Digital wayfinding technology systems come in a variety of formats such as wall signage and kiosks to help visitors, patients and staff navigate their way through health care facilities. Thanks to advances in software, the use of mobile solutions also has expanded significantly, helping users find their ultimate destination, a journey that can begin at home and end at a hospital procedure room.
Hospitals pose challenges to digital wayfinding vendors. Many health care facilities struggle with basic wayfinding principles as they expand. Vendors also may run into network infrastructure challenges and not enough facility-wide standardization. The best digital wayfinding systems anticipate users’ needs at each stage in their health care journey. Location-awareness technologies can create a digital hand-holding experience from patients’ homes to parking to the point of care. Digital Wayfinding systems can advise the user through every individual stage of the journey, from a stop at the front desk to obtain a badge, to a trip to patient registration. When every destination is mapped out on the user’s mobile device from one point to the next, the stress of navigating a complex healthcare facility is removed. Thanks to the use of quick response (QR) codes to obtain directions, hospitals no longer require patients and visitors to download mobile apps. Users can access maps from mobile web browsers, home computers, tablets and kiosks.
The ability to print turn-by-turn indoor directions is available to those not inclined to utilize mobile technology. This increased accessibility encourages more adoption, which helps to reduce scheduling delays and improve emergency services.
DIGITAL SIGNAGE, INTERACTIVE WAYFINDING & MOBILE ACCESS
In addition to the ease of QR code navigation, another advantage of this technology is integration and interoperability. The latest digital wayfinding systems also can interface with other health care facility and digital signage technologies, such as security, access control, visual communications and other digital automation. 3D interactive digital maps can be easily implemented to feature highlighted routes, real-time directions and points of interest.
Kathy Isaacs, regional manager. of 22Miles Digital Signage and Wayfinding technology solutions, helps many health care facilities achieve their wayfinding goals. Hospitals and large healthcare organizations in particular have benefitted from implementing digital directories, wayfinding, and mobile solutions to assist staff and patients with navigating large multi-floor buildings where patients, visitors, and physicians could become overwhelmed with navigational worries at critical times.
“With solutions like our Secure Mobile Control solution, users can scan QR codes on kiosks, video walls, screens or traditional print signs to bring interactive content to their screens via a web browser or native application designed by the facility. This gives them access to interactive directions and content for navigating the facility at their fingertips. This not only achieves hygiene goals by removing the need for touch screens, it also delivers a solution that lasts throughout the patients’ stay at the hospital. Because every health care facility is different, customization is key when implementing solutions that often include different product mixes and levels. From premium wayfinding solutions that include AR, pop-up technology, events and directory details to simple solutions that integrate into existing hardware, there’s always a solution that will help get patients and staff to where they need to be.”
