Medical offices are no longer super clinical, white-walled facilities that make visitors feel unwelcome. Instead, they are warm, vibrant, and comfortable locations that, while clean and orderly, make patients feel at home.
Today, practices are getting large, expensive makeovers, which is all well and good. However, you do not need to sink hundreds of thousands of dollars into renovating your medical office. You can start small by thinking about your patients’ expectations and desires. Here are just a few tips that can easily turn your medical office into a chic, welcoming environment for all who enter.
Sit in Your Reception Area
The best way to start making updates is to assess what already exists. See things from a patient’s perspective. Go into the reception area and have a seat in the waiting room. How do the chairs or couches feel? Are there enough of them? What kinds of entertainment is available for patients waiting to be seen? Are there games and toys for children? Books and magazines for teens and adults? Are there large-screen TVs with informational videos relative to your practice? Are the lights bright enough?
Think about what you would want in a waiting room and make a list of things that can be added or subtracted. Outdated lights, chairs with flat cushions, and unattractive carpets and rugs might need to go. You might even need to rethink something as small as signs pointing to the restrooms or reception window lines.
Examine Each Examination Room
Comfort should not end at the waiting room. Examination rooms and labs all need to be comfortable and inviting for patients. Examination tables should be up-to-date and fully functional. They should also provide enough comfort when a patient has to sit or recline on one.
Also, take barriers into consideration. Are your rooms compliant with ADA? Can patients with limited mobility get in and out of the rooms easily? Can they get into the chairs or on the tables? Consider the needs of patients with mobility issues as you go about making changes.
Invite Light and Add Art
Patients don’t want to see drab, sterile walls and floors. While things must be kept tidy, the walls and floors themselves should be light and warm. Pick a few light-colored tones that speak to the overall brand of your office and utilize those colors in your wall colors, floors, and furniture.
Liven things up even more with some beautiful art and decor. Bring in some family-friendly art pieces that create colorful visuals relevant to your office’s work. You could even contract a local artist to do murals. If you have a lot of child patients, the more colorful the art, the better. Art can boost morale and give patients something to think and talk about before their appointments.
Update Your Medical Technology
Up-to-date medical technology is crucial for keeping up with a heavy work flow, but it doesn’t have to be overly expensive. Having a diagnostic monitor supplier upgrade your monitors might seem like it would be expensive, but there are some very affordable options out there. With those, patients can see many of their medical records and labs in clear detail. This can also help you and your staff stay more organized throughout the day.
Updating your medical office should center around meeting the patients’ needs and expectations. The more inviting you make the atmosphere, the more likely your patients will be to feel at ease. After all, a relaxed patient can tell you more about their conditions and will be more open to working with you than a nervous, stressed-out patient will be.
