Healthcare TVs are much more than a way for patients to kill time, according to an article on the FaciltyCare website. They are becoming an important part of a hospital stay. Today’s TVs offer patients more options.

“We’re seeing ‘bring your own content,’ so to speak,” Timothy Wright, LG Electronics USA, said in the article. “There are systems out there that allow caregivers or sometimes family members to bring their own content.” This content has to be monitored very closely, he said. “You have to make sure it is secure content and that it’s not going anywhere but to the intended viewer.” 

The hardware is also changing.

“The newer, smaller, flat, industrial-designed LED and LCD products are really where we’re seeing a lot of physical hardware upgrades,” Wright said. 

In addition to the screen itself, facilities managers may be seeing changes in the infrastructure, the article said. Most hospital TV systems still use coaxial cable so the TV system infrastructure is separate from the general hospital IT. More and more, however, facilities are introducing the hospital TV system into the overall IT network.

Read the article.