4 Top Considerations When Designing Your Waiting Room
In any medical office, clients spend most of their time in the waiting rooms. Waiting rooms need to be uniquely designed in order to give clients the right impression of the business. If your patients are not impressed by what they see when they step into your medical practice, they probably won’t come back. Therefore, take time to transform your waiting room into a space that is inviting and comfortable to customers. Remember that when a patient is calm and engaged, they don’t mind waiting. Here are a few considerations when renovating the waiting room in a medical practice.
Space
The waiting room needs to be spacious to accommodate the needs of your medical practice. The space requirements will vary from one medical office to another. Consider the number of patients you expect to attend in the waiting room at one time. Will this number change a few years down the line? Your waiting room should be able to accommodate your growing needs if you don’t want to spend on another medical office renovation Toronto.
Create a conducive atmosphere
The medical office waiting room should have a cheerful and welcoming atmosphere. You can achieve this by getting warm wall colors, curved desks, and softer lines. You want to give the room a homely vibe. If possible, make the room as airy as possible by choosing the area that has the most windows. When adequate natural light is allowed to enter a room, it creates a relaxing environment. Patients can also get a chance to see what’s going on outside as they wait to be attended to which helps to pass time. Some green plants and beautiful artwork on the walls will add on to the comfort.
Practicality
When choosing items such as furniture, consider other factors not just the look. For instance, upholstered furniture can be so hard to clean when placed in the waiting area. If your medical practice attends to kids, make sure the furniture you choose is easy to clean. In fact, you should always consider who your patients are when choosing certain design elements.
Proper lighting
Lighting can make or break the waiting area. For instance, if you choose overheard fluorescent lights that are too bright, space may look hospital-like and add on to the anxiety patients feel even before they get to the exam rooms. Avoid those types of harsh lighting because they are likely to put off customers and evoke the wrong emotions. You need to project the mood you want and using lighting is one way to successfully do it.
It would be very unfortunate if a patient has to stand up in order to let another one pass because there’s no ample space in the waiting area. Remember that how well you arrange the chairs can contribute to making the room more spacious. Don’t make the arms touch as this may make patients feel uncomfortable and impatient. Consider all these when making plans for a new medical office design project.
