The Hindu Business Line : Mudra unit helps visitors find their way in hospitals

IT'S not quite a maze, but 40 per cent of the first-time visitors to large hospitals, and that includes patients, lose their way in locating one department or the other. The consequent trauma from the loss of time and efficiency is spawning a now small but potentially big business in the signage sector.

Primesite, ad agency Mudra's out-of-home solutions unit, has capitalised on this opportunity by setting up a special cell for hospital signage services. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Indrajit Sen, President, Primesite, said a study by IIT Mumbai's Industrial Design Centre had found that much confusion resulted from the lack of clear signboards. Most hospitals do not employ any system of symbols and use only numbers to identify departments and counters. Even the emergency department is hard to find, and none of this bodes well for a country that is seeing a boom in medical tourism, Mr Sen said.

Primesite, which has worked with the Max and Apollo groups of hospitals, among others, is concentrating on building a larger team for this part of its business. It has had experts in hospital administration train architects, graphic artists and project management personnel. Right now, this division, which is a year old, accounts for 10-12 per cent of Primesite's turnover, but by March 2006, its contribution could go up to 25 per cent, Mr Sen said. There is no conflict of interest in working for a number of clients in the same sector, as each hospital building is a statement by itself and is treated differently by Primesite, he added.

The right signage can accelerate patients' recovery by altering what in most hospitals is a "sombre ambience, bare white walls and the all-pervasive smell of disinfectant," said Mr Sen.

The unit has not done any market survey but claims that the business holds much promise, as there are nearly 10,000 large hospitals in the private sector all over the country. Even abroad, there are not too many such units, Mr Sen said, adding that his division has only worked with a dozen in India and is preparing to work with hospitals in neighbouring countries.

Primesite is also using international and established signs to help hospital users find their destinations easily. The best set of comprehensive standards that govern these issues are those set out by the UK's National Health Service , Mr Sen said.

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