A hospital’s waiting room is one place that nobody wants to be because if you’re there, then that means that you’re either the one in need of medical attention or you’re with a loved one who is. And to make matters worse is the fact that the average hospital wait time can range anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, which coupled with the stress of the moment, can make one’s wait time feel like a lifetime.
For this reason, making your hospital waiting room as comfortable and accommodating for your patients and visitors is essential for reducing their perceived dwell time. Here are ten tips that will help you improve your hospital waiting room experience.\
#1: Use Check-In Kiosks
For most patients, a frustrating hospital visit starts the moment they’re forced to wait to check in. They already know that they’re going to be waiting to be seen, so when the waiting starts the moment they step into the hospital, it can have an immediate and negative affect on the patient’s experience.
Providing patients with check-in kiosks is an easy way to alleviate this frustration. Kiosks allow patients to check themselves in without having to wait in line to see a check-in nurse. They can also be used to collect copays, provide translations for forms, or make it easy for patients to sign consent forms. As a bonus, they can also greatly improve your hospital’s efficiency.
#2: Provide Free Wi-Fi
Most hospital visitors being some form of their own entertainment with them, such as their smartphone, tablet, laptop, e-reader, or some other electronic device. Since many of these devices rely on Wi-Fi to operate, providing free Wi-Fi to your waiting room guests will enable them to use their devices, and this will help the time pass much easier for them.
#3: Provide Free Mobile Device Charging Stations
As an accompaniment to tip number two, providing free mobile charging stations will help ensure that your visitors won’t have to worry about their electronic devices running out of juice while they’re waiting. These stations can take on even greater importance in ER waiting rooms where visitors often show up with phones that aren’t fully charged, but who also need to keep outside family members in the loop with what’s going on.
#4: Update Your Seating Design
Usually, the seating in most hospital waiting rooms is uncomfortable and poorly positioned to accompany family members. By updating your seating with higher quality, more comfortable chairs and positioning them in such a way that makes it easy for families to stay together, you can greatly improve the experience for your patients and visitors.
#5: Install Digital Displays to Keep Your Guests Entertained
Installing high-definition digital displays in your hospital waiting room gives your guests something to focus on while they wait. These displays can broadcast customized content that resonates with your patients and visitors while at the same time enhancing your brand identity and providing advertising opportunities for local businesses. Along with video content, these displays can share important medical reminders, weather alerts, and additional information that your guests will find helpful.
#6: Provide Entertainment Options
In post-Covid hospital environments, medical professionals and patients alike prefer touchless forms of entertainment. Gone are the old magazines and other sources of entertainment. Instead, you can use your digital displays to share trivia questions and other fun games that will help pass the time for those waiting to be treated.
#7: Provide Healthy Snack Options
Most hospital waiting rooms have coffee stations where visitors can grab a cup of coffee, but very few offer snack options other than the candy bars and chips found in the vending machine. Instead, provide your guests with a greater selection of healthy snack options that are better suited for a healthcare environment, like granola bars, green tea, or plant-based snacks.
#8: Incorporate a Separate Area for Children to Play
Spending time in a hospital waiting room is hard on everyone, but it is especially difficult for children. By providing your guests with a separate area where their children can spend the time playing, you can provide a calmer and quieter experience for the adults and an outlet for energetic children.
#9: Display Wait Times
One of the most frustrating things about being in a hospital waiting room is not knowing how long you’ll have to wait to be seen. This unknowing can make the time crawl even slower for most people. Simply providing your patients with an estimated wait time can have an immediate impact on their experience. Even if they are initially put off with a wait time of an hour, just having that information will give them an idea of when their time will come.
#10: Introduce the Care Team
For patients in a waiting room, a hospital can feel like more of a company than a group of medical professionals working under one roof. One way to bring a personal touch to your hospital is to introduce your care team by displaying their photos and information on your digital signage. This will allow your guests to put names to your doctors’ and nurses’ faces, and this will go a long way toward making your guests feel more comfortable about their visit.
Innovare Medical Media Has the Solutions You Need to Improve Your Hospital Waiting Room Experience
When it comes to improving your patient experience, you might have noticed that many of the solutions above can be provided simply by installing digital signage in your waiting rooms. So, if you’re committed to improving the quality of your hospital’s waiting room, then investing in digital signage is a great place to start.
Innovare Medical Media can provide your waiting room with custom-made digital displays that can help improve your patient experience. With our displays and broadcasting service, you can:
- Keep your guests entertained
- Share important health reminders and other information
- Introduce your care team
- Display warm and inviting signage
- Strengthen your brand identity
- Increase profit potential with advertisements
- And so much more
If you want to learn more about the ways your hospital can benefit from Innovare Medical Media’s digital signage solutions, then give us a call today at 866-887-2207 or send us a message and one of our representatives will promptly respond.