A medical waiting room should be functional and comfortable, with intentional choices made for furniture, wall color, and entertainment. The decor and lighting should be inviting and diverse, and entertainment should cater to the patient base. Consider the needs of the practice and patients when planning the space.
Creating a medical waiting room is usually a matter of balancing the space you have available with the needs of your patients. A medical waiting room needs to be both functional and comfortable, so everything from furniture to wall color to entertainment contributes to the overall feel. Be intentional about your choices and take the time to plan how you want your space to look before you begin.
A waiting room is usually the first impression patients get of your practice. It’s where patients walk into the office and wait to see the doctor, hear the news, or pick up a friend or family member. The best reception rooms are inviting and fun, as well as clean and functional.
Much of what it takes to set up a medical waiting room necessarily depends on the type of practice you are running. A pediatrician, for example, will likely need a very different kind of reception room than a hospital emergency room. The first thing to do is think about your customers and their needs. So take a look at your existing space and look for ways to make it comfortable and warm.
Most medical waiting rooms are immediately connected to the main practice. This is where the receptionist greets patients, where appointments are booked, and often where checkout is done. It’s usually a good idea to make the reception area an easily identifiable feature of the room. It doesn’t need to be central, but it does need to be easy to locate and accessible. Thinking about details like where to place the reception desk may not seem like a crucial issue, but they can go a long way in terms of setting the right tone and image for your practice.
Waiting room decor also plays a part in the tone you’re setting with the overall space. Decide how many seats you want to provide, then look for ways to diversify your options. Arranging love seats around a coffee table or surrounding chairs around a media center, for example, creates a less sterile living room feel than many other waiting rooms in doctor’s offices.
Both lighting and décor are also important to any medical waiting room. Lamps or dim lights are often a welcome contrast to the bright fluorescent bulbs commonly used in exam rooms. You should also consider details like wall coloring and carpet, keeping in mind how often you’ll likely need to clean each one. Waiting room decor like murals, artwork, and mirrors can also be a good way to open up the space.
Finally, choose entertainment for your medical reception room that will please your patient base. Consider books and magazine subscriptions on a variety of subjects, but make sure each one is kept clean, up-to-date, and tidy. Wireless internet access can cater for business-minded patients, and if children are likely to be visiting the medical waiting room, a dedicated play area is often a welcome distraction. Even quiet television or carefully selected music can go a long way in creating the right mood.
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