An interactive strategy for hospitals, which provides navigation cues and enables patients and visitors an easy access to contextual information
The Problem
1. The lack of Information: Visitors and patients struggle to find relevant information that match their query.
2. Information scattering: The information is not available at one place. People have to ask around.
3. Human dependency: the help desk is the most important source of information and in case there is no staff manning the desk it becomes a problem.
4. Confusing architecture : Apollo Hospital has 6 floors which have access through a spiral staircase and elevators. it is symmetrical in its architecture, well planned. It has three entrances out of which the main entry and the emergency entry are frequently used.
SOLUTION
The following concepts are part of an interactive information system, which enables guests to find comfort in navigation. The first aim is to provide facility planners and Hospital staff to eliminate breakpoints with options that better satisfy their visitors with navigation in mind in order to enhance visitors’ experience.
This system works on another assumption that the visitors and patients coming carry a mobile with basic features and are bluetooth enabled. The application runs on the mobile that provides information consistently, instead of looking around for available hospital staff to ask questions.
The second aim is to customize the hospital offering by visitor’s interest to overall improve the user experience. Providing visitors with reliable and immediate information.
Approach to understanding needs
1. INTERVIEWS
Conducting internal interviews with senior staff and program personnel, knowledgeable of customer needs, to identify the tasks patient and visitors were looking for in the hospital.
Conducting interviews with patients and visitors at Apollo.
2. DESK RESEARCH
Analyzing the kind of information other hospitals provide to the patients and visitors through websites.
3. OBSERVATION
By observing the users as they came to the help desk and listing down the kind of questions they had.
4. SHADOWING
Observed the movement patterns of the traffic and tried to find out break points if any.
Structuring information
1. Services/Facilities:
The services/facilities can be,
a. Medical services – like diagnostics, surgery, emergency, trauma care, blood bank etc.
b. Non Medical Services- like transport, security, visitor accommodations, laundry, room services etc.
2. Static and dynamic information
Static-like the location of a certain place like a diagnostic center or a doctors’ chamber.
Dynamic- like the doctor’s timings, transport schedule etc.
3. The type of user
a. in patient
b. out patient
c. visitor / attendant ( put corel file’s data first time inpatient with / without companion etc. )
4. The time that the user spends at various places in the hospital
a. at registration
b. in doctors chambers, getting diagnosed
c. in labs and diagnostic centers
d. in case if an inpatient, during stay at room/ward/suite
e. at pharmacy
f. at billing counters
Strategic design
A wide variety of possible solutions were Rapidly prototyped and evaluated . The ideas and recommendations given were the ones that would lead to a smooth and compelling experience.
WAYFINDING
A new wayfinding system was devised by colour coding and numbering the floors and rooms.
Signage for the symmetrical architecture of Apollo hospital mainly to tackle teh confusion at teh landing of spiral staircase
Signs carrying appropriate instructions, easy to use with little or no jargon for billing counter.
PORTAL:Apollo Hospital
The portal will contain extensive data regarding patients, doctors, norms, policies, etc.
MOBILE ACCESS
The strategy would be carried forward further to the mobile handsets. Patients and visitors carrying mobile with features like bluetooth would be able to access data such as patient information, directional information. The patient form would carry a unique id which would be fed into the apollo hospital portal along with mobile number by teh hospital staff.
KIOSKS
Kiosks would be placed at convenient and frequented locations which give access to the apollo portal.
Introduction of first time users to the system
Style of signage for a landing at a spiral staircase
isometric map showing landmarks
signage showing information at the counter