by John Pangrazio, FAIA,* and Neil Baum, MD†
Many medical practices have antiquated offices where patients, staff, and physicians are bored with the surroundings. There are ideas that can be easily implemented to make your practice attractive and enjoyable, as well as effective. This article shows you how to review the physical environment of your practice and then find an architect who specializes in designing medical practices.
Why should doctors be concerned with the appearance of their offices? The primary reason is that it gives their patients both conscious and subconscious cues about the kind of medical care they are going to receive from the doctors and their staff. Patients develop impressions concerning efficiency, competence, and personality not only from what they experience, but also from what they observe. The office environment needs to make a favorable impression on several levels to promote their confidence in the caregiver.
A useful analogy is the impression that an airline passenger receives upon discovering a broken pull-down tray. It reflects a lack of care given to aircraft maintenance, and puts into question the entire flying experience. Likewise, patients spending extended time in waiting or exam rooms will ponder their surroundings closely and extrapolate their conclusions about this particular medical practice, including the quality of care. Details do matter.
THE HEALTHCARE ARCHITECT
What can be done to transform an office environment into an experience that promotes healing? This requires another kind of healthcare specialist: a healthcare architect who is not only involved in the aesthetics of the practice, but also uses design to help doctors create an efficient practice.
A healthcare architect understands the importance of well-planned space to facilitate positive experiences for patients and caregivers alike. A healthcare architect also understands medical processes and is able to identify where bottlenecks will occur, creating space that streamlines patient throughput, increases patient satisfaction, and ultimately improves the entire healthcare experience.
Working with physicians and their staff, a healthcare architect can create an atmosphere that reflects the philosophy of the practice. The architect will develop a design based on professional ideals, combined with the life cycle of the materials used, and transform these concepts into a physical space that instills a sense of confidence and expertise.
With an attractive office, you can improve patient satisfaction, as well as staff and physician productivity.
Healthcare architects also help to prepare for the inevitability of change by designing the office to accommodate growth and the ways in which new technologies may impact a practice. Electronic medical records, for example, are changing the process of caregiving and freeing up space that could be dedicated to other purposes. Some possible responses to this shift in focus include expanding the reception area, increasing the number of exam rooms, or improving the employee lounge.
If you’re wondering whether you should move to a new space or remodel your current office suite, a healthcare architect can help solve this dilemma by showing you how either to transform your current office or to plan a new environment. Much depends on the potential that exists in your current location.
Here are 10, not-so-radical suggestions for creating or improving your medical office environment:
- Create choice and control for patients. Wherever possible, allow patients and families to control the environment. Giving them a sense of self-determination, although they may spend only a brief time in the healthcare setting, will lessen their anxiety and promote comfort. For example, providing different options for where to sit offers a simple but powerful choice.
- Make a connection to natural light. Access to natural light is critical to healing and wellness. Put the waiting room along the window wall; offer patients a nice view, even if it means relegating your own office to an interior space. Design strategies can also make it possible for an interior office to receive borrowed natural light.
- Provide positive distractions. Having something pleasant to think about helps to take one’s mind off worries and pass the time. Introduce positive distractions into the environment with a saltwater aquarium or a piece of kinetic whimsical sculpture or other works of art. Computers and personal televisions with headsets are also proven tools for positive diversion.
- Improve the quality of artificial light. Not all lighting needs to be overhead. Create an inviting office environment through the power of lighting design. Install task lighting in work and reading areas for a more personal touch. Or if you’ve decided to remodel your space, upgrade your existing lighting not only to improve the quality of light, but also to help pay for the project with reduced utility costs.
- Make the environment comfortable for the elderly. This can be accomplished through design solutions tailored to the needs of the elderly, such as specifying seating that is ergonomically appropriate and choosing materials to limit glare and reflection, known to cause confusion for the visually impaired.
- Improve acoustic quality and acoustic privacy. A noisy environment is fatiguing for staff, as well as patients. Certain finishes and materials will deaden noise. The soothing sounds of water have a mitigating effect. Acoustical privacy also is a must when discussing confidential information. Make sure you provide sufficient space or partitions to keep private conversations beyond hearing range.
- Plan the waiting space for privacy and interaction. Prepare for all the diversity that patients bring to your office, arranging spaces that allow for both privacy and interaction. Include a play area, work area, or library space to enhance the office experience for a range of visitors.
- Plan your procedure spaces carefully. Of course, the treatment space must perform the designated medical function, but make certain that the rooms are comfortable. Lighting, furnishings, and color selections all play important roles. Organize the rooms to provide patients with current educational material and allow them to review it in comfort before and after their treatments. Patients’ advocates are often included in a program of care, so similarly plan to engage them.
- Show your staff respect with the space you provide for them. Provide quality work space. Don’t skimp on the employee lounge and restroom. Provide places for staff to have respite and uninterrupted communication. A pleasing work environment promotes staff recruitment and retention.
- Be consistent throughout the entire office suite. Avoid using a double standard to determine the quality and size of individual spaces. In other words, treat the support space for staff with as much care as the public space for visitors. Arrange the space and select lighting, colors, and materials to enhance the experience of everyone in your office.
IMPROVE SATISFACTION AND PRODUCTIVITY
With an attractive office, you can improve patient satisfaction, as well as staff and physician productivity. Studies have proven that an environment designed with abundant natural light, appealing colors, or a soothing fountain reduces stress and elevates moods. When patients are feeling comfortable and less anxious, they are bound to have more confidence in their doctors and other caregivers.
An attractive workplace increases operational efficiencies and vice versa, which in turn helps to justify the investment in transforming your office. In making your office inviting to patients and staff, you have an opportunity to create a positive, lasting experience that underscores your professional ideals. You can have a second chance to create a good first impression.
Additional articles from The Journal of Medical Practice Management:
Reprinted with permission from The Journal of Medical Practice Management, Copyright Greenbranch Publishing, (800) 933-3711, www.mpmnetwork.com
*Partner, NBBJ, 111 South Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104; phone: 206–223–5167; fax: 206–621–2306; 2004 president of the American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health.
†Clinical associate professor of urology, Tulane Medical School, 3525 Prytania Street, Suite 614, New Orleans, LA 70115; phone: 504–891–8454; fax: 504–891–8505; author of Marketing Your Clinical Practice (Jones and Bartlett, 2004).
Copyright © 2006 by Greenbranch Publishing LLC.