It’s not uncommon for people to experience fear and anxiety before they see the doctor. This fear can even trigger high blood pressure in some patients.
As a physician, you definitely don’t want your patients coming into your office with high blood pressure and other symptoms of anxiety. One way you can quell these fears and improve the way your patients feel is to make some changes to your waiting room.
Listed below are some strategies you can implement to improve the atmosphere of your medical waiting room and help your patients feel more relaxed before they come to see you.
Change the Layout
The way the furniture is arranged in your waiting room can have a big impact on your patients.
Allow for plenty of different seating options: clusters of seats for families, solo chairs for those who want to be left alone, couches for couples, etc.
The more choices patients have, the more at ease they’re likely to feel.
Keep Patients Informed
Nothing adds to a patient’s anxiety quite like not knowing when they’re going to get to go back and see the doctor. Ask anyone who struggles with anxiety and they’ll tell you that waiting and not knowing is the worst part.
To help patients avoid feeling this way, instruct your receptionists to keep them informed and updated about wait times. You might want to use technology like restaurant-style pagers or an estimated wait time screen to further inform patients.
Allow for Activity
Don’t just leave a stack of six-month-old magazines on the table and call it good. Look for other ways to keep your patients occupied while they wait.
Make your practice’s wifi password easily visible so they can use their phones or laptops. Considering offering iPads or tablets that are preloaded with magazines, videos, and games, too.
Bring in Potted Plants
Potted plants can help your waiting room to feel more inviting and a little less intimidating. Certain varieties of potted plants also help to purify the air, so they’re good for your patients’ health, too.
Offer Little Luxuries
Look for ways to offer small luxuries that will put your patients at ease.
A mini fridge with beverages like sparkling water or juice can be very appealing, as can a coffee bar.
Healthcare practices that offer these services can make their patients feel more at home and more likely to come back in the future.
Improve Your Medical Waiting Room Today
As you can see, there are lots of steps you can take to make your medical waiting room a more enjoyable place and put your patients at ease prior to their appointment.
Give these tips a try and you’ll surely see an improvement in your patients’ attitudes and anxiety levels.
Do you want to learn more about how to enhance your waiting room and the atmosphere of your practice?
If so, be sure to check out some of our other business articles today. We’ve got lots of great advice on our site for health care professionals.
