When it comes to population health, a challenge many healthcare systems face is how to deliver information to patients, visitors and staff effectively.

“Technology plays an important role in the core competencies that healthcare organizations need for population health success,” said Brent Egan, M.D., who is the medical director of the nonprofit Greenville, South Carolina-based Care Coordination Institute (CCI). (1)

Digital signage is a visual communications solution that simplifies the delivery of information throughout hospitals and clinics. It helps healthcare providers promote services and awareness initiatives that impact population health like cancer screening, healthy eating, flu vaccinations and preventative health tips across multiple locations.

A study was conducted by Montana State University on digital signage to evaluate its effectiveness in delivering health information to patients as they waited for an appointment. The report states, “Out of 110 surveyed, 92 replied that the system was moderately informative, very informative or extremely informative. Also, 65 said that they would prefer a mixture of entertainment and health care information.” (2)

As healthcare evolves, patients are becoming active participants in their care. Informed and engaged patients are less likely to be readmitted and can experience a faster recovery. This can have a direct impact on a hospital’s HCAHPs scores.

Five ways to use digital signage for population health:

1. In common areas like waiting rooms, lobbies and public TVs

Video communicates a range of messages to groups — healthy living tips, community health programs, hospital services and upcoming events. Video and messaging can be used to create customized presentations on topics like asthma or preventing heart disease for specific locations.

2. Create signage groups for multiple locations

Televisions can be grouped together to simplify the assignment of presentations and scheduling. For example, a hospital may have outpatient waiting rooms, outpatient visitor waiting rooms, inpatient family waiting areas, staff televisions and dining room televisions that are grouped together.

3. Schedule content

Playlists can be scheduled by date and time through a calendar view or assigned a default presentation. A waiting room could schedule the news to run from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., a rotation of patient health education videos to be shown from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and switch to relaxation videos, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

4. In staff areas and breakrooms

You can promote staff awards, achievements and provide information about training opportunities. Digital signage is also perfect for displaying patient testimonials, news announcements or sharing positive feedback from social media.

5. Combine video with messaging

This flexible format allows you to provide patients with instructions or share information about patient services, safety messages or support groups and classes. The combination of video with messaging allows patient education videos, live HD television, movies or relaxation videos to play, while the messaging area of the screen displays branded messaging, as well as messages in a ticker along the bottom.

There are so many possibilities for using digital signage for population health – from keeping all TVs on the same page, scheduling presentations on preventive health, to reinforcing and recognizing positive staff behavior for following safety procedures. Plus, having a digital signage solution that's integrated with your interactive patient engagement platform simplifies management of all the TVs in your facility, eliminating headaches for your staff. Learn more about eVideon’s solutions or ask us about digital signage. 

1. Susan D. Hall, Fierce Health, October 27, 2015

2. Esther Yoon, Perceptions of Digital Signage among Health Department Clients, MSU Student Research Celebration, 03-2013