Patient Grabber

From the most recent issue of Fast Company, a group called Accent Health is providing flat screen televisions that run with advertisements, health care programming and specifically designed practice messages. They are actively selling this to practices with >250 patients per week. Quite an interesting innovation.

While most dental offices wouldn't qualify with such a high-traffic requirement, I thought this article was newsworthy because you can bet that sooner or later someone will introduce it to smaller offices.

The company website lists the following advantages: 1. A flat panel tv instantly updates the look and feel of a waiting room
2. It reduces distractions at the front desk because patients are more focused on the programming.
3. Patients say wait times go faster because they are pre-occupied.
4. Patients become more educated because the programming is specifically designed to provide health information.
5. Finally, Accent says that research shows patients have a better overall experience in the office because of it.

If I look at this critically, I would want a piece of the revenue pie from Accent to install this and make it available to my patients because you can't fully control the content.

From the other side, I think it is a fantastic way to provide value to patients, keep them occupied while waiting and all at no cost.

According to the article, there are over 11,200 medical offices with 140 million potential viewers. They estimate the wait time in each medical office to be 30.2 minutes. Therefore, wandering eyes can't help but catch a few advertisements. Several major companies have signed on to advertise.

For more information on Accent Health, click here.

Care to comment, just click the comments link below.

Best wishes,

Nick Partridge
Pendant Health
nick@pendanthealth.com