Waiting Room Design

By Debra Eilering



Waiting Room Design:

Setting the tone for a hospital/clinic visit
It really does not matter where we are in the world, visiting the hospital (as a patient) is not a pleasant experience. True, there are exceptions, but no matter the specific location or function, waiting rooms set the tone for the healthcare experience. When we enter a waiting room, we immediately become aware of the surrounding sights, sounds and smells. We also learn to value our time just a bit more than before we walked in. My last few blogs for the year are going to highlight the importance of the necessity to ramp up the design of waiting rooms (just the name implies we will be there for awhile).
Aesthetics, lighting, exterior views, seating, furnishings, regional artwork, indoor climate, positive distractions, and accessibility to building amenities play into a successful waiting room. If properly designed, waiting rooms support an important part of healing and wellness.
The basic design and programming of waiting rooms are evolving. Waiting rooms serve many functions. They are not necessarily exclusive to the front of the building anymore, especially with larger healthcare facilities. Increasingly, healthcare organizations are realizing that minimizing wait time and providing comforting features are integral to successful healthcare delivery. But how can we increase the attractiveness of the waiting room experience through design? Let’s look at a few basic waiting rooms:



Main public waiting rooms

These are usually located near the main entrance. Yet, in many newer or renovated facilities, the main waiting rooms are being reconfigured to serve a greater range of functions. In some instances, they serve as a community gathering spot with such amenities as coffee shops and public education spaces with computers for patient education. These spaces may also be combined with larger public spaces to serve as the lobby for an entire healthcare campus.
Sick/well areas within main public waiting rooms
Prevalent in children’s hospitals and clinics, these spaces help reduce the spread of contagious illnesses and provide physical privacy for those who may be immune-suppressed. Separation areas are important to prevent contamination.



Sub-waiting rooms

These are typically alcoves located near lab and diagnostic areas to provide visual privacy for patients needing to change into a gown. They also are used along the side of a clinic’s main circulation concourse for short-term waiting.



Waiting lounges

Lounges are located near patient recovery or treatment areas. Designed for family or friends who may wait several hours for a loved one recovering from treatment or day surgery, the spaces should be comfortable and private, and provide positive distractions for adults and children alike to help ease the long wait time.
The healthcare industry is facing major changes. Rising costs, new technology, shifting demographics, and new legislation all play into the way healthcare providers deliver care now and in the future.



National healthcare discussion is placing a greater emphasis on containing costs, preventative care, wellness, and managing chronic diseases. By 2014, approximately 40 million more Americans will have access to health insurance with the Affordable Care Act, placing more demand on facilities and building infrastructure.
For healthcare designers, this means thinking strategically about designing healthcare spaces. Patients and caregivers are beginning to think differently about how they use spaces—and about how they want to receive care. Technology is enabling patients to manage care remotely without actually visiting a clinic. And remote care will become more prevalent, impacting the architecture. If healthcare designers can save costs by re-envisioning space planning, they will bring long-term value to the owner—helping improve the healthcare delivery process.

Flexibility, efficiency, and patient experience are the new operative words in healthcare design today.

As designers, we often must address the needs and priorities of multiple clients—the patients, the caregivers, and the healthcare organizations. Our goal is to develop solutions that simultaneously satisfy these three client bases while evaluating how changes in healthcare delivery continue to affect clinic design.
Over the next several blogs, I will deconstruct the standard clinic module to explore strategies for well-planned spaces. From location factors to the entry drive, front door, registration, waiting room, interior circulation, exam rooms, and check-out, I’ll look at design choices that contribute to a successful patient experience. The unifying question I’ll attempt to answer is: How can clinic design make healthcare services more efficient and patient-friendly? Stay tuned.

References:
http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=111587
http://www.somethingforkids.com/
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1664797/six-ways-to-improve-doctors-waiting-rooms
http://www.the-waiting-room.com/
http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/three-ways-improve-patients-experiences-waiting-room-design/2011-05-31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e2urSZUorc
http://www.news.ku.edu/2011/october/4//designaward.shtml