Here is a recording of a webinar we did titled “Health Care Digital Signage Ideas.” We have also included it as an article for those who prefer articles to video.
What is Healthcare Digital Signage?
Digital signage is signage that is shown on screens like televisions and computer monitors rather than the traditional type of printed or painted signage. Growth of digital signage is explosive with traditional signage quickly being replaced by digital signage.
Healthcare digital signage has an advantage over traditional signage because digital signage:
- adds movement and transitions with videos and changing graphics
- can have multiple messages on a single screen
- can be updated from a central source
- can be connected to live data
- is easier and less expensive to change than traditional signage
Let’s look at some ways healthcare facilities can use digital signage.
1. Wayfinding
Wayfinding signage is signage directing people to the right place. When people enter your facility for the first time, they need to know where to go. Where is the reception desk? Where is the emergency department? Where do I go to visit injured family and friends? And where is the exit?
Wayfinding signage makes it easy for people to find their way and saves them having to interrupt staff members to find out where to go.
2. Emergency Room Intake
Emergency signage in your emergency room is key to keeping people calm and letting them know how they can best be taken care of. Here are some essential elements to include in your emergency area:
- Tell us immediately if…
There are some symptoms such as chest pains or difficulty breathing where you should tell the intake personnel immediately as they indicate potential life-threatening conditions that need to be taken care of sooner than a broken bone, for example. Listing these symptoms and telling people to let you know immediately can save lives. - Where to wait and what will happen next. Tell people the process in your signage such as if they are to give their name and symptoms at the desk, then wait until called.
- What to have ready. Let people know what they should get ready ahead of time such as their:
- identification
- health care billing information
- list of prescription drugs they are taking
- any existing conditions
3. Location Specific Info
Health care digital signage also works great to put your message at locations where people need information. Location-specific messages could include:
- Exits
- Warning about x-rays
- Pacemaker warnings if equipment may interfere
- Transit info
- Taxi or ride app info
4. Waiting Rooms
In your waiting rooms, you have a captive audience of people, many of whom are in pain. You can use your healthcare digital signage to:
- Inform
- Entertain
- Point to helpful resources (websites or helpline phone numbers)
- Calm
Showing interesting content on your screens makes the wait seem shorter and helps take people’s minds off their pain. It helps reduce stress while people are waiting. You could even show guided meditation exercises to help people breathe through their pain.
5. Children’s Entertainment
Nothing is more heart-wrenching than seeing children in pain. Setting up convenient height screens for children with comfortable seating can help entertain children and take their mind off their pain. Remember that many parents may have to bring siblings if one child is sick. Screens with children’s shows on them help keep healthy (and sick) children from running around the waiting area.
6. Upcoming Events & Clinics
Digital signage is great for events. You can list any upcoming events such as:
- Blood donation clinics
- Fundraising campaigns
- Volunteer events and opportunities
- Hiring events
- Special sessions
7. Cafeteria & Food Information
Digital menu boards in your cafeteria are a great way to tell your visitors about food availability. You can easily make menu choices or update items that are sold out.
8. Replace Antiquated Cable TV Systems
Use healthcare digital signage to replace old-style cable tv systems with modern smart TVs. You can also add ticker or emergency information and add information between channels and menus – in essence, you can create your own TV channel.
9. Room Allocation
If you have multipurpose rooms, you can use screens on the outside of these rooms to show upcoming meetings. This is great for classes, blood donation clinics, and meetings.
10. Emergency Digital Signage
You can set up emergency digital signage playlists that will show people what do to in the event of fire, flood, earthquakes, etc. Messages include keeping calm, and providing evacuation instructions to staff, patients, and visitors.
11. Queue Management
Waiting is tough. Showing people where their place is in the queue alleviates some of the stress. When I go to a medical testing lab, they show my first name and last initial up on their healthcare digital signage screen so I can see exactly where I am at in the queue. So I don’t have to worry that I might have gotten lost in the shuffle.
Healthcare Digital Signage Examples
Here are some healthcare digital signage examples from our customers:
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare uses our software in their waiting rooms to connect patients and visitors with information such as:
- drug and alcohol treatment programs
- suicide prevention hotlines
- mental health information
- self-reliance programs
- child care assistance
- weather
- inspirational quotes
This helps connect patients with all the resources available instead of just the one thing they came in for. See the full Idaho Health article here.
Red Cross – Mexico
The Mexican Red Cross organization is using our software to create information screens in their facility to:
- show disaster news
- highlight Red Cross’ efforts
- advise of evacuations and emergency procedures
- list volunteer and employment opportunities
- show people how they can help
- list how people can donate
See full Red Cross article here.
Brighton Care Home
Brighton Care home uses health care digital signage to inform residents of:
- upcoming events
- residents birthday celebrations
See full Brighton Care article here.
How to Create Health Care Digital Signage
So how do you create all this? We recommend you start with PowerPoint instead of custom proprietary hardware and software solutions from other digital signage companies that won’t be as capable or as easy to use as PowerPoint.
Most health organizations already have access to PowerPoint via Office 365 and your staff is already familiar with PowerPoint. So there is no new, clunky software and hardware to learn. In addition, PowerPoint has powerful add-ins available from us here at PresentationPoint that make it easy to turn PowerPoint into digital signage.
Health Care Digital Signage Add-Ins for PowerPoint
Here are some digital signage add-ins for PowerPoint that we offer:
- DataPoint – DataPoint lets you connect your PowerPoint digital signage to real-time data such as news, weather,
- iPoint – Lets you manage and schedule playlists of PowerPoints, audio, graphics, videos, and more. Works with DataPoint.
- SignageTube – Lets you create, manage and schedule playlists on Windows, Android, and Smart TVs
Digital Signage Design Tips
Here are some design tips when planning your digital signage:
- Know your purpose
- Limit text – leave white space
- Use powerful, high impact graphics
- Remember you have multiple slides so no need to jam pack a single slide
- But don’t flip through the screens faster then people can read comfortably
- Inspire, create emotion
- Use movement (video, animated graphics)
- Use bold colors and changes
Health Companies using our Software
- Shire
- Baster
- Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
- Pfizer
- Medtronic
- Bayer and many others
More Help
For more help with digital signage, contact us.
