Medical spaces are often busy and full of chaos, but with the proper design, yours can be highly efficient. Identifying where congestion and problems arise will help you to understand where the workflow is being disrupted.
Perhaps your patients are stuck in the waiting room for an extended time period or maybe there is too much of a gap between exam rooms and treatment stations. Whatever the issue may be, upgrading your space and implementing a more efficient medical office design can fix your problems. Lions Den Construction has a few suggestions to help turn your chaotic medical office space into an efficient and welcoming practice.
Create a Welcoming Waiting Room
One of the main complaints patients have is how long they have to wait ahead of their appointment. One way to make any delays easier is to make them as painless as possible. Keep your waiting patients occupied by filling your waiting room with comfortable furniture, reading materials, and visual entertainment. You can also have them update their information on a tablet while they wait for their turn in the exam room. Make sure your waiting area has warm colors and soft touches to dispel anxiety and unease.
Automate Your Information
One of the best investments you can make in a medical office is improving records and patient information storage. There are a lot of cloud-based operations and high volume databases that you can use to streamline your paper flow. Instead of keeping reams of paper files for constant processing, switch all but essentials over to an online format. Online forms and appointments will not only cut down in mistakes, but it will also make it easy to access everything in one place.
During each patient visit, your receptionist will simply just have to update the patient record in your central database. This also ensures that everything is in one place where doctors, nurses, and other medical staff have access from any workstation on your approved network. No more mixed instructions or lost patient files to disrupt the treatment process.
One Way Layout
Arrange your office in a way that aligns with how you see your patients and the usual pattern of steps they follow. A one-way layout will allow your patient to take a straight path through each part of their visit which ends with them back at reception and leaving through the front door. This will keep confusion and miscommunication to a minimum while also reducing foot traffic in the hallways.
Double Exam Rooms
If you have a large practice with several practitioners, chances are each doctor is allotted one exam room. You can streamline the process and cut down on wait times by providing at least two exam rooms for each practitioner. While one patient is being seen by the doctor, the next patient can start on their pre-appointment checkup process. This keeps your nurses busy and also prevents excessive wait times for each patient.
How We Can Help
When it comes to office design, the best way to make an efficient space is through thoughtful design. If you are ready to transform your cluttered and outdated office into a modern marvel your patients will love, give our team at Lions Den Construction and take advantage of our Toronto custom medical construction services. Give us a call today at (416) 893-8318 for more information.
