Anyone who has had to take a trip to the hospital, maybe to visit a sick friend or meet a new niece or nephew, knows trying to navigate a large, complex medical campus can quickly become overwhelming. Between locked staff-only areas, hallway after hallway that look exactly the same, and myriad entrances and parking garages, your hospital trip can become a frustrating experience.
University Health System, located in San Antonio, Texas, has partnered with Gozio Health to remedy this situation by creating a mobile wayfinding platform for its campus. Gozio used a robot, cleverly named Magellan, to roam the hospital to capture data and create detailed maps of the building spaces and campus.
As soon as visitors step out of their car in the parking garage, the University Health System mobile wayfinding platform provides turn-by-turn, Blue Dot navigation through the entire campus.
Innovations in healthcare wayfinding
The tool allows patients, visitors, and hospital staff to use their smartphone to efficiently navigate to any location on campus, from the maternity ward to the emergency room, to a specific doctor’s office, even the nearest vending machine. It also helps users avoid any “Seinfeld”-esque “lost in the garage” issues; the tool marks the individual spot where the user parked.
Gozio's robot, Magellan.
In addition to wayfinding functions, the app gives patients and visitors immediate access to physician directories, electronic medical records, and the ability to view hospital amenities, an important feature according to Joshua Titus, CEO and Founder of Gozio Health.
“For hospitals to remain competitive, they must provide patients with a digital platform that features location-based services, appointment scheduling, and access to their patient portal from their smartphone,” said Titus.
Based on statistics from Gozio, 85% of users that install the wayfinding app to navigate to a destination within a hospital will return to the app to use the other features such as for scheduling appointments and viewing their medical records.
The University Health System mobile wayfinding platform also includes access to 28 satellite clinics and urgent care centers, covering more than three million square feet of navigation.
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 1, 2017
Caring for caregivers
Many healthcare organizations are increasingly focused on designing amenities, policies, and workplaces to better support their clinicians, health providers, and administrators.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 30, 2017
Proactively addressing population health while improving access to care
The Golisano Center for Community Health offers integrated care to adults and children.
Giants 400 | Aug 29, 2017
Top 110 healthcare construction firms
Turner, McCarthy, and Skanska top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare sector contractor and construction management firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 29, 2017
Top 80 healthcare engineering firms
WSP, AECOM, and KJWW top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare sector engineering and EA firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 29, 2017
Top 125 healthcare architecture firms
HDR, HKS, and Perkins+Will top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Sponsored | Healthcare Facilities | Aug 28, 2017
McCarthy Building Companies helps make Marin County healthier
McCarthy will continue to lean on Bluebeam solutions to help solve the most critical issues, and to keep their information safe, secure, and organized.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 28, 2017
5 elements for a healthy medical lounge
When done right, medical staff lounges are an essential part of the healthcare workplace.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 24, 2017
7 design elements for creating timeless pediatric health environments
A recently published report by Shepley Bulfinch presents pediatric healthcare environments as “incubators for hospital design innovation.”
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 23, 2017
The future of healthcare architecture: obstacles and opportunities abound
Our current political drama has made our healthcare clients view the future of their business environment in much the same way most of us approach the latest weather report, with skepticism, writes David H. Watkins, FAIA.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 23, 2017
Demographics and consolidation drive demand for medical office buildings
In its first-ever report on this sector, CBRE provides detailed analyses of 30 markets.