Kiosks for Hospitals
Hospitals are unfamiliar places for most of us as we don’t visit them out of choice. They tend to be large buildings with complicated layout and multiple buildings connected by a labyrinth of corridors, elevators, lobbies, and nurses’ stations. So, when we do visit a hospital, unless you work there, you need directions. And it’s not open access to all, there are restricted areas for labs, patient rooms, surgery and treatment rooms, some floors are cordoned off for Covid patients for example. There are also public access areas like clinics and cafeterias. Usually, visitors and required to check in at the lobby.
Have you ever visited a hospital where the staff are free to chat and give you directions? So, we head towards the nearest sign, to the map on the wall, the poster or the security guard who will point you to the map on the wall. In large hospitals, patients are moved from one treatment room to the other, doctors’ offices get reorganized, labs are often relocated, portable equipment is constantly on the move. For the visitor, all of this is overwhelming, we need directions, accurate and easy to understand directions.
One of the ways by which hospitals solve this problem is by installing wayfinding kiosks. At the minimum kiosks provide a map, a physician’s directory, and some other essential information. While that information is better than the map on the wall or the security guard that can’t be bothered, there is a lot you can do with today’s kiosks. The map on the kiosk can be dynamic, meaning you can touch on the screen to find a room that you wish to visit or a doctor whom you want to see, the kiosk can provide you with step-by-step directions and a QR code that you can take with you on your mobile phone without having to download anything. This map can give you directions and reroute you if you take the wrong turn or end up on the incorrect floor.
Kiosks can provide up to date information, if a new physician joins the hospital at 10 am, technically that physician’s location and background could be uploaded and available to visitors by 10.01, that’s the speed and flexibility available with digital kiosks that a map or the human behind the desk or other means would not be able to provide. There are vastly more features and useful information that kiosks in hospitals can provide. Often, there are events like vaccination camps or blood drives or general announcements for patients and visitors; one could even feature a fund-raising event on the kiosk. Want to recognize a member of the hospital staff or wish a patient on their birthday or anniversary, no problem.
Physical kiosks have been around for a long time, most of them feature static maps and instructions. These can be upgraded to run the latest kiosk software that offer features described above. Older kiosks do not need to be replaced and can be upgraded easily. When looking to upgrade make sure to look for these requirements: 1) compatible with existing hardware; 2) has new features that you require; 3) turnkey solutions that can be deployed quickly without requiring much support from your busy IT team. InMapz offers best in class software for hospital kiosks; they are currently deployed in some of the best hospitals and other commercial buildings including at tradeshows, hotels, malls, and places of worship. Your next hospital visit using InMapz will be frictionless and less daunting.
About InMapz
Founded by MIT and Caltech engineers, InMapz created indoor mapping technology to convert static floor plans into digital twins through an automated process. Each structure shown on the floor plan can become a smart object with its own attributes such as GPS location, model number, serial number, photographs, and so forth. For example, conference rooms, HVAC equipment, IoT sensors, etc. can be extracted from the floor plan. Users can easily add, edit, and delete other mechanicals. Rather than having to go to the office to pull up paper floor plans and cross-reference spreadsheets, users can access their
building’s digital twin via the InMapz app or web browser on the phone, tablet, or laptop. Through selection and filtering options, users can both visualize on the digital twin and see a list of whatever smart objects are specified.
InMapz saves time and money for facilities managers, building auditors, third party maintenance teams, emergency response personnel, airport travelers, trade show organizers and attendees. The company has mapped hundreds of millions of square feet, including over 300 international airports, 1500 worldwide malls, hospitals, schools, universities, trade shows, office buildings, data centers, factories, and hotels.
To InMapz your building, please visit www.InMapz.com