 For
most practices in Canada, overstuffed waiting rooms
are an unavoidable, often unpleasant fact of life. But
a three-physician group in Montreal decided to make
lemonade out of life's lemons and turn their waiting
room into a pleasant, educational space, with great
reading material, great toys and even computers.
"A lot of colleagues warned us
having a few PCs in the waiting room would be a nightmare,
with patients downloading porn or bugging the front
desk staff when something didn't work," recalls one
of the practice's FPs. "But it's been an utter delight.
We installed Kiosk software to prevent inappropriate
browsing and tampering with the computers." This reduced
glitches and fears of patients wrestling over the computer
mouse also proved to be unfounded. Their head receptionist
says fewer patients complain about waiting now that
they can check their email during their stay.
A waiting room stay can truly set
the mood for a consultation — and a patient can
prejudge you solely based on the state of your waiting
area. A dingy room with flickering fluorescent lighting
and nothing to read but a stack of filthy, dog-eared
magazines dating back to the Mulroney era might have
folks wondering if you're that behind the times in your
medical knowledge.
A sunny secretary will
go a long way toward improving your office's atmosphere
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SUNNY
SIDE UP
The first thing you should consider when giving your
waiting room the once-over is its size and where it's
situated. If you're renovating or building a new one,
try to place it an area with a window that lets in plenty
of natural light. This helps create a serene atmosphere,
and really expands your options as to what sort of plants
you can place in the room (be sure to feed them —
dead plants are a real downer!). On the other hand,
make sure the area respects patient privacy and doesn't
have so many windows that it feels like a storefront.
This is particularly important if your practice is on
the ground floor.
Your waiting room should be generously
sized. Standing-room only is an absolute no-no. But
just seating everyone isn't your only concern; it's
also nice to offer enough space so that no patient needs
to sit beside someone they suspect may be contagious.
Remember that even if your appointment scheduling isn't
too out of whack, it's hard to predict how many patients
will bring a companion.
The arrangement of the seats themselves
can help make the space homey and comfortable. Long
rows of seats conjure up a dreaded bus station vibe.
Individual chairs are much better than sofas or benches.
Keep the chairs in small groups of perhaps four, and
make sure there's some seating appropriate for bigger
patients, and comfortable spots for wheelchair-bound
patients to park.
TUNE
IN OR TUNE OUT?
Some physicians favour televisions in their waiting
rooms. But the boob tube often does more harm than good
for a practice's ambience. For one thing, it quite effectively
broadcasts the fact that patients are likely going to
be in for a long delay before they see you. And then
you have to consider that what constitutes a comfortable
listening volume for hard-of-hearing patients is blaring
din for others. Choosing suitable viewing material is
similarly problematic. Mrs Henderson might want to watch
Oprah, while a young dad might demand Teletubbies
for his sick tot. Even leaving the set tuned to a safe
bet like Newsworld will force patients to sit
through too many annoying commercials.
THE
SOUND OF SILENCE
Music isn't as much of a minefield as television, but
you still have to find something everyone can enjoy
— or at least tolerate. The typical reflex is to
pick something "inoffensive" like muzak, light rock
or jazz — but be aware that many patients won't
enjoy this music and they might think it reflects your
taste. If you don't want your patients to think you're
Zamfir's biggest fan, maybe your waiting room would
be better off tuneless.
While it's not always obvious,
the waiting room's floor covering also affects the sonic
environment. Tiled or hardwood floors can be quite beautiful
and are definitely easier to keep clean, but carpet
has the clear edge when it comes to noise. The constant
clip-clop of staffers scurrying around the practice
on a hard floor (raising patients' hopes that their
number's finally up) would be barely audible on a carpeted
floor. But be aware of the fact that carpet is much
more of a commitment, and without regular professional
cleanings it can look pretty ratty in just a few months.
NET
WORTH
While placing a computer or two in the waiting room
isn't a solution for every doctor, it isn't as fraught
with danger as you might expect. Even a relatively old,
very inexpensive computer will be fine for basic web
browsing. It's almost essential, however, that you purchase
Kiosk software to prevent people from messing things
up — unintentionally or not — or looking at
offensive websites. There are many choices out there,
such as KioWare for Windows ($135US www.kioware.com)
or wKiosk for Mac ($69 www.app4mac.com),
to keep your practice's internet terminals up and running
and free of inappropriate material. However it will
require some computer know-how and time to set up this
software, so it's not recommended you go there unless
you or someone else in the office knows at least the
basics.
KIDS'
STUFF
Space permitting, it's a very good idea to designate
an area for quiet play for children. The toys you select
should be tough, safe, easy to clean and quiet. Avoid
anything that squeaks, rings or buzzes. Soft blocks
and puzzles are a great choice. Many toy stores even
have a section for items recommended for waiting rooms.
It's also very comforting to have a selection of children's
books, particularly some with medical themes such as
Dr Critter by Mercer Mayer.
Riveting reading material will
make your patients' wait fly by |
READING
MATTERS
For grown-up reading material, it's a good idea to subscribe
to a nice variety of publications. Choose carefully,
though, as this will tell your patients a great deal
about you. At the same time, if all you have is high-brow
mags like Harper's or The Atlantic you
might annoy patients who want something lighter like
People. Also take care to have a good selection
of men's and women's magazines — avoiding of course
'lad magazines' that could offend some patients. If
you don't want to spend a lot on subscriptions, make
sure you get at least one publication with a broad appeal
such as Maclean's or Reader's Digest.
Assign someone the task of sorting the reading material
and throwing outdated issues in the recycling bin.
HUMAN
TOUCH
No amount of entertainment and ingenious design can
make up for a sour-looking staff. You might want to
instruct your receptionist to warmly greet each patient
and ask for their name as soon as they walk through
the door. This will go a long way towards making a patient
feel like an honoured guest — not another sardine
to pack in the waiting room.
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