Hospital Wayfinding
Did you know between 30 to 40 per cent of patients and visitors get lost in hospitals?
Wayfinding is an incredibly important process within hospitals, as it can easily assist to alleviate any stress or anxiety associated by visiting or entering a healthcare facility. Relying on staff or makeshift signage to provide people with directions can be a timely, and occasionally unreliable, task. This is why digital wayfinding solutions are so important in developing a stronger and more positive directional ecosystem in a hospital.
What Is Wayfinding?
Wayfinding can be loosely defined as a connected group of aids that help people navigate their way from point A to point B. In a hospital setting, the wayfinding process typically involves a person entering at reception and needing to locate a room or ward.
A good wayfinding system should make the directional process extremely intuitive and time effective. As it is such a dynamic system, digital wayfinding structures are becoming increasingly popular and effective as methods of directing people to where they need to go at the touch of a button.
Planning Common Journeys
When considering a digital alternative to traditional wayfinding methods (such as staff members or temporary signage), it’s important to understand and plan for common journeys of those entering your hospital. Outcomes such as visiting inpatients, locating a room for a consultation, and finding the right place in an emergency situation should all be accounted for within your digital wayfinding strategy – and in the same vein, your wayfinding system should be equipped for sudden changes or amendments to streamline and improve this process for its users.
Considering Engagement Opportunities
As well as providing the main purpose of clear and defined directions, wayfinding technology should also consider the inclusion of current events and interactive advertising (if appropriate). Showing what’s on at the hospital or in the suburb (such as transport updates, weather forecasts or local news) is a great way to engage with the user, and make them feel more informed and comfortable within the hospital environment.
Interactive advertising is another potential avenue of engagement, and could see users rewarded by scanning QR codes to their phones for discounts on local services. This is a great way to not only engage the user, but engage the trust and support of local business and services.
For patients, staff and visitors alike, navigating a hospital can be incredibly time consuming. Even if directories are available, it can be tricky to remember the exact route of where you need to go. That’s where Envent comes in.
We’re here to improve patient and visitor experience with our intuitive indoor and outdoor hospital wayfinding solution, ENVENTION. This online navigational technology is built into on-site touch screen directories that provide detailed indoor maps of medical facilities for patients, staff and visitors – that can also send the directions to your mobile phone.
Envent has installed dozens of digital drectory boards across several hospitals in Australia. Contact our friendly team today on 02 9557 8838 or email us at [email protected] to learn more about how Envent can revolutionise your hospital’s directional experience.
