Hospitals are increasingly adopting digital signage to disseminate important information and guide visitors throughout their campuses. That said, healthcare digital signage solutions offer another benefit that may not be immediately apparent. Whether it’s visitors waiting for an appointment to receive a family member, digital signage for patient waiting rooms can provide a host of benefits while displaying various content pieces. This content can inform, entertain, and inspire action among patients and visitors. While many hospitals will use signage to provide health tips and safety information, waiting rooms are a good opportunity to provide respite from your patients’ busy, sometimes stressful situations.
Of course, these displays can still be used to inform your audience of important health information. However, using waiting room displays to entertain your audience can help you reach and connect with your audience in ways informative content may not be able to. Not only that, but entertainment content in waiting rooms does a better job of immediately drawing eyes to a screen, which you can then take advantage of to convey additional messages. Some hospitals even go an extra, step, leveraging Live TV integrations to essentially “create” the content for them. We’ll go over the benefits of entertainment in waiting rooms as well as how to properly utilize the strengths of your signage solution. If you have not begun your digital signage solution journey and would like to get started, click the button below to begin talking to an expert!
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THE BENEFITS OF WAITING ROOM ENTERTAINMENT SIGNAGE
You may be wondering how a hospital will benefit from “entertaining” its audience. In reality, it directly benefits the patients, which will benefit the hospital. The biggest and most immediate benefit is reducing perceived wait times. Several studies have found that people think waiting is the worst part of their day, whether it’s in line at the grocery or, you guessed it, in a busy hospital. They found the underlying reason why people perceive waiting so negatively is goal closure. People recognize they are close enough to accomplishing or finishing an objective, but become anxious because they are not “close enough” or “complete.” Sometimes, the hospital can be a stressful environment, making wait times seem even more painful. This is where digital signage comes into play.
As we said before, digital signage can integrate with cable TV providers (depending on the model of your media player) to display live TV channels. These can provide a temporary distraction to viewers, which reduces the perceived time. This can improve overall moods for viewers, which they then associate with the hospital’s efficiency in treating them. Other entertainment options can include fun facts, trivia questions, or interactive surveys through QR codes. As this positivity continues to grow, the hospital will see an increase in the number of visitors and patients looking for care.
HOW TO EFFECTIVELY UTILIZE WAITING ROOM DISPLAYS
Once you have your solution ready, you have to come up with a plan for proper implementation. A sound digital signage strategy for your healthcare network will help you get the most out of your displays while simultaneously serving your audience. The key to an effective signage strategy involves forming a team of individuals with assigned roles and placing your signs in high-traffic areas. Thankfully, the latter is already done for you if you are investing in waiting room displays.
To create an effective signage strategy, you’ll want to have some roles in mind to assign users who will be working within the REACH content management system. REACH has roles both on the user and admin sides that can be edited to fit your specific needs. You can also create custom roles if you have additional members or to streamline workflows.
There are two types of roles within REACH Media’s CMS. The first are the Admin Roles. These roles are only accessible to those who have access to the back-end admin panel of your facility. From there, you will also have Facility Roles. These are roles centered around the apps and tools you have available within the client-facing side of the CMS.
There are two options within Admin Roles. The first is the Full Access role. This role will have access to all applications under the Admin Panel except player + licensing and SSO. However, they will be unable to edit permissions for those considered “Owners.” Owners are the second and highest-tier role within the admin panel. As the “kings or queens” of the castle, they will have access to EVERYTHING as well as the ability to change permissions for other users. Only those who require the highest level of access to your signage should be assigned as an owner.
For facility roles, there are Admins and Content Creators. Admins have full access to every application within the facility. This mirrors our Admin-level access from our previous CMS solution. From there, you can also assign Content Creators. Content Creators receive full access to the dashboard, media library, and playlist applications. However, they will only be able to view player settings. This will help focus their workflows and prevent confusion that results from people accessing tools or files they shouldn’t have access to.
WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED
Once you have an outline of your signage team and plan, it’s time to begin hunting down hardware and software. For hardware, you will need a screen and a media player. It is recommended to get at least an LCD screen that’s about 42-50 inches depending on the space and function of the screen. LCDs are cost effective and the size is great for wall-mounted displays that can reach multiple people. Whether using an LCD, LED, or OLED screen, you must make sure it displays a full 1080p resolution. Depending on your space, you may elect to use bigger displays or even choose to build a video wall to showcase donors. Regardless of the display you use, you will want to ensure your displays are at least 10-11 feet away from the typical viewing distance and within 4 feet of the average eye level. This ensures not only the display will be noticed but also ensures the comfort of your viewers.
As for media players, our software is hardware agnostic, meaning common devices like Google Play or Fire TV can run the REACH Media Network software. For more advanced solutions, we recommend getting a dedicated media player. We usually recommend BrightSign for its reliability and functionality. As a recent Premier Partner with BrightSign, they are a trusted brand we recommend to many clients. However, we also have our own REACH Media Player! Our DS3 player provides an enterprise-level experience at an affordable price!
As for software, you’re already in the right place! REACH Media Network has an extremely flexible signage software solution that’s perfect for any industry. With over 100 apps and integrations, our software can help you achieve any objective. When you join the REACH family, you gain access to 24/7 support and free, creative design services. We’ll work with you to create a layout that meets your needs and aligns with your brand standards. Got an integration that isn’t included in our list? We will work with you to scope out a potential plan for integration with that solution. If you want to see what your layouts could look like, click the button below for a free demo, today!
CONCLUSION
Providing entertainment options for your audience within waiting rooms reduces perceived wait times, improves visitor attitudes, and reflects positively on your facility’s reputation. By implementing entertaining signage content within lobbies and waiting rooms, you can improve your visitor experience while also promoting important information. With proper strategy, good hardware, and engaging content, patients will feel more at home within your hospital. If you want to learn more useful strategies and tips for digital signage in hospitals, check out some of the articles on our resource page. Or, you can click the button below to reach out!
READY TO START YOUR DIGITAL JOURNEY?
Discover how digital signage can transform your communication strategy. Reach out to REACH Media Network today to learn more about our solutions, explore custom integrations, and see how we can help you connect with your audience in meaningful ways.
