6 layout ideas for a more convivial waiting room

February 24, 2020

Mismatched and uncomfortable chairs lined up along a grayish wall, old magazines loosely stacked on a coffee table and a pale light … This description is a little "cliché" but it can still be applied to waiting rooms many medical offices! It is all the more unfortunate that a well-appointed waiting room can have several benefits, both for your patients and yours. Here are some ideas for fitting out the waiting room in your medical office.

Why create a friendly waiting room?

By definition, your patients will have to spend some time in your waiting room. The less they like it, the more they find the wait endless. Over the minutes, ils become more and more stressed, anxious and / or irritable, which is potentially bad for everyone:

  • for themselves: stress can amplify pain and various other symptoms;

  • for other patients: to whom they can communicate their impatience and anxiety;

  • for you: which doctor has never been confronted with the incivility of a patient "at the end of his nerves"?

If you offer them a comforting setting and something to keep their minds occupied while waiting for their turn, they will find the time much shorter, and therefore they will approach their consultation with more serenity.

A "trendy" waiting room to reflect its modernity

Even if the rise of medical teleconsultation makes it possible to reduce physical consultations and unclog waiting rooms, your patients will always need to see you "face-to-face". In other words, your waiting room is and will continue to be the "first contact" with your patients. If you want to immediately send them back the image of a modern and dynamic doctor, aware of the latest advances in terms of smart health connected health objects or medical applications, draw a final line on the sad and cold decorations of the past, as well as magazines from the 2000s

Build customer loyalty from the waiting room

Admittedly, the reputation of a doctor is first built on his professional qualities. But creating a medical office and more particularly a pleasant waiting room for your patients is one of the "little extras" that can help you stand out in the medical community. By taking their needs into account and respecting them as soon as they enter your practice, you immediately send them a positive message about your human qualities to your patients. A good basis for quickly establishing a relationship of trust and encouraging them to recommend you to their loved ones!

6 ideas for fitting out your waiting room.

Ideally, your waiting room should be as pleasant as it is practical for your patients! Here are some layout ideas to make your waiting room more user-friendly:

  • Create a "cocooning" atmosphere : for a comforting atmosphere, favor a painting with warm and light tones. You can also add small paintings, green plants (well maintained), pretty curtains on the windows, a coat rack and why not comfortable cushions … The addition of a water fountain is also a plus.

  • Add a soundscape by playing soft music. This very simple trick both appeases your patients while they are waiting, and strengthens the soundproofing of your consultation room.

  • Shake up the "traditional" seating arrangement a bit. Even if leaving chairs along the wall frees up space, nothing prevents you from putting some around a table: your most urgent patients will take advantage of this improvised desk to fill in some paperwork… sofa can also be welcome, more comfortable to wait for when you have a fever.

  • Provide your patients with interesting journals, the content of which will not be "out of date" after a few weeks … Exit the press dealing with burning news: place for magazines developing substantive subjects on the environment, history, science, cultural heritage, etc. You can also select a few medical brochures from which your patients can obtain reassuring information while waiting for their consultation.

  • Find the right light: as nothing beats natural light, your waiting room should ideally have at least one window. But if this is not possible, favor warm lights and distribute the light sources well throughout your room so as not to create shadows and therefore isolation.

  • Some games for children: you probably have people around you who get rid of some toys or children's books. This will make the wait for the little blond heads accompanying their parents much more pleasant. And if the children take care in peace, everyone will be happy