[Updated June 2023]
Hospitals are integral to society; they provide care and treatment for the injured, ill, and aging. Many areas of technological development are centred around healthcare, due to its significance. Amidst grand, long on-going studies such as the search for a cure for cancer or the development of new surgical tools, there’s a surprisingly simple, yet important area of innovation that is often overlooked: digital wayfinding in hospital buildings.
Modern hospitals are intelligent and complex systems. Most hospitals have various departments, even separate buildings. With a digital indoor mapping application, you can combine all pertinent information regarding the hospital layout in one user-friendly solution. Such a solution will reduce patient, visitor, and staff stress.
The indoor mapping market is growing globally as developers, investors, and users alike are increasingly growing aware of its various useful applications. Many hospitals are in competition with one another, particularly in countries with privatized healthcare such as the U.S., and need to provide the best patient-focused care to stay at the forefront of the industry. Having a practical wayfinding solution in place is a simple and cost-effective way to improve the patient experience. At the same time, an indoor mapping solution is also a useful way to visualize the hospital space and determine if there are any areas in need of development.
A wayfinding solution for everyone: patients, visitors, and medical staff
When patients arrive at a hospital, it may be one of the worst days of their lives. It’s not a time they want to be stumbling around, confused about what direction to head in. The internal structures of large hospitals can be extremely confusing, and taking a turn down the wrong hallway can mean arriving late for your appointment. Digital indoor mapping can make finding locations easier for patients, visitors, and medical staff alike and help keep appointments running on schedule.
Indoor mapping can provide hospital administrators with reliable, up-to-date information about patient and visitor capacity management as well as any safety issues. For example, if there’s any damage to infrastructure, it can be announced on the wayfinding system, ensuring that users will be made aware of the changes and will be navigated around the area if necessary. Therefore, indoor mapping nurtures an improved understanding of the hospital’s current operations.
The map technology also allows staff to view and control the flow of traffic within the hospital, for instance by removing navigation in certain areas. Accessibility is also addressed by this technology, as patients and visitors are led via routes with elevators and ramps, rather than stairs. This would be important in any building, but hospitals in particular must remain accessible.
Digital wayfinding is timesaving for hospital staff
While hospital staff want to ensure every patient is receiving their appropriate care, guiding non-emergency cases around takes away valuable time from medical professionals. Especially during global crises such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, medical staff need to be using their time for the specialized tasks they were trained for. A dynamic mapping platform can assist by calculating the fastest, simplest route, and work as the step-by-step guide many patients may require.
MapsPeople’s dynamic mapping platform, MapsIndoors, can be integrated into mobile apps, physical kiosks, as well as websites. This means that patients can access the hospital map at any time, even prior to their visit, to plan their journey in advance. Individuals will no longer be reliant on physical maps or staff members for guidance. They can simply choose the option most suitable for themselves and proceed with clear wayfinding instructions.
Significance in emergency situations
In the instance of a hospital-wide emergency situation, it’s critical that all parties can find emergency exits and receive safety instructions. With a dynamic mapping platform solution, unsure individuals can locate their closest emergency exits with ease. The opportunity to integrate real-time data makes it possible for users to rapidly orient themselves. Furthermore, it’s possible for hospital administrators to notify visitors of any potential issues via push-notifications.
Beyond hospitals, indoor mapping is applicable in a wide variety of venues, such as shopping centres, offices, grocery stores, airports, university campuses, construction sites and stadiums. Spatial data management for all venues requires scalable, flexible, and user-friendly solutions such as MapsIndoors.
Hospitals like most other organizations will already have a wide array of third-party systems supporting their daily operations, be it calendar and appointment bookings, parking lot management, etc. More than a tool for wayfinding, MapsIndoors is a dynamic mapping platform empowering businesses - and institutions - with a digital solution to visualize all types of data that’s usually segregated across multiple platforms.
Want to learn more about MapsIndoors and how it can benefit your organization? Our experts are always ready to assist and answer any questions your might have.
October 14, 2021
