There isn’t a hospital that I have encountered that isn’t working on reducing wait times in one department or another. Usually it is the ED, but often radiology and other outpatient departments or clinics struggle with wait time issues as well. Research has proven that increased wait times are associated with poor global satisfaction, access, and communication scores as a measure of patient satisfaction. And while you can’t always avoid wait times for patients, a study showed that wait time experience can be improved by three things:

1) Proactively informing of delays

2) Apologizing for delays

3) Providing Diversions

In the pediatric setting, diversions become critical not only for patient experience, but also for keeping patients calm as well as addressing anxiety. While hospitals put a lot of thought and effort into waiting room design, most money spent on design does not impact perception of wait times nor does it significantly improve experience. A study on positive distraction in pediatric waiting spaces demonstrated that interactive media significantly reduced anxiety in waiting areas, while nature videos and personal devices alone did not. And while fish tanks reduce anxiety, increasingly children prefer technology as their mode of distraction.

So based on these studies, introducing beneficial diversions in wait areas does not require a large construction or redesign budget. Leveraging interactive technology can help calm patients and improve experience for both the child and the parent. At SpellBound, we see this firsthand every day. We understand the power of technology to transform perception and behavior. We work with care teams to develop technology specifically for wait areas in hospitals based on the real needs they express. Gamepack is a simple way to introduce easy-to-use and accessible digital distractions into your waiting areas at an affordable price. Gamepack brings any room to life, adding digital games to walls. Place the repositionable wall decal in your waiting area. Instructions are on the decal for parents to download a free app. The child simply opens the app and points the device camera at the wall decal to reveal the interactive, 3D experience.

*The Gamepack Fireworks experience for hospital waiting areas.*

Gamepack is accessible for any family with a mobile device (Android or iOS) and can be set up and launched in under 5 minutes. Pediatric hospitals around the U.S. have deployed Gamepack in waiting areas around their facilities and are seeing success with patients. Here are the top three most popular Gamepack experiences and how they are deployed.

Basketball

The Basketball game lets children of all ages shoot virtual hoops and challenge their own best scores. Fun, brief, and easy-to-use, Basketball has been deployed in activity rooms for all-family fun, and in infusion clinics and ED waiting rooms for diversion.

Fireworks

Fireworks creates a virtual pyrotechnic show that is also a timing game. Children are challenged to interact with fireworks and get a high score. Great for calming, this simple experience is being used in proton center waiting areas, as well as MRI waiting areas.

Painting

See the easel grow out of the wall, allowing children to explore their creative side and create digital art. Children with limited fine motor skills can complete coloring pages that won’t let you color outside of the lines. This calming experience is often deployed in art therapy rooms. [Watch a 1 min demo].

While pediatric patient experience can feel like a challenge, offering opportunities for safe, no-contact, digital play in waiting areas will go a long way in improving patient experience, calming children, and creating satisfied parents who are more willing to return and recommend your facility.

For more information on GamePack, schedule a Q&A session.

Sources

Influence of positive distractions on children in two clinic waiting areas

The true penalty of the waiting room: the role of wait time in patient satisfaction in a busy spine practice

The psychology of the wait time experience – what clinics can do to manage the waiting experience for patients: a longitudinal, qualitative study - PMC

Positive Distraction in Pediatric Healthcare Waiting Spaces: Sharing Play Not Germs through Inclusive, Hands-Free Interactive Media: Developmental Neurorehabilitation

Improving Pediatric Radiography Patient Stress, Mood, and Parental Satisfaction Through Positive Environmental Distractions: A Randomized Control Trial

Positively Waiting: Technology as the Preferred Distractor in a Pediatric Outpatient Setting