Digital Signs Benefit Providers, Patients
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Digital screens can reduce physician workload, educate and comfort patients
Long waits in the appropriately named waiting room are a common patient complaint, as is feeling neglected in the examination room as is the fact that doctors spend more than one-third of appointment time looking at EHRs on computer screens. With Meaningful Use stressing patient engagement and providers increasingly overwhelmed with EHR data entry, where is the compromise?
Digital signage may be one solution to keeping patients engaged and educated throughout their visit. This patient-centric engagement technique allows busy doctors to complete their tasks and not leave patients neglected.
“Patients want to be connected with their physicians,” says Stephanie Gutnik, BroadSign International, LLC. Gutnik feels Meaningful Use is just one reason to bring digital signage into your facility, saying, “One of its recommendations to meet these aims is patient engagement, meant to deliver the right message to the right person in the right place at the right time.”
Videos in the waiting room, details of a procedure shown on a screen in the office, and online videos for patients to view at home are some of the suggestions put forth by Digital Signage Today in a white paper titled Patient Education Via Digital Screens. According to the white paper, “Three out of four patients and caregivers who viewed hospital messaging on digital signage screens in eight hospitals in the United States found the content enhanced the hospital experience and provided health information they could use.”
As Gutnik concluded, “The patient-centric healthcare system is just like the viewer-centric realm of digital signage; or really, one and the same. Keeping the doctor away is no longer a patient or physician’s goal. Efficient and effective communication is easier than ever and the biggest winner here is your health.”
To help determine the most effective way to utilize digital signage, The Digital Signage Federation – whose purpose is to “to support and promote the common business interests of the world-wide digital signage industry, the interactive technologies industry, and the digital out-of-home network industry” – introduced a service called DSF In-Forum last fall. This service is designed for end-users committed to an investment in digital signage as an easy way to connect with pre-screened, qualified DSF member vendors they may wish to consider by allowing them to present a project summary and requirements via a live online presentation.
The hosted, web-based buyer presentation with moderated Q&A allows potential product and service providers who are members of the DSF to listen, ask questions and, respond to the needs of the presenting client. The process is entirely purchaser-driven supported by DSF staff assistance.