Are you looking to refurnish or remodel your medical practice?

7 Helpful tips, tricks & inspirations to decorate your waiting room

Even with the best planning, waiting times cannot be completely avoided. The waiting room thus becomes an important link between reception and the treatment room. By designing the waiting room well, you help your patients arrive, slow down, and mentally prepare for treatment.

This is how you design the waiting area optimally:

Tip 1: Show appreciation

• Today’s patients want to be guests, cared for and courted at all stages of their visit to the practice. Turn the waiting area into a feel-good oasis and let patients feel your appreciation by offering services. It’s often the little unexpected things that make all the difference. Offer water, tea or coffee, for example.

• An interesting range of journals and magazines is part of the basic equipment. Align it with your patients’ preferences and renew it regularly so they stay current and presentable. Reading glasses forgotten? Surprise your patients by having some reading glasses on hand.

• Besides reading magazines, surfing the web or streaming from the internet, is the most popular pastime for many patients in the waiting room. Offering free Wi-Fi can be a welcome option. Communicate the access data clearly visible in the waiting room.

Tip 2: Receive patients

Entering the practice, the question arises, where to put the coat, umbrella and purchases? Plan a sufficiently large dressing room near the entrance or in their waiting room. That’s how you patients master the very first hurdle!

Tip 3: Relax while waiting

• Refrain from rows of always the same chairs along the walls. This seems unimaginative and uninviting. Create variety, through different seating. This allows each patient to lounge or sit formally at their whim.

• Use different color schemes for the seating and be sure to think about side tables to conveniently place a water bottle, for example.

Tip 4: Allow privacy

• Many people find it uncomfortable to have to share a room with a large number of strangers. Why not just create a little more privacy? A nice planter creates space between seating areas and also provides some privacy.

• If you have a very large waiting room, it is recommended to separate it into different areas. This can be achieved, for example, a series of planters. It is best to choose the low-maintenance hydroponics or plants with very low water & light requirements.

• Alternatively, of course, sideboards can be used as room dividers. They also serve as storage or display.

• The separation by a glass wall also creates acoustic protection. This can be the perfect solution for integrating an area for parents and children.

Tip 5: Play corner for children

• A children’s corner should not be missing in any waiting room, because especially the smallest ones find waiting in unfamiliar surroundings rather difficult. Child-friendly furniture and employment opportunities should be part of the basic equipment.

Tip 6: Light, lighting & color

• A relaxing lighting atmosphere helps to make the waiting time more pleasant. Natural and warm light, from different light sources, creates a homely, pleasant ambience. So windows should definitely have the ability to regulate sunlight.

• If the waiting room has no windows or they do not provide enough light, wall, ceiling and floor lamps should be used. Ceiling lights provide sufficient basic lighting, wall and floor lamps accentuate the room. In any case, the waiting room should be bright enough to allow patients to read comfortably without fatigue.

• Subtle colors are still the classic tip for the design of a doctor’s office. But why always be so reserved? Design a wall of your waiting room exciting & shorten the perceived waiting time.

Tip 7: Cleanliness & order

• The waiting room is your business card. It must always look clean, hygienic, tidy and comfortable.
  Train your staff accordingly and ask your patients for feedback.

• Choose easy-care, durable and hygienic surfaces for your furniture. Since waiting rooms are high-frequency spaces, the equipment is subject to heavy use.

• Ensure maximum satisfaction with simple tricks. A satisfied patient comes back and is also the best marketing tool for your practice. You can achieve this, for example, with exactly matching modular furniture.

• Let your patients know about your service offerings. Introduce them on the practice website. Use a display stand at the reception desk and in the waiting area.

• Greet your patients in the waiting room. It’s a nice gesture. This way, your patients won’t feel neglected or forgotten.