What’s the first thing you notice when you walk into your doctor’s office? If I had to bet, it’s their waiting room.
After all, that’s typically the area you walk through first. Before you even make it to the front desk you’ve already determined if it will be a pleasant environment based on its characteristics.
Is the lighting too dim and makes the room seem dreary, or is it bright and inviting? Are there comfortable seats, and are the colors complementary?
You’re not in the minority if you do this, the interior design is one of the main aspects of a waiting room people notice when they come in for an appointment.
While the factors listed in the questions above could help or hinder a visit, there are other aspects to consider when designing the waiting room at your own practice. Making slight improvements might be just enough to improve your patient’s waiting experience enough that they’ll be glad to return to your office.
Let’s look at some ingenious waiting room amenities that will help you stand out against your competition.
Table of Contents
Check-In Kiosks
As I hinted at in the introduction, the first thing patients do when they arrive is check-in at the front desk. This informs your team that they’re ready for their appointment. They’ll also update any of their personal information that has changed.
But having your front-end team do this can slow down your processes. Your practice might not have enough staff to quickly serve all of your patients, or maybe the phone is ringing off the hook. The longer it takes for check-ins, the longer it takes for people to see the doctor and the more behind your office will get.
Check-in kiosks help reduce this problem. They open up the process entirely by allowing your clients to check-in right away, even if a staff member isn’t readily available. Installing these systems as an additional helping hand for your team streamlines your entire waiting and scheduling process.
A good way to imagine the success of this feature is by looking at restaurant kiosks. Many fast-food restaurants have these for customers to order if there’s a long line. Pairing these machines to ease higher volume actually allows restaurants to serve 50% more customers during busy periods.
I’m sure we’ve all had an experience where we’re anxiously ready to leave but the server hasn’t brought the check. And not only do we have to wait for the check, but the server then has to come back to grab our card, ring it up, and bring it back. But restaurants eliminate this time-consuming altogether process with payment kiosk tablets on the tables.
It’s the same concept for a healthcare practice. Clients don’t need to rely on someone at the desk to be available, and the front-end team will have more time for other necessary tasks. It helps the office stay on schedule so that appointments don’t get behind.
Kaiser Permanente is just one healthcare company that offers these. One of their specific self-serve technology benefits is that it includes five different languages. This can help save even more time for those who struggle with language barriers and feel more comfortable with their native language. There are also adjustable screens available for those in wheelchairs and of different heights.
Patient Pagers
What is this the 90’s? Stay with me.
Well, something else you’ll notice when you go to a restaurant is that your host will give you a paging device until your table is ready. They’ll give you a time estimate along with the pager buzzer which lets you know when your table is ready.
They’re also convenient because they allow customers to wait outside and get fresh air or in their car where they may be more comfortable. Some modern restaurants even send a text message so customers can kill time elsewhere, like a nearby store, if the wait is too long.
These are also a great amenity to add to your healthcare practice. People don’t mind hanging out as much if there is an end in mind. But it’s even more beneficial if they can go do something else during a long wait to help pass the time while also being productive.
Work Areas, Free WiFi, and Charging Stations
The best way to keep visits from seeming like they’re taking a while is to make the experience active. People like to be doing something, especially within the fast-paced world we live in now. If they’re staying productive before their appointment, it won’t seem like a waste of time.
A good way to do this is by providing work areas. Small tables and desks give them the freedom to get tasks done while away from their job. They’re useful for those who have to miss work for an appointment, whether it’s their own or for their child. The primary care medical office The Clark offers a comfortable space for this which has tables and relaxing chairs with pillows.
With this also comes free WiFi and charging stations. Most people can’t get their work done if they don’t have access to the Internet, so be sure to provide secure guest-WiFi.
A charging station also helps those who don’t have work to get done, but just use their phones for entertainment. That’s more necessary when WiFi isn’t available and they have to rely on their data, which drains their batteries faster.
There are a few charging options. The first is to just have outlets for people to plug their devices in. An outlet near each seat helps everyone get access despite where they’re sitting. But this only helps those who brought a charger with them.
The next choice would be to have chargers for guests to borrow from the front desk. You’ll run the risk of people forgetting to return them or stealing them, so make it a rental system. Patients could leave their ID with you at the desk and only get it back once they return the charger.
The final choice would be to have a station specifically for charging. These often come as movable stands that have different chargers connected. This makes it possible to charge several devices at once, has options for different devices, and doesn’t require a lot of available outlets. Your office can also brand these stands depending on the company you buy it through.
Secured Tablets
Let’s go back to our restaurant comparison again. I mentioned that tables at dine-ins often have tablets for payment. These tablets usually come equipped with games for entertainment.
Sure, these usually charge a small fee to play the game. But the few bucks often outweigh a tired or difficult child begging to leave. It could also be a good bribe to get stubborn toddlers to eat their vegetables.
Well, tablets like these are also useful for your healthcare practice, especially for children. I don’t mean you should charge your guests to get their bill up a little more - they’re already paying enough.
But it can be a good way to help kids relax before their appointment.
If your practice isn’t for pediatric patients then you probably don’t have toys, but kids might still come with their parents. No one wants to hear them complain which will happen when they get bored.
Now, encouraging children to use electronic devices might not reflect well on a healthcare practice. That’s why it’s important to include apps that promote healthy habits or are educational.
Tablets are an investment but may entertain anyone, including adults. They can be a good alternative to the books and outdated magazines that you’ve had for years. Tablets give access to current reading material, but they also have a cleanliness benefit.
It's nearly impossible to sanitize the book and magazines in your office, so they often carry germs. In fact, a 2019 study found that some of the most commonly used items in hospitals house antibiotic-resistant supergerms.
But at the end of the workday, or between each use, it’s possible to disinfect the electronic devices to prevent more spread of germs.
Keeping tablets secured has two meanings, and you should follow both.
First, they must have appropriate cybersecurity measures so they don’t lead to any harm to your organization’s network.
Second, you want to make sure these are physically secured to a table or desk like the example above from Jady Chiakowsky Orthodontics. Doing this prevents people from stealing them and ensures that no one drops and breaks them.
Refreshments
Plenty of services such as salons and car dealerships offer snacks or drinks to their customers. Why not do the same at your healthcare practice?
A coffee maker, bottled water, and a quick snack will all make patients know that you want to take care of them beyond the exam room. Avalon Dental offers a coffee maker and a beverage fridge with water and juices.
A vending machine isn’t a bad idea either. While guests might prefer the free gesture, a vending machine has more choices. It also ensures no one takes an item then puts it back, which could be unsanitary.
If you’re a large hospital, there are ways to step this up. Hospital waiting rooms aren’t usually a brief half-hour experience. Visitors might be hanging out there for hours while someone they know has surgery, or even recurring days to be near a loved one that’s ill. You should take care of these people, too.
In this situation, that eight-ounce water bottle or single granola bar isn’t going to cut it.
Consider investing in a cafe so visitors don’t need to leave the hospital to get food. The Ohio State University Medical Wexner Center offers multiple options within their hospitals. People will be more comfortable with getting what they need while still staying near the patient in case anything urgent comes up.
Sanitation Station
Healthcare facilities aren’t just full of people, they’re full of germs. It sounds ironic that the place people go when they’re sick has the potential to make them sicker. But that’s why practices need to take appropriate precautions. I’ve already briefly touched on disinfecting items, but let’s dive a little further.
It’s important to stop the germs at the door. This is why people should be able to sanitize from the waiting area before heading back to an exam room, or right when they walk through the office door. As I mentioned earlier, common areas have so many germs on shared items like toys for kids, magazines, chairs. Healthcare practices can buy sanitizing stations to be readily accessible in any part of the building.
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, common spaces must get disinfected often. It can go beyond the waiting room into areas like staircases where people touch railings and elevators where they touch buttons. There’s no need to bring the germs from the exam room to the waiting room, or vice versa.
This is why a Cleveland Clinic has improvised hand sanitation devices within its elevators.
Massage Chairs
OK, this amenity might sound excessive but hear me out.
Providing massage chairs can help people relax before they have to head back for their exams.
A doctor’s appointment may be a stressful experience and you want to limit this as much as possible for your patients. Specifically, 73% of patients experience stress when they’re at a hospital.
So, believe it or not, that statistic makes adding massage chairs to your waiting room another great amenity to look into providing.
These chairs can carry more benefits depending on your type of practice.
For example, a physical therapy office might find these more useful since those patients face pain that massages can ease.
A psychologist’s office would also see more positive feedback because they deal with people who may have higher stress levels.
Pillows and Blankets
Have you ever felt like you’re freezing at your appointment? This is especially common in the summer months when we dress for warmth, but then have to sit in the frigid air-conditioned doctor’s office.
Blankets are a comfortable item to have on hand for this reason. Of course, you’ll have to consider hygiene with this; you shouldn’t be reusing blankets between guests. Instead, you can use disposable blankets or lightweight blankets that the patient can keep. You could also have some nicer blankets but have them washed in between uses.
Pillows are another comfortable touch for those who will be lounging for a while. Little kids might end up falling asleep waiting for their parents or sibling to finish up an appointment. But it can simply add a homey touch so instead of just being an overwhelming doctor’s office, it has the feeling of a relaxing living room.
Normandy Dentistry takes this a step further. They already have a relaxing environment with pillows, blankets, and soothing aromatherapy scents.
But the practice also offers warm scented towels to patients after their appointments. This spa-like treatment gives them the chance to freshen up after their exam. After all, people might not feel great after having their teeth drilled and scraped or having fluoride run down their chin.
Storage
As shocking as this is, 20% of occupied seats in a waiting room are from personal items, not people. Think about how many more people could have a chair or sit with their families if bags didn’t need their own seat.
Some storage could be shelves, hooks, baskets underneath chairs, or lockers. These are most useful for parents who come in with a diaper bag, purse, or backpack with their kids’ necessities. It’s also positive if their kids bring toys that they don’t want to bring back to the exam room. Something as simple as a coat rack could go a long way during the winter when people have bulky coats on top of personal bags and other items.
Flourish Paediatrics’ shelf includes storage baskets. These are a great way to aesthetically store personal belongings, especially when there’s minimal seating like you can see above.
Text Status Updates
Another amenity specifically for hospitals is text updates. It’s most helpful for those who wait for a family member or friend in a long surgery. Of course, there are privacy and security rules to follow to ensure HIPAA compliance.
No one should receive personal health information without consent, but these texts can be generic.
The MyCareText system has these capabilities and is HIPAA-compliant. It can send a pre-filled message to update the family members on the patients’ status from the time they enter surgery to when they move into recovery.
It’s a good option for letting the visitor know the patient’s progress. Doctors and nurses rarely come to update families during a procedure while they anxiously hope for some news. But a quick automated update could help reduce some of this prolonged stress.
The visitors will also feel more comfortable leaving the waiting room if they need to. They don’t have to worry about missing the doctor coming to give them information since they’re able to get updates straight to their phone.
It’s also beneficial for those who can’t physically be there.
For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals restricted almost all visitors. It only adds to the stress of family if they can’t be there for their loved ones and have no idea what’s happening. But a quick text keeping them informed will make it at least somewhat emotionally easier.
Conclusion
By now, you see how important it is to consider new, creative waiting room amenities for your clients. It’s usually unpleasant enough to go to the doctor or hospital, and waiting for hours on end doesn’t help.
There are so many ways you can improve this experience, though.
Simple additions let your patients know you care about them and that you’re willing to go out of your way to make their visit more enjoyable. Thus, you’ll stand out against other practices so that people continue to choose you.
