage.

When we think of the healthcare experience, the key audience that comes to mind is the one who receives healthcare, the patients themselves. But the operating machine of a hospital consists of so many more key actors, such as doctors, visitors, researchers, the service staff and many more. 

Now, try to conceptualize all the communication transactions that can happen in a day between all these key actors. Are you overwhelmed already? How can you make sure all the important information remains visible and nothing critical gets lost in translation?

In this article, we’ll look at how digital signage can be used to share critical information in hospitals and healthcare settings during the current coronavirus climate.

Communication Framework in Hospitals

Imagine digital signage as your digital bulletin, the main place where you can stream all the critical information to your audience. For patients and visitors this content can vary from guiding instructions to general symptom checklists. For your staff, your content stream can include general internal announcements, critical updates or the latest research results. Irrespective of your audience the purpose of your messaging will fall under these four categories:

Alert

Screens in key locations are a great medium to set reminders regarding the latest health and safety protocols that your patients and visitors must follow. Because they are visible (and shiny), they can keep everyone focused on what really needs attention and promote transparency.

You can also easily announce any on-site emergencies. By taking over your screens in seconds you can share coded alerts with minimal disruption to staff while preventing stress and panic amongst patients and visitors.

Educate 

How many times have you found yourself waiting for your doctor’s appointment and looking at all the essential educational material before walking in?

Or let’s think of it in reverse. Think of all the times you’ve walked in the doctor’s office having the wrong information or asking a million of questions. Education in healthcare is key, not only for your patients and visitors, but also for your employees.

How to correctly wear a mask is as important as how to correctly set-up a ventilator. The screens in your break rooms or internal offices are a great place to share the latest training materials, stats and trends so your staff can stay on top of the latest techniques or technologies and provide high-quality patient care. 

You can use different materials depending on your education goal, from videos, to presentations and infographics to charts and dashboards. Screens can be your digital radiator. 

Operate

One of your first instincts when walking into the hospital is to wait at the reception to find your way around the hospital. And as you’ve correctly pictured, there's usually a queue. 

Room changes, wayfinding, opening hours, staff rotas and vaccine announcements are some use cases of using digital signage to ease your operational processes.

One of the main challenges in healthcare is timeliness. Screens can help you operate quicker and more efficiently and at the same time, reducing perception of time and easing out stress. 

Motivate

Hospitals can be a scary and stressful place for many. Healthcare professional burnout is real and digital signage is definitely not a full medicine for the mental health challenges doctors, nurses and patients are facing, but it can potentially ease some of the pain. 

In a world of breaking news, good news is what helps us to keep going. Out of all the daily ‘death alerts’, it’s the survival of the 100 year old who reunited with her husband after fighting coronavirus that will warm our hearts. 

Digital signage can be the platform for spreading the good news and positivity. Did your doctors have a tough day today? Congratulate them for their hard work. Did your doctors forget to have a break? Remind them.

A great example to motivate and spread positivity comes from one of our care homes customers, who organised a live Bingo session across all screams for all the residents. 

Digital signage is a powerful, and fairly low hanging fruit way, to set up a network that celebrates the good and keeps important information front of mind. Helping to alert, educate, operate and motivate your healthcare organization. 

If you’d like to find out more, you can sign up for our 14-day free trial today and start testing it today. You can also learn more at https://screencloud.com/hospitals or connect with a member of our team.