Indoor Navigation Solutions for Patient-Centric Healthcare Experience

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Indoor Navigation Solutions for Patient-Centric Healthcare Experience

In the pursuit of putting patients at the center of the health care experience, healthcare institutions confront the challenge of guiding individuals through their large, intricate buildings with multiple floors and interconnected sections. Even healthcare workers, whether they are temporary or long-serving staff, sometimes encounter difficulties navigating hospital facilities. However, it is often the patients who struggle the most with finding their way.

Historically, hospitals relied on conventional methods like signage and getting assistance from individuals at the front desk to address navigation issues. Nevertheless, these approaches had their limitations and didn’t consistently offer straightforward navigation solutions.

In today’s healthcare landscape, a noticeable transformation is underway. There is a growing emphasis on enhancing the patient’s journey through the adoption of smarter solutions. Contemporary healthcare facilities are incorporating technologies such as location data and user-friendly Bluetooth-enabled applications to assist patients, their families, and the staff.

 


Use-Cases for Indoor Navigation in Healthcare

Indoor navigation and hospital wayfinding solutions in healthcare boast many use-cases, each contributing to a more efficient and patient-centric healthcare experience.

Seamless Patient Wayfinding: The most apparent use-case is guiding patients through the complex layout of hospitals, also known as hospital wayfinding. Real-time, step-by-step directions within a hospital app alleviate patient anxiety and ensure they reach their appointments or desired destinations without hassle.

Accessibility Enhancement: Indoor navigation empowers patients with mobility challenges by providing accessible routes and live updates. It promotes inclusivity, reducing anxiety and saving valuable time for individuals who require extra assistance.

Location-Based Messaging: In addition to digital wayfinding, indoor navigation apps can offer location-based services to create a more contextual patient journey. The apps can offer notification features to make suggestions and alert users when they get near a significant point of interest (POI).

Integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR): Indoor navigation solutions can integrate with a hospital’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. EHRs are like digital directories holding patients’ appointment details, medical history, and test results which the patients can access via the navigation app, providing a comprehensive healthcare experience in one place.

Emergency Preparedness: In critical situations like emergencies or Code Blue scenarios, indoor navigation equipped with Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) provides instant information on the nearest available personnel and proper emergency procedures. This timely response can make substantial results.

 

The Outcome of Indoor Navigation in Healthcare

The implementation of indoor navigation solutions yields both short-term and long-term outcomes, significantly enhancing the patients visitors and staff experience.

Short-Term Benefits:

  • Efficiency: Patients can navigate the hospital quickly, reducing their length of stay therefore contributing to reducing wait-times for other patients and reducing missed appointment rates.
  • Reduced Anxiety: The ease of finding their way decreases patient stress, improving their overall experience.
  • Enhanced Staff Productivity: Hospital staff will also be equipped with such navigating tools and mobile apps to reach their destinations at a quicker time and they can focus on patient care instead of providing directions, leading to better service.

Long-Term Outcomes:

  • Patient Loyalty: Enhanced patient experiences foster loyalty, with patients more likely to return for future healthcare needs.
  • Positive Reputation: Hospitals that prioritize patient experience through indoor wayfinding strategies build positive reputations, attracting more patients.
  • Streamlined Operations: In the long-term context, hospitals with efficient indoor navigation and hospital wayfinding solutions provide improved operational efficiency, scoring better HCAHPS scores, and guarantee compliance with top-standard programs.

 

Psychological Effects on Patients and Healthcare Staff

Indoor navigation solutions in healthcare exceed mere convenience; they have a profound impact on the psychological well-being of patients. One of the leading causes of in-hospital stress arises from their unfamiliarity with the surroundings [1]. While hospitals cannot entirely eliminate this unfamiliarity, they can offer a solution that promotes transparency. Providing patients with an outline of the facility and offering a step-by-step guide through it can undeniably alleviate this challenge.

Improved Staff Satisfaction: Hospital wayfinding solutions play a pivotal role in boosting the job satisfaction of healthcare staff, particularly newcomers to the team and those who are still in training.

– It was found that there is a positive association between education and a demand for navigation improvements, either through mobile applications or other ways. Respondents with tertiary education were more interested in navigation improvements and more willing to use mobile navigation applications. [2]

By providing a reliable means for staff members to confidently navigate intricate hospital environments and being relieved from the duty of guiding patients, these solutions effectively alleviate stress. This not only eases their transition but also grants them more time to focus on providing superior medical services and dedicating themselves to learning and training. Consequently, healthcare professionals experience increased job satisfaction, fostering an environment where they can excel in their roles and continually enhance their skills.

 

The ROI of Indoor Navigation in Hospitals

When evaluating the return on investment (ROI) for indoor navigation in healthcare, it’s essential to consider various financial aspects. Here, we outline key points to illustrate the financial advantages:

Cost Savings: Implementing indoor navigation technology significantly reduces operational costs associated with traditional physical signage. Health systems typically rely on costly physical signs and allocate staff to guide visitors. These expenses include initial sign creation, updates, printing maps, and maintaining staff for visitor inquiries. With digital navigation tools, these costs diminish significantly, as digital maps can be easily updated at no extra expense. This not only reduces the reliance on physical signs but also minimizes ongoing expenditures.

Improved Staff Efficiency: Beyond cost savings, indoor navigation technology enhances staff efficiency by automating the process of guiding patients and visitors. With digital navigation tools and wayfinding systems in place, healthcare personnel can allocate their expertise where it matters most—providing patient care and medical assistance. This reduction in staff time spent on giving directions and answering questions contributes to cost savings and allows healthcare professionals to focus on their core responsibilities.

Increased Revenue: Indoor navigation and hospital wayfinding solutions enhance the overall patient experience. A more positive experience results in higher patient satisfaction, which in turn can lead to increased patient retention and referrals. These satisfied patients are more likely to return for future healthcare needs, thus contributing to higher revenue for the healthcare facility.

 

The Advantage of integrating Indoor Navigation and Hospital Wayfinding Solutions with Existing Healthcare Systems

The integration of indoor navigation with various healthcare systems, including duress call, registration, and more, offers a comprehensive technical advantage. It streamlines data sharing and system compatibility, creating a unified healthcare environment. This automation enhances patient safety by expediting emergency responses and improves administrative efficiency by automating tasks like patient registration. Furthermore, it results in improved wayfinding, optimizes resource allocation and reduces operational costs. In essence, this technical integration fosters a cohesive healthcare ecosystem, benefiting both patients and hospital operations.

 

Indoor Navigation Technology: PenguinIN‘s BLE Beacon-Based Solution

When it comes to indoor navigation in healthcare settings, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) solutions emerge as the preferred choice. By adhering to BLE standards and leveraging PenguinIN’s advanced algorithms, healthcare facilities can access state-of-the-art smart solutions. Let’s delve into the exceptional features of BLE technology.

Precision: BLE beacons offer excellent accuracy in tracking real-time positions, even within intricate and multifaceted structures. This precision ensures seamless navigation for users, with their location displayed accurately on the screen.

Efficiency: BLE solutions are renowned for their minimal power consumption, resulting in extended beacon lifespans and reduced maintenance requirements.

Scalability: BLE beacon networks can effortlessly expand to accommodate the evolving needs of healthcare facilities. This adaptability ensures a scalable solution that grows with the institution.

Compatibility & Mobile Usage: BLE technology seamlessly integrates with established hospital systems, thereby improving overall connectivity and promoting a unified healthcare environment. The versatility of BLE solutions extends to mobile phones, ensuring accessibility for a broad user base. Furthermore, many BLE applications are compatible with existing hospital apps, potentially driving increased downloads and engagement with local hospital applications.

Learn more: Do you want patients to download your hospital app?

Reduced Disruptions: Thanks to its low power consumption, BLE technology minimizes disruptions to healthcare services, ensuring continuous and uninterrupted care for patients.

 

As healthcare institutions increasingly prioritize patient-centric care, indoor navigation solutions are becoming valuable tools for improving the healthcare experience for both patients and staff. These solutions enable immersive features such as location-based messaging and data analysis, empowering healthcare administrators to make informed, data-driven decisions and gain valuable insights from the movements of personnel within the facility. Additionally, location-based messaging has the potential to enhance the educational processes in university hospitals, providing a multi-layered approach to improving healthcare services.

 


 

Get in Touch 

Among the diverse sectors we specialize in, PenguinIN provides a healthcare-focused indoor navigation system and hospital wayfinding solutions. Our PenNav indoor wayfinding solution seamlessly integrates with your hospital’s existing applications and overall IT systems. To schedule a personalized one-on-one session, please send a message to [email protected] today.

Getting Patients to Download Your Hospital App – Guaranteed App Features & Marketing Approach

Healthcare institutions are increasingly leveraging technology to enhance patient experiences and streamline medical services. One powerful tool in this pursuit is a hospital mobile app. That’s why two-thirds of the largest US hospitals offer mobile health apps [1].

These apps hold potential benefits for patients and staff. Yet, creating a successful app is just the start. To maximize its gains, you must prioritize adoption. This article details strategies to boost your hospital apps work and uptake. Furthermore, we’ll explore how PenguinIN enhances app services, addresses concerns, and integrates seamlessly to elevate app adoption.

 

Building the Hospital Mobile App – Things To Keep In Mind When Developing


Understanding User Needs and Pain Points

Your primary goal should be focused on enhancing the patient experience and patient care, making it more convenient for them and their family members to consume data and manage their health concerns. Step into the shoes of a patient within your hospital. Consider what might be lacking in the current setup. How can processes be simplified and made more accessible? Are there services that would significantly benefit patients and should not be overlooked?

This perspective should also extend to healthcare personnel. Given the demanding nature of their work, it’s important to find ways to collaborate with them in order to optimize their daily tasks. How can you work together to create smoother operations?

Crafting a User-Centric Hospital Tracking App

A user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation are key components of an app that users will embrace. Aim to create an app that not only provides value but also makes interactions effortless and enjoyable. Make sure that the app’s design aligns with the diverse user demographics it aims to serve.

Prioritizing Security and Privacy

Highlighting the utmost significance of Security and Privacy in the context of hospital apps cannot be overstated. It’s crucial to convey and assure users that their data is safeguarded and kept entirely confidential. Place special focus on collaborating with well-versed cloud service providers and upholding a centralized, fully controlled database to thwart any potential data breaches.

 

Incorporating Value-Added Features


Now that we looked at what you should consider when building the hospital tracking app, let’s talk about features.

Hospital apps can include an array of services, which in time can be updated and added to adapt to constant needs. Think of COVID, a sudden epidemic that made hospitals a hazardous environment with most cases spreading in healthcare facilities and quarantine zones. At such times, hospital mobile apps emerged as an essential part for infection control and contact tracing.

Let us look at some added value features that can lure your patients to download the hospital tracking app, focusing on what we know best at penguinIN having witnessed the result of our features firsthand with our clients.

Patient-Centric Medical Records: The hospital app becomes a personalized portal, granting patients access to their health records, test results, and medication reminders. This transparency strengthens patient’s relationship with your hospital, elevating their level of engagement and commitment to their treatment plans.

Appointment Management: By allowing patients to effortlessly schedule, reschedule, or cancel appointments from data provided in real time, hospital mobile apps allow healthcare providers to have streamlined operations and reduced no-show rates. Patients are drawn to the convenience and empowerment the app grants them in managing their health information and needs.

Telemedicine: People value the feeling of empowerment, especially when dealing with illness. Telemedicine has the potential to streamline processes for patients, engaging them more profoundly in their healthcare journey. This thoughtful approach can bring significant results and help build a loyal customer base.

Hospital apps open doors to the realm of telemedicine, enabling patients to access virtual consultations and video visits with healthcare professionals. This allows practitioners to prescribe medications and treat patients without the need of a physical visit. This digital frontier democratizes healthcare access and proves necessary, especially during unexpected challenges.

Indoor Navigation for Patients: Picture this scenario: a patient enters the vast, convoluted halls of a hospital, clutching their appointment details with a slight feeling of anxiety. How can you ensure they have a seamless journey from the entrance to their designated destination? Enter Real-Time Patient Wayfinding, an integral feature embedded within hospital tracking apps.

By simply entering their username and password, patients gain access to precise, step-by-step directions to their appointments and various hospital departments.

Indoor Navigation Empowering Accessibility Where It Matters Most: Hospital mobile apps empower patients, especially those with mobility challenges, by providing step-by-step directions to their destinations. Think of it as an advanced practice provider app, where users are offered live updates and accessible routes, individuals can navigate the hospital confidently, reducing anxiety and saving time.

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Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) in Hospital Tracking Apps: When it comes to boosting efficiency and ensuring patient safety in hospital tracking apps, Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) take the lead. Utilizing an intricate network of advanced sensors, intelligent tags, and cutting-edge communication technologies, RTLS enables unparalleled real-time tracking within healthcare facilities – encompassing medical equipment, staff, and even patients.

Hospital apps equipped with RTLS functionalities facilitate precise resource allocation and utilization, leading to optimized operations and, most importantly, improved patient safety and satisfaction. In dire situations, such as emergencies or Code Blue scenarios, RTLS prepares healthcare professionals and supports patients with instantaneous information on nearest available personnel and proper emergency procedures. The outcome is a timely response that can spell the difference in outcome in challenging scenarios.

 

 

How to Market Your Hospital App Successfully


Having comprehensively addressed the fundamental aspects of constructing a hospital app and incorporated distinctive features that set your platform apart and cater to critical healthcare aspects, let’s delve into methods to ensure your app gains traction. Additionally, we will introduce you to some of the techniques employed by PenguinIN to encourage patient downloads of hospital apps.

Feature Branding: Feature branding involves emphasizing and promoting distinct features or functionalities of a product or service as integral components of its brand identity. Let your partners serve as your advocates. PenguinIN ensures effective marketing of the added services, with a focus on a particular feature having the potential to enhance the app’s appeal to patients. This ensures the spotlight is on specific features that can attract a larger user base.

Wi-Fi Landing Page: By utilizing Wi-Fi landing pages strategically, you can encourage users connecting to the christ hospital health network to download the app. These pages can feature a compelling call to action, highlight the app’s benefits, and offer incentives for immediate download. This direct approach takes advantage of users’ connection to increase app downloads effectively.

QR Codes: Leveraging QR codes can boost hospital app downloads by providing instant access. Users can scan the QR code, directing them straight to the app download page. This seamless process capitalizes on their immediate interest and simplifies the download experience, enhancing app adoption.

Leverage User Reviews and Ratings: Monitor and respond to reviews, addressing any concerns or issues promptly. Additionally, consider showcasing some of the most positive reviews on various promotional channels to build confidence among potential users.

Staff Education: Incorporate staff education and advocacy into your app promotion strategy. These apps can prove to be very useful for training nurse practitioners NP and physician assistants PA who are new to the facility. Train hospital staff, including doctors, nurses, and administrative personnel, to become advocates for the app. Staff can play an important role in promoting the app during patient interactions.

Traditional Print Promotion: Cards and flyers effectively drive hospital app downloads. Placed in waiting areas and across the hospital, they directly engage patients and visitors. With clear calls to action, app benefits, and QR codes for swift access, this tangible approach enhances visibility and spurs app adoption.

 


 

At PenguinIN, we employ these methods to market our clients’ hospital mobile apps. Beyond just providing features, we believe our apps and services can provide training grounds for crucial staff members like certified registered nurse anesthetists CRNA and certified nurse midwives CNM to help them enhance patient experience. These shared objectives become a cornerstone when you choose to collaborate with us.

Learn more about what PenguinIN offers for healthcare and how we can partner with you to elevate your hospital application

 


Source:

1 .. https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/us-hospitals-engaging-only-2-percent-of-patients-via-mobile-apps-putting-as-much-as-100-million-in-annual-revenue-per-hospital-at-risk-accenture-finds.htmAccenture

Why & How Do Patients Choose a Hospital?

Why & How do Patients Choose a hospital?

Here’s a question for you: can you influence the patients’ choice of which hospital they attend to?

With the easily accessible medical and facility information online, patients are now more educated and informed about their choices and decisions. A 2017 UK study [1] has shown that convenient location continued to be a major influencing factor over hospital choice; however, other – perhaps less obvious – factors such as the number of beds and even parking spots are being viewed as a proxy for the level of service a hospital is likely to provide.

Information availability and patient freedom over healthcare provider choice drive private and public sectors to deliver a better overall patient experience. Albeit exciting from a patient perspective, it is challenging for operators to (1) identify areas of improvement which are rapidly and continuously evolving and (2) innovative and cost-effective ways to address these areas.

Creating key performance indicators (KPIs) for metrics that impact patient satisfaction and the corresponding tools to measure these KPIs should be a collaborative effort between the different departments. For example, IT managers who historically were responsible for the network and PC upkeep in hospitals, are now being asked to look after mobile applications and infrastructure specifically used to improve the patient experience.

In a 2018 survey [2] covering 1,000 healthcare consumers, it was found that the difficulty in finding one’s way around the hospital was worse of a challenge than poor communications from the doctor.  A solution addressing wayfinding within a hospital can span facility, IT, and patient experience departments.

In a Harvard Business Review article [3], it was shown that even though the average charge for an outpatient emergency room trip was $1,900 in 2016 (twice the average monthly rent for Americans), Patients who arrived at EDs with broken bones waited a painful 54 minutes, on average, before receiving any pain medication! The authors argue that hospitals’ waiting times should be measured and benchmarked against the national average waiting time. Hospitals that exhibit shorter waiting times than the average should be financially rewarded, while underperforming hospitals should be penalized. Such an initiative would involve finance, staff, legal, and patient advocacy teams.

It is our opinion that factors impacting the choice of healthcare provider are evolving in the digital era. Identifying and measuring KPIs is a cross-functional team effort with the ultimate objective of improving the overall patient experience and outcome.

PenguinIN is a healthcare digital transformation solution provider with patient experience solutions including PenNav: a best-in-class indoor wayfinding solution and PenTrack: a solution for asset and people tracking. Through analytics and business rules, PenguinIN works with facility managers, IT managers and patient experience directors to identify and resolve pain points in healthcare settings.

To learn more about what can help you achieve a better patient experience, or to share more thoughts, please reach out to us at [email protected]

 

[1] Patient choice modelling: how do patients choose their hospitals?  Available on: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28401405/
[2] 2018 Hospital Patient Survey Conducted by Scorpion.Co. Available on: https://www.scorpion.co/hospitals/expert-tips/intelligence/hospital-patient-survey-how-do-patients-choose-t/
[3] Harvard Business Review: To Reduce Emergency Room Wait Times, Tie Them to Payments by Nicos Savva and Tolga Tezcan. Available on: https://hbr.org/2019/02/to-reduce-emergency-room-wait-times-tie-them-to-payments