# Digital signage for healthcare: queues, waits, visiting hours and alerts without patient names

> Canonical HTML: https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/healthcare

Digital signage for healthcare keeps patients and visitors informed where they wait and walk: who is being called, how long the lines are, where to go and when visiting hours are. Your AI agent builds each screen to show tickets and codes instead of names, and to clear a number when its source goes quiet.

Updated November 6, 2026.

## Live card previews

- [Now serving](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/queue.md): Shows the ticket being served, its counter, the last few calls and the wait.
- [Wait times](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/wait-times.md): Each service line with its estimated wait as a bar and a number coloured by length: short, moderate or long.
- [Practitioners today](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/practitioners-today.md): Today's practitioners, each with specialty, room and current status: in, running late, away or finished.
- [Pharmacy pickup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/pharmacy-pickup.md): Show orders ready to collect by ticket or initials only, with the window and how long they have waited; never a name or a medication.
- [Visiting status](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/visiting-status.md): Ward visiting at a glance: open, restricted or closed, with today's hours, visitor rules and any outbreak notice.
- [Emergency message](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/emergency.md): Full-bleed alert from preset messages, sent fleet-wide with screen takeover.

> **You:** St. Anne's outpatient wing needs three screens. The front desk shows the ticket being served and current waits. The pharmacy window shows which prescriptions are ready by ticket only. Ward 4 shows visiting status and hours. No names or reasons for a visit anywhere. If the queue system stops reporting for two minutes, take the numbers off.
>
> **Agent:** Done. The front desk loops Now serving, current waits and opening hours. The pharmacy window lists ready tickets with their window and how long they have waited, with no names and no medications. Ward 4 shows Open with today's hours and the visitor rules. The queue numbers expire after two minutes without an update, and the opening hours stay on screen. I checked a screenshot from each screen before telling you.

## What healthcare screens show, by place

A hospital or clinic is many small audiences. Each screen shows what the people in front of it need, and nothing else.

| Place | What people need | Ready-made app |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Clinic waiting room | Which ticket is being called, how long the waits are, when the desk is open | [Now serving](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/queue.md), [Wait times](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/wait-times.md), [Opening hours](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/opening-hours.md) |
| Front desk and check-in | Who is in today, who is running late, the next open appointment | [Practitioners today](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/practitioners-today.md), [Next appointment](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/next-appointment.md), [Visitor sign-in](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/visitor-sign-in.md) |
| Pharmacy counter | Which orders are ready to collect, which vaccines are given today | [Pharmacy pickup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/pharmacy-pickup.md), [Vaccines today](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/vaccines-today.md) |
| Family waiting area | Where a family member is in a procedure, by code | [Surgery status](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/surgery-status.md) |
| Ward entrance | Whether visiting is open, restricted or closed, and the rules | [Visiting status](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/visiting-status.md) |
| Lobby and corridors | Where to go, and the way there | [Directory](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/directory.md), [Wayfinding](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/wayfinding.md) |
| Staff areas | Who is on shift or on call now, and who starts next | [Who's on](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/whos-on.md), [Duty rota](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/rota.md) |
| Public areas | Flu, COVID-19 and RSV levels, drug recalls and shortages, blood supply | [Respiratory activity](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/respiratory-activity.md), [Drug alerts](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/drug-alerts.md), [Blood supply](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/blood-supply.md) |

[Apps](https://screenrig.ai/apps.md) lists every ready-made app. Your own photos, videos and slides play on the same screens.

## Tickets and codes, not names

A healthcare screen is a public display, so it should say less than the record does. The apps are built that way:

- **Queues show tickets.** [Now serving](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/queue.md) shows a letter and a number, the counter and the last few calls.
- **Pharmacy pickup shows tickets or initials, never a name or a medication.** It also shows the window and how long each order has waited.
- **Surgery status shows a code and a stage,** from checked in to ready to visit. No names are shown.
- **Blood supply shows stock by blood type only,** never donor names, appointments or patient information.
- **Patient whiteboard keeps name display off by default,** and a snapshot that is cleared, expired or over-age loses its patient details.

Your agent only receives what you give it, and the screen shows only what it receives. Decide with your privacy officer what may appear on a public screen, and keep names, reasons for a visit and anything from a record in the systems built for them.

## Waiting rooms

The waiting room is where most healthcare signage starts. The screen shows the ticket being served, the current waits and the opening hours, and your agent can set every queue number to expire after two minutes unless the desk's system refreshes it, so a screen never keeps showing a ticket that was called long ago. [Waiting room TV](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/waiting-rooms.md) has the whole walk-through, with screenshots from a clinic run, and covers dental offices and general practice too.

## Pharmacy and vaccines

At a pharmacy counter, [Pharmacy pickup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/pharmacy-pickup.md) lists orders ready to collect by ticket, and [Vaccines today](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/vaccines-today.md) shows the vaccines given today, by walk-in or appointment, with the next open slot and walk-ins first. For a pharmacy chain with ad breaks and proof of play, [watch the pharmacy film](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/pharmacy.md).

## Wards, visiting and family waiting

[Visiting status](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/visiting-status.md) shows a ward's visiting at a glance: open, restricted or closed, with today's hours, visitor rules and any outbreak notice. [Surgery status](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/surgery-status.md) is a family waiting board that shows each patient's code and stage, from checked in to ready to visit. [Patient whiteboard](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/patient-whiteboard.md) shows one supplied bedside snapshot: the care team, goals and the day's plan with completion states, which staff provide. The [Occupancy](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/occupancy.md) app shows people inside against capacity, which suits a waiting room that has a limit.

## Wayfinding in a hospital

Hospitals are hard to cross. A [Directory](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/directory.md) lists departments with their floor and suite, [Wayfinding](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/wayfinding.md) draws large arrows with walking times, and a map pin shows where you are. [Wayfinding and digital directories](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/wayfinding.md) walks through all three, and a floor of consulting rooms can show room signs as well.

## Emergency codes and alerts

An [Emergency message](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/emergency.md) has ready-made wording for evacuate, lockdown, shelter-in-place, severe weather, medical and all clear, and it takes over every screen with a tag. Your emergency notification system can also send alerts that take the tagged screens over by themselves, and a cancel or all-clear gives them back. A screen notice supports the procedures you already have and does not replace your paging or alarm systems. [Emergency alert screens](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/emergency-alerts.md) explains how.

## Public health and staff screens

Staff screens are for staff, so choose where they hang. The [Announcement](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/announcement.md) app carries rotating notices that end by themselves, [Who's on](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/whos-on.md) shows who is on shift or on call with the time left, and [Stretch break](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/stretch-break.md) and [Breathe](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/breathe.md) guide a short break with a shared countdown. In public areas, [Respiratory activity](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/respiratory-activity.md) shows local flu, COVID-19 and RSV levels with their trend, and [Drug alerts](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/drug-alerts.md) shows recalls and shortages, most serious first. A [Donor wall](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/donor-wall.md) recognises supporters by tier.

## Healthcare signage questions

### Does it handle patient information?

screenRIG is signage, not a records system. Your agent sends a screen only the tickets, codes and general information you choose, and the apps for queues, pharmacy pickup and surgery status take codes and tickets. Keep names and clinical detail out of anything a screen shows, and ask your privacy officer what may appear on a public screen.

### Does it connect to our queue system or electronic health record?

screenRIG has no built-in connector for a queue system or an electronic health record. The desk's system can tell your agent, or a small script on the desk's side can post calls to the screen through a card's webhook address. [Waiting room TV](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/waiting-rooms.md) shows one doing it.

### What does the screen show when the internet is out?

Each Player downloads its content once and replays it from the device's own storage, so a dropped network does not stop it. Pages that need live data, such as a queue, expire when their source goes quiet, and the pages after them keep playing, including the opening hours.

### Which screens can a clinic or hospital use?

Any screen with a Player: a TV with Google TV or Android TV built in, an Amazon Signage Stick, a Raspberry Pi, a Mac, a Windows PC, a Samsung or LG signage display or any browser. [Players](https://screenrig.ai/docs/players.md) lists them.

### Can one agent run screens across several sites?

Yes. Tag each site's screens, such as `StAnnes` or `Ward4`, and one request reaches every screen with the tag. If you want an approver to see changes first, turn on review, and each change waits for approval before it plays.

### What does healthcare digital signage cost?

screenRIG is free, with unlimited screens. Paid plans add business tools, more people, people to talk to, governance and contract terms. [See pricing](https://screenrig.ai/pricing.md).

## Try it on one waiting room

[Start](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start.md), pair one waiting-room TV and ask your agent for the queue page first, with numbers that go off after two minutes of silence.

## Related

- [Waiting Room TV: Queue Display, Content, Setup](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/waiting-rooms.md): A waiting room TV that shows the ticket being served, current waits and opening hours, with no cable box and no stale numbers.
- [Emergency Alert System Screens and Safety Boards](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/emergency-alerts.md): Emergency alerts that take over every tagged screen: CAP alerts from your notification system, drill notices you start, then an all-clear.
- [Pharmacy Digital Signage and Retail Media](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/pharmacy.md): Pharmacy digital signage and a retail media network your agent runs by voice: health playlists, invited brand ads, creative review and proof of play.
- [Wayfinding Signs and Digital Directories](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/wayfinding.md): Digital wayfinding for lobbies, campuses and offices: your AI agent builds the directory, arrows, floor map and room boards.
- [Quickstart: Digital Signage with Your AI Agent](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start.md): Install the official plugin with your AI agent, then pair a Player and publish your first screen. Start in a chat app or a terminal agent.

## More use cases

- [Hotel Digital Signage for Lobbies and Events](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/hotel-digital-signage.md): Hotel screens your AI agent runs: lobby welcome, today's events by room, amenity hours, wayfinding and a Wi-Fi code, kept current.
- [Digital Signs and Digital Signage for Churches](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/churches.md): Digital signs for churches that your AI agent keeps current: service times, announcements that retire themselves, the order of service and a livestream.
- [Manufacturing Facility Signage and Dashboards](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/manufacturing-signage.md): Digital signage for manufacturing: production boards, andon, safety counters and live dashboards your agent builds from your own data.
- [Meeting Room Digital Signage and Door Displays](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/meeting-rooms.md): Meeting room signs that say In use or Available, until when and what is next, read from Microsoft 365, Google or any calendar.
- [All use cases](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases.md): Eight short films of agents running screens: pharmacy, restaurants, campus, factory floor, hotels, franchise networks, museums and offices.

[Start free](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start.md). screenRIG is free.