First impressions are important in any business, providing customers with an indelible image of what they can expect. For most clinics, it is the waiting room that provides patients with their first impression, so it’s essential that you successfully convey how professional and welcoming your practice is. A clinic that presents an attractive and comfortable waiting room is more likely to attract new patients, and more likely to retain existing patients.
Paying attention to the patient experience in your clinic will pay dividends by showing your patients how important they are to you, and by setting you apart from your competition. Furthermore, creating an environment that your patients look forward to visiting, and where they feel at ease, also provides the opportunity to build your relationship with them. Whether you’re a clinic of nutritionists, dermatologists, physiotherapists, or podiatrists, we think that you’ll benefit from following these tips to design the perfect waiting room.
Provide key information on arrival
Attending a new practice or clinic can be intimidating, so it’s important to put patients at ease and ensure they have the information they need on arrival. Don’t forget to provide clear signage to your practice, which should be helpful and well maintained so that patients can find their way to you in the first instance. This should continue into the reception area, guiding patients to where and how they need to check in, and also where they should wait. This is particularly important if you provide a self check-in service, or if the reception desk isn’t instantly visible from the entrance. Also, if your practice is large and there are multiple waiting rooms these should be well sign-posted.
A warm and efficient welcome
A well-trained and professional receptionist is an invaluable member of your team and will ensure your patients feel that they’re important to you. Offering a warm welcome by a dedicated member of staff and ensuring your patients are checked in efficiently is paramount, and creating a high level of personalised service will set the tone for their whole in-clinic experience. Utilise e-clinic’s patient management software to prepare for the day’s appointments, with important notes flagged to make waiting room management easy.
Be honest about waiting times
Nobody enjoys having to wait after their allotted appointment time. Having an attractive waiting room environment will help the time to pass more quickly though, and if you’re honest with patients they will likely accept a short wait with good grace. Staff can instantly access diaries through our e-clinic software in order to relay information to patients, and by communicating any expected delays and sharing an accurate waiting time you will help to alleviate any anxiety they may feel. You can also reduce waiting times and no-shows by utilising online booking, with automated reminders and easy rescheduling for clients.
Make the wait comfortable
Offering comfortable seating may seem an obvious consideration, but your choice of furniture and its layout does require significant thought. Patients tend to prefer personal space and individual seats, so consider replacing larger sofas with armchairs arranged in as open a configuration as possible. If space allows, create individual areas around coffee tables to provide a calm and fresh environment that projects a professional image to your patients as they wait.
Offering refreshment
If it’s feasible for you to do so, it’s worth considering offering basic refreshments such as chilled mineral water, tea and coffee, and fresh fruit to patients in your waiting room. Adding a small refrigerator for mineral water behind or adjacent to the reception desk is simple and low maintenance, and easy for your receptionist to offer to patients on arrival with minimal fuss. If you have the space and staff capacity to install a premium coffee machine this will prove more popular still, and add a luxury feel to your clinic. Bowls of fresh fruit are a simple and low cost addition, and will cultivate a healthy atmosphere. Offering any kind of refreshment will help to pass time spent waiting more quickly, and ensures patients feel valued and taken care of.
Other ways to pass the time
Most patients will now expect to find free wifi in your clinic waiting room in order to check emails, social media and so on whilst waiting, so ensure there is a fast, secure, and reliable connection available. Some practices even provide tablets for patients to use during their wait, and of course these can be utilised for the completion of pre-treatment and consent forms, to provide information about your services, or for general access to the internet, apps or games. It’s also thoughtful to add materials such as colouring-in books, or attractive puzzle books as mindfulness activities for anxious patients. Coffee tables should be unencumbered by dog-eared magazines, and any periodicals should be kept neatly and chosen carefully to suit your client base. Stylish coffee table books chosen to complement your services and brand will provide decoration as well as entertainment.
Balancing the decor
Since your patients will likely see your waiting room both on arrival and departure, and may well spend some time there at the start of their visit too, it provides a useful space to convey any information about your practice and brand that you might like to share. By choosing artwork for your waiting room that aligns with your company ethos, you can both provide something pleasant for patients to look at while they wait, as well as sharing your brand personality or even pertinent information. It’s wise to opt for soft tones for walls and furnishings rather than striving to necessarily match every surface with your brand colours, especially if they are particularly bright. You can of course choose these to complement your logo, with details picked out in brand colours to build a calm and appealing environment that reflects your ethos. Keep clutter to a minimum and carefully choose any accessories to align with your branding.
Getting the ambience right
Having all the practical aspects just right will stand you in good stead and is absolutely essential to creating the perfect waiting room. Once you’ve pulled all these details together though, it’s still important to ensure that the overall ambience is right too. Well balanced lighting will help to create a calm and attractive ambience, whilst soothing background music will also help to create a tranquil environment. Where appropriate, you might consider an essential oil diffuser or scented candles to further build the ambience and luxury feel of the waiting area. Well arranged fresh flowers and healthy indoor plants also provide a soft, welcoming feel, and ensure the space feels well tended and cared for.
In a sector where word-of-mouth is key, and where patients expect a high level of service, providing an appealing and comfortable waiting room is imperative. Improving your waiting area will enhance your patients’ in-clinic experience, setting you ahead of your competitors, and ensuring those patients both return and recommend you to others. Not only that, but fostering a feeling of pride in the appearance of your clinic will help your staff to feel part of a valued team, which in turn will add to the overall quality and success of your practice.
