Optimizing SpaceImprove Efficiency, Engagement, and Satisfaction for Patients and Providers

1. Describes quick and cost-effective techniques to optimize the layout of your clinic's examination rooms and team areas.

2. Provides information about space design.

3. Identifies practices that have successfully implemented interior design ideas.

The interior design of a practice can significantly influence patient experience as well as team culture. Simple design changes can improve patient–physician interactions, quality of care, workflow efficiency, and team collaboration. These changes impact both patients and the entire care team. Patients often have a higher perception of the quality of care that they receive and have less anxiety when visiting their physician when they find the practice environment attractive.¹ These design changes also improve communication skills, mood, alertness, and performance for the entire care team.²

1. Develop Team Stations.

2. Create an Engaging Environment.

3. Incorporate Uplifting Designs to Alleviate Patient Anxiety.

Develop team stations that enhance team collaboration. Well-designed team stations or pods can improve practice efficiency and strengthen culture; they can help to improve communication, trust, collegiality, and may result in better patient outcomes and lower health care costs.³ Placing exam rooms close to the team's work area minimizes the space that must be travelled between tasks and allows everyone to communicate easily during and between patient appointments. The proximity of exam and work rooms allows team members to manage patient flow because they are able to physically see which rooms are available for patient use.

A team station or pod should be a quiet space that has natural lighting and access to daylight through outside window views. This type of setting can enhance the team's mood and alertness—allowing them to gain more fulfillment out of their daily work.²

Quiz Ref IDTeam stations should be arranged in a manner that fosters communication. Glass partitions are ideal in this setting as they allow teammates to see and talk to each other while minimizing noise and ensuring privacy. Physicians and team members should be encouraged to use this space for in-person team communications, rather than emails or phone calls. In-person communications result in fewer emails to manage, more prompt completion of tasks, and a cohesive culture.

“We were inconveniencing our patients and creating unnecessary work for ourselves. Focusing on better wayfinding for patients and grouping like services together in the clinic revealed incredible opportunities for us to better deliver a more efficient, patient-centered experience.”

—Morris Gagliardi, MD, MBA; Associate Medical Director, Gouverneur Health, New York, NY

Reconfigure patient examination rooms so that they are welcoming and spacious. The following tips will help your practice create a calm environment that makes your patients feel involved and welcome:

• Quiz Ref IDUse light, warm-colored paint on the walls to create a calming effect.

• Consolidate and organize examination materials and supplies on the countertops.

• Organize patient education materials so they are visible to patients when they are seated.

• Place examination tables on an angle to use the wall space for additional seating.

The furniture in the patient exam room should be arranged in a way that fosters patient engagement. This can be accomplished by giving the patient the opportunity to sit in a chair seated across from or next to the physician or medical assistant. This seating arrangement increases eye contact during the visit and can positively influence patient engagement.^4,5

Patients and clinicians should both have access to the technology that is being used during the visit. Patients who can view what the physician is explaining often feel more involved and motivated to engage in their health care. When using the computer, the monitor should be mounted to the wall or put on a swivel arm. Teams can also use tablets or laptops as they can easily be passed around to involve the patient in the discussion.⁶

Incorporate uplifting designs that help alleviate patient anxiety. Patients will take in your clinic's surroundings, gathering clues about the quality of care they will receive. This will influence their confidence in the practice and their experience throughout their clinic visit.¹⁴ Sitting in the waiting area and examining room is stressful for many people; wait times can contribute to patient anxiety and dissatisfaction.^15,16 Patients who are anxious can have difficulties comprehending and retaining information from the visit.^17- 19 Positive distractions and uplifting art work can help to divert attention away from stressors to create a positive mood.

Quiz Ref IDWindow views of natural settings and artwork featuring realistic images of natural landscapes have been shown to reduce patients' stress as well as pain.²⁰ These vistas and images should be in direct view of patients while they are waiting; artwork should be of an appropriate size for patients to make out details from where they are seated. Other positive distractions include magazines, informational material, and a flat screen tv that is set to a patient education loop. Plants in the waiting room can also ease patient anxiety and create a more natural, comfortable environment.^1,21

Realistic images of landscapes with high visual depth, healthy spring and summer flowers and foliage, low hills, sweeping views of mountains, calm water surfaces, and positive relationships and interactions between people are best. Fish tanks have also been shown to decrease anxiety and lower blood pressure while in the waiting room.²² Avoid abstract artwork as it can increase anxiety.²³

The practice space can have a significant impact on the patient experience and team culture. Thoughtful space-optimization solutions can help to improve patient engagement, practice efficiency, and both patient and physician satisfaction.