After making the decision of where you want to start your medical practice, you will have to figure what you want to do in terms of decorations. The decor is a huge part of the patients’ experience in your office. Of course, good treatment is incredibly important, but how your office looks and how it makes your patients feel will be what they remember most about it. Here are some ways you can decorate it to increase productivity as well as satisfy your patients and induce calmness to ease their discomfort:
Consider Costs
The first thing you want to do is consider all the costs you will have to pay. Include the cost of all the renovations and building you want to do in your new offices. Keep the expenses of all the decorations and furniture in mind. You want everything to be functional and inviting. But most importantly, you want to keep it all within your budget.
Keep Flow in A Single Direction
Make paths and walkways simple and easy by having everything flow in one direction. Patients should be able to come in one way and out another. They should be able to go through the process without bumping into one another everywhere. Everything should be convenient, and rooms should be where they are expected. Make it easy for patients to walk through an entrance, check in, walk to the examination room, then move on to the waiting room until they reach their doctor’s room. Everything should be laid out in a simple, functional structure. The goal is convenience and functionality.
Backstage for Staff
There should be a separate entrance for staff around the back as well so that they can come and go without disturbing any patients or running into them in the waiting room. Operations should go smoothly and as planned. There should also be a space for staff members to have their lunch, spend their breaks, and relax. Room for patients and staff should be separate, yet both functional.
Make The Waiting Room Comfortable
You will want to invest in nice-looking and comfortable furniture for your waiting room. Take the time to really consider how you can make your offices as comfortable as possible. Put in some plants, a TV, and some good reading material. Make it cozy! Patients often have to wait for hours; you don’t want them to be miserable as they wait and return home with an aching back afterwards. You also want to ease their discomfort if they are in for something that could be a little more serious.
Give Patients Their Privacy
Make sure that the examination rooms are private and will make patients feel comfortable. Patients will not want their health issues on display, so make sure the design respects their privacy. Consider investing in proper soundproof walls and fans to put outside the doors to drown out the noise. Vital check rooms can make some patients self-conscious. Be sure to consider closing off the vital check room so that it’s not where the rest of the patients in the waiting room can hear everything. The same is true for the check-in area. When your staff asks what they are in for, they may not want to announce it to the whole waiting room. Try to make sure to consider your patients and their privacy with every decision in your medical office layout.
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