How to Approach the Design of Hospital Whiteboards

Aug 23, 2017

build your vividboard

Finding the right design for your whiteboards is the most important part of our process here at VividBoard, which is why our team works closely with you to help you create a customized design that precisely fits the needs of your patients and hospital staff.

A lot goes into creating custom dry erase boards, but we make the process easy for you. If at any time you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team by calling 1-877-543-2999 or sending us an email.

Ready to begin designing your whiteboards?

Choosing Your Whiteboard Type

We offer many lines of whiteboards that fit the needs of any hospital or outpatient center. Each one of our lines has its own aesthetic look, and some offer unique features that make them more useful in different environments.

Our VividBoard lines include:

  • Classic VividBoards: classic whiteboards for the modern age. Our patented VividShield coating prevents ghosting or staining.

  • MyHarmony Glass: frameless and borderless whiteboards provide a modern look to your patient rooms.

  • InHarmony Changeable Glass: glass whiteboards with interchangeable inserts that offer unlimited versatility and customization options.

healthcare whiteboard collage

Discover more about all our product lines here. Stuck making a decision between glass and traditional whiteboards? Find out which one is right for your environment, style and budget by reading Glassboards or Whiteboards: Which Are Right for Hospitals? If you are still unsure as to which type is right for you, get in touch with our team and request a free sample of one of our whiteboards. You can hold it in your hands, write on it or place it up against your walls to see if it is right for you.

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Choosing Frames, Sizing and Mounting Options

Each line of whiteboards has different sizing, framing and mounting options. Depending on the whiteboard, you can choose from framing options that include aluminum, oak and many others. Frameless options, along with square and rounded corners, are also available.

There are many sizing options available including custom sizes that fit your specific needs. Whiteboards, depending on the line, can range from 18" x 24" to 4' x8'and can be displayed horizontally or vertically. Patient room boards typically range 18" x 24" or 2' x 3', with larger boards generally being used in Nurses Stations or other areas of collaboration. 

There are plenty of options to choose from, so make sure to let our team know exactly what you need in your whiteboard solution.

Choosing the Right Information to Display

While the aesthetic value of hospital dry erase boards is important, they serve a much greater purpose: fostering healthy communication between providers and patients by providing a clear and concise way to display information.

The information you place on your patient whiteboards will have an effect on how favorably patients view their care. Displaying the right information will increase their understanding, which in turn leads to greater satisfaction.

Understanding What Patients Want and Need

communication board

Hospital whiteboards are, first and foremost, communication boards. They will be used to educate your patients on information regarding their care, their providers and their stay in your hospital. When used correctly, they can help reduce patient anxiety and even help increase HCAHPS scores.

It's important to remember that patients do not want to be in the hospital, but they still want to know what is happening with their care and why. Understanding patient wants and needs, as well as the most common complaints they have, is the key to choosing the right information to display on your whiteboards.

Which Information Do Patients Want to See?

Depending on where your whiteboards will be placed (general care, pediatrics, labor and delivery, rehab, etc.), the information that you want to display can change.

Thankfully, we can customize your whiteboards to say and display any information your desire. You can create custom fields and icons of you own, or you can choose from one of our many pre-made design elements and icons.

Anything is possible with VividBoard! Some of the design elements we recommend, and the reasons for including them, are:

  • Care Team Information: Names and roles will help patients and families familiarize themselves with the doctors and nurses providing the care.

  • Date and Day of Week: Patients can lose track of time during long hospital stays. Displaying this information can help reduce anxiety.

  • Care Plan: Everything from daily activities and goals will help patients understand what they can expect throughout the day and encourage them to reach their daily goals.

  • Medication/Meal Schedules: These are common questions that patients ask nurses. Displaying this information will reduce the amount of times they have to use their call button to inquire with nurses.

  • Pain Scale/Patient Comments: Lets family members, doctors and nurses know how the patient is feeling without having to constantly ask the patient.

  • Discharge Planning: Gives patients comfort knowing their goals, date and other discharge information.

  • Patient Information: Everything from hearing aids to glasses, dentures, dietary restrictions and allergies can be displayed.

Your imagination is the only limit to what you can display on your whiteboard. For more icons, design ideas and other information, check out our complete Patient Room IdeaBook. Just remember that the information you choose to display is there to help your patients, their families and hospital staff.

The information you choose to place on your whiteboard can have an incredible effect on your patients. Research has shown that patient whiteboards significantly increase the proportion of patients who know their physician, goals for admission and their estimated discharge date. Studies have also shown that the use of patient whiteboards improved overall patient satisfaction with their hospital stay and helped physicians, ancillary hospital staff and patient families communicate.

Examples of Whiteboard Designs

Looking for ideas for your whiteboard design? See some of the designs we helped our customers create for their custom whiteboards.

inharmony board

 

healthcare whiteboard

classic healthcare whiteboard

Custom Printed Graphics

Your whiteboard design is completely customizable. From graphics to logos, pictures, brand colors, almost anything you can think of can be printed on the surface of our whiteboards. You can match your whiteboards to your hospital's brand and aesthetic style, design a vibrant and fun whiteboard for use in pediatrics or create an effective teaching tool that educates patients on their disease/injury, care plan and so much more.

If you have specific designs that you need placed on your whiteboards, you can send them directly to our team. Take a look at our artwork design requirements here. If you do not have designs made, or are unsure if you can format them correctly to fit on our boards, our VividDesign team will be happy to work with you to create or fix a design so that it fits perfectly on your whiteboards.

New to VividBoard: Pattern Pod Options

The newest addition to our whiteboard designs are out Pattern Pod Options. These professionally designed patterns add new levels of depth and customization to our whiteboard designs. With over 280 total designs to choose from, each in 5 different color profiles, there are now countless ways to customize your whiteboards.

When the right patterns are placed on patient room boards, they offer an aesthetically pleasing and visually enticing way to relax patients, reduce stress and help them heal. Ask our design team how to add a pattern to your whiteboards!

aria pattern pod

Working Within Your Budget

With so many whiteboard types and styles to choose from, there really is a VividBoard solution for every budget. Whether you need to outfit a dozen rooms or over a hundred, we can help you stay within your desired budget. And with our lifetime warranty on the surface of our whiteboards, you can rest easy knowing that you have made a sound investment in your hospital. Read all about our warranty here.

How much can you expect to spend on your new whiteboards? We would be happy to give you a quote on your order. Get in touch with our team today and leave us a few details on what you are looking for in your whiteboards.

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Was this guide helpful? If you still have questions, head on over to our FAQs page to find more answers, or contact our team to speak with us directly.