A practical guide for multi-campus healthcare networks
Gone are the days when patient entertainment systems only offered TV channels. Many modern models can now provide patient education, relaxation apps, and access to care info. For multi-campus healthcare networks, the priority is to deliver those services consistently without adding unnecessary work for clinical or IT teams.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, more than 4,400 hospitals participate in HCAHPS, and nearly 2 million patients complete the survey each year. High HCAHPS scores matter because they directly impact a hospital's finances, public reputation, and patient trust.
The best bedside entertainment and patient engagement systems can contribute to better HCAHPS scores by boosting patient satisfaction. For hospitals operating across several campuses, a coordinated bedside technology plan can be especially useful.
The following are seven steps to improve your patients’ bedside experience.
A useful starting point is taking inventory of patient room displays at each of your locations. This can include:
It is also worth reviewing recurring service issues, such as blank screens, unreliable streaming, or controls patients find difficult to use. These findings can help you see which facilities need new equipment and which may benefit from upgrades to existing displays. Room-level records of connections and recent faults can also make installation planning easier.
Your requirements will vary by facility. In acute care units, you may prioritize access to care plans and educational materials. Rehabilitation patients may benefit from adjustable, personal arm-mounted bedside displays and relaxation content, while dialysis and outpatient settings may place greater emphasis on comfortable viewing during lengthy treatment sessions.
It can be helpful to involve your nursing, patient experience, and IT teams early in planning. Together, you can identify goals such as reducing noise on patient floors, improving access to educational content, or reducing support response times. These priorities can guide equipment selection. For patients with limited mobility, it may also be worth considering display position, menu readability, and ease of use.
When buying TVs for your facility, it helps to consider applicable UL/cUL listings, cleaning compatibility, mounting options, durability, and patient controls. Requirements for protected TV content, pillow speakers, and planned clinical applications also deserve attention.
Consumer grade displays do not have the strict electrical safety, infection control, remote controls or durability features required in healthcare environments. So investing in healthcare grade systems is a smart choice.
Ohio-based PDi Communication Systems, Inc. offers a variety of Android-based healthcare grade bedside technology for patient infotainment:
Before procurement, be sure to check the specifications of the exact model you are considering. Features can differ within a product family, including power requirements.
Your facility may be better served by RF cable TV, IPTV, or both. The best fit depends largely on your current infrastructure. You can determine the most suitable option by reviewing your headend equipment, network segmentation, wireless coverage, firewall policies, expected concurrent viewing, and subscription costs, with patient populations and future expansion in mind. Whether you are upgrading from analog to digital, transitioning to IPTV (television over Ethernet) or Power over Ethernet (PoE), or troubleshooting existing cabling infrastructure, PDi ProServices can help.
For example, 200 separate streams at an assumed 5 Mbps would require about 1 Gbps before overhead. Actual demand depends on resolution, compression, and unicast versus multicast delivery. Testing during peak usage, including application and firmware updates, can reveal capacity issues. A pilot can also show how devices recover after brief network interruptions without compromising clinical traffic.
If you manage hundreds or thousands of patient displays, configuring each device manually can be inefficient. A solid MDM platform can help your facility teams configure settings, send firmware updates, and monitor device health across enterprise locations.
PDi's GENiOTM is a cloud-based hospital MDM tool that lets you remotely manage PDi’s smart TVs, set-top boxes, and launcher functions, including software deployment, device monitoring, and configuration updates. You can reduce routine room-by-room visits and provide a more consistent experience across your facilities.
A staged approach can reduce the risk of network-wide changes. Testing software and configurations on representative devices first can also help confirm that apps, controls, and patient privacy functions behave as expected. Version records and a rollback plan, where supported, provide additional safeguards.
Patients benefit when they can change channels, adjust volume, and open approved content without repeatedly calling for nurses. Brief training for your patient-facing staff on unique healthcare controls like pillow speakers, accessibility features, and routine troubleshooting can help. Concise instructions are often easier to use during normal care routines.
A clear process for connectivity problems, application failures, replacement devices, and escalation can also help your IT team. Short guides tailored to each role are often more useful than extensive manuals. A brief introduction to available features can help patients feel comfortable using them and know where to get help. PDi ProServices can assist with installation, cabling, and supporting infrastructure.
After deployment, you can assess your progress against the goals you established earlier. Device availability, repeat support tickets, resolution times, patient feedback, and appropriate content analytics can provide useful indicators. Comparing results across campuses may reveal both recurring problems and successful practices.
HCAHPS trends can also inform your broader patient experience assessment. Quarterly discussions with your patient experience and IT leaders can turn service data into improvements.
It can help you make a hospital stay more comfortable and improve access to entertainment or information. Your outcomes will still depend on usability, reliability, and accessibility.
In some cases, yes. A compatible display may gain supported smart functionality through a set-top box. The feasibility depends on connectivity, control interfaces, and applicable safety requirements.
Centralized management helps you configure settings, send firmware updates, and diagnose device problems without sending staff into each patient room for routine tasks. This can reduce steps, time spent, and errors during multi-device setup.
You can improve bedside entertainment without replacing every display. A patient-centered approach that brings together appropriate hardware, reliable content delivery, centralized management, and regular performance reviews can support that goal. PDi offers an all-in-one patient entertainment ecosystem comprising hospital TVs, displays, TV boxes, and a device management tool to help. If you would like to discuss options suited to your facilities, you can contact PDi.
Cat Saettel : July 2, 2026
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