Digital signage saw dramatic growth across virtually all industries over the course of 2011 as businesses and institutions recognized innovative ways to produce revenue, promote brand initiatives, disseminate information and better manage their employees. According to a recent white paper by Healthcare Tech Decisions, “ROI Digital Signage,” 2012 is expected to see a 16.9 percent revenue growth in healthcare alone.

Technological advancement in healthcare has seen a healthy boom in recent years with the adoption of electronic medical records and greater use of telemedicine. Now with digital signage, patients and medical staff alike can benefit from a more efficient and professional means of communication.

There are three significant patient needs in these facilities including to be informed, to be put at ease and the ability to properly navigate the facility. Digital signage can assist with all three of these patient necessities.

Medical offices and hospitals alike have begun implementing LCD displays in high-visibility areas to provide up-to-the-minute wait times, registration information, way-finding directions and even public safety alerts. These advanced displays can reduce patient anxiety, manage expectations and efficiently save time by eliminating repetitive questions from patients. Some hospitals have even implemented displays in individual rooms to communicate more efficiently with patients.

Another significant function of these LCD displays is for education purposes. In high-traffic areas of these medical facilities, displays can distribute infotainment content, including healthy eating tips in the cardio ward, infant care in the maternal ward and radiation facts in the X-ray ward. Patients can benefit from the educational information and hospitals further their messaging of health preservation.

“ROI Digital Signage” also states that operating costs for digital signage in healthcare are generally low at about 1 percent of capital investment. As medical establishments continue to go digital and the benefits of digital signage become more apparent, we expect to see a large uptake in the deployment of digital signage solutions in the healthcare industry in the near future.

Rick Albert is vice president, flat panel displays, hospitality and digital signage sales of Panasonic’s business solutions company, a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America that delivers content creation, collaboration, information-sharing and decision-support solutions for customers in hospitality, government, healthcare, education and media production, as well as a wide variety of commercial enterprises. Rick has more than 33 years of experience in the broadcast, AV and professional display industries, including positions in sales, product marketing, marketing communications and executive management. This article originally appeared as a blog post at http://www.panasonicforbusiness.com

This article was reprinted with permission from Digital Signage Connection and originally appeared here.