Should You Offer Wi-Fi in Your Waiting Room?
Creating a waiting room your patients don’t mind spending time in is essential. This is why more and more practices offer complimentary coffee, tea, reading materials and televisions. Why not go one step further and provide free Wi-Fi? Before you call your internet provider and set it up, know that offering Wi-Fi in a medical practice can be tricky.
Below are the top items you should consider when trying to decide if you should offer Wi-Fi in your waiting room.
Pros
- If you offer Wi-Fi, you can set up kiosks or iPads to streamline the check-in process, making lines move more quickly and leaving front desk staff available to answer questions and solve problems.
- Most people carry devices like smartphones, tablets or laptops that can connect to Wi-Fi. Knowing this, you’ll likely need fewer magazines in the office, reducing clutter and saving time for your front office staff.
- If your office is running behind schedule, patients can use your Wi-Fi for work, school or whatever they need so they still feel productive while sitting in your office. This makes the patient, as well as their family members, feel like you respect their time.
- Many practices are moving toward a wireless office, meaning staff members use portable devices for convenience. Having Wi-Fi throughout the building allows this growth to take place more easily.
Cons
- Installing a wireless router can be an open a window for people to use your internet for surfing inappropriate web content or downloading malware. There are secure Wi-Fi routers that can circumvent these problems from companies like TechCentral.
- Practices must be aware of HIPAA regulations regarding sensitive patient information. To keep your practice data safe, you can implement a separate physical network (an internet connection that is not used to access patient data) as well as implement other types of safeguards.
Consulting a tech expert is the best way to create a strategy to implement Wi-Fi safely for you and your patients.