What would patients like to see the most in their doctors' waiting room?

Question

I am opening a new office and would like some feedback on how to decorate my new waiting room.

Family physician with one physician assistant

Answer 1

something for kids to do legos are great.
comfortable chairs
Readers digest is the best magazine because it will have something for everyone to read.
10 or so 20Q games to fiddle with while you wait.

Answer 2

Great question! Comfortable chairs, spaced apart so people don't have to sit next to other sick people. Don't know why the chairs have to be crammed together, especially when many of the waiting rooms are fairly large.
No dusty fake plants. If you have natural light, put in some natural, easy to care for house plants.
Current magazines. I was in the Dr. office the other day- everything was old, including TIme and Newsweek--October was the newest. Old news is not interesting to read. Budget Travel is an inexpensive, but interesting read. So is Popular Science. Seems like most magazines are for women in the medical waiting rooms. Men have to go to.
No ugly modern art. And don't hire a decorator, they have really strange and odd taste. The office I was in the other day was obviously done professionally, with the weird chairs and sofas, even the painting on the wall all coordinated somehow. But the chairs were uncomfortable, and the glare through the un-draped windows made it impossible to even see the person next to you.
Decorate it as you would your home, and it will feel homey and friendly. Art that is warm and inviting, not shocking or bizarre stripes and blotches are certainly preferred by most people. Don't waste $ on oddball sculptures either that take up space and need to be dusted. Good luck with your practice.

Answer 3

An interesting decorating scheme. All the offices I have visited in the past 10 years are decorated "professional bland" which means they have no personality. If you have a fetish for something (such as roosters or neon signs) bring that collection into the waiting room with little placards telling stories about how you acquired the piece or what it means to you. You can also put up a bookshelf with books (not that you'll keep people waiting that long) but it adds a nice homey touch and helps out the people who wait while the patient goes inside (like a daughter transporting her father to see you). Both of these will make you more approachable as a physician, kind of a way for your patients to see you as a person with multiple facets.

And please avoid the traditional office waiting room colors, like gray, rose, grayish blue and sage. I'm fond of red, orange, and gold right now and have found that it is very warm and bright, making people feel better ... so please avoid the boredom of safe colors.

Answer 4

http://www.flood.com/Flood/DIY/IdeaGallery/Trends/Psychology+of+Color.htm

Take a look at these, and the links on that page for ideas about color. I would say red, yellow, are colors to avoid. You want something calming because of the fear of going to the doc for so many people.

If you have a lot of kid patients, or in that kid's area, you can have murals on the wall of storybook characters, or bright stripes painted on the wall. I would beg you to put less stuff out for kids to play with and maybe set up a kid video area instead with short cartoons so they aren't touching everything and getting each other sicker.

Kleenex and hand sanitizer accessible for everyone in the waiting room.

Live plants.

It seems that most exam rooms are decorated with body part charts and plastic bones and brains. If you need a prop to explain stuff to your patients, take them out of a cabinet when that thing is needed. In the waiting room, my own doc has a whole TV system that is piped in with a medical channel I have never seen anywhere but there. No regular TV at all, I hate it. And while I know there will always be health and prescription pamphlets laying around, why do they have to be everywhere. Designate them to a vertical place on the wall and that's it.

Instead of medical themes, I would go with something that is special to YOU as a person, and not a cliche like golf either. Do you enjoy dogs, whales, disney, birds, fishing, cooking? You can decorate around these things in your office and waiting room.

Answer 5

You want people to be relaxed. Don't buy "waiting room" furniture. Choose furniture that looks like it would go into a comfortable home. Secondly, don't line up the chairs along the walls. Instead, make small clusters, surrounding coffee tables or end tables. Hang some interesting paintings, not dogs playing poker. You might even find a local artist who would love to display works of art for sale. Choose upbeat colors, not white. A small flat screen tv, with a patient accessible remote control will help divert people's attention. Have a beverage station, like a water cooler with hot and cold water, with an assortment of teabags, or one of those cup by cup coffee makers that use the little premeasured cups. Anything to get their mind off why they are there is good.

Answer 6

I like many of the answers you've already received. I like to see a nicely decorated wating room, with good-looking art work, comfortable seating, etc.

Plants are nice, too, but I suppose you'd have to stick with silks. Otherwise, some kid might pluck a leaf and chew it up (they can do that in the blink of an eye, you know) and then you'd have an "emergency." A kid with a bulging tongue and big lips and a swollen epiglottis, (isn't that that little thing that hangs down in the back of your throat???) in respitory distress....

Not good for business. Stick with silk.

Good magazines, too, and a variety. I've been in doctors' offices where all they had was "Golf Digest" and "Travel."

I suppose you should have something that's kid friendly, like children's books or puzzles, etc. But nothing that could make any noise...and no real plants, eh?

Good luck.

Answer 7

The most important think for me has nothing to do with the waiting room. It would be a "miracle" if doctors would actually keep their appointments on time. I don't believe there has ever been a time when I went to see a doctor that I did not wait at least 15 minutes "past" my appointment time. Who cares about the magazines and the comfort of the furniture. I don't want to look at magazines or get "comfortable". I want to see the doctor.
Not keeping your patients waiting should be your #1 priority.

Answer 8

A panic room?? kidding..
How about FRESH magazines.. I am tired of going to Dr office and finding Mags that are months old ..
Comfortable chairs. Most Dr office have those little squeeze your a$$ into kind of uncomfortable chairs.
How about a private reception area so that whole waiting room doesn't hear what you're there for.
A table so you dont have to sit and balance that clip board on your lap while you fill out the paperwork.
Those are things I would like to see.

Answer 9

I love green in the waiting room, with plants, also the more homey you make it the better. Toys are very good thing to have for little kids, a little table with crayons is an A+. Also, my doctor has decorating book in the waiting room which I love, and cross word puzzle books.

Answer 10

Comfortable furniture. I get so tired of sitting around on utility-looking plastic (I know, it's easier to clean) chairs with bars and supports in awkward, uncomfortable places. A rug, some plants. My doc's office when I was younger had a fish tank as a divider between the play area and the sitting area. I always thought that was the neatest thing. I even went to a women's health clinic that had a big salt tank on one wall, it was so beautiful to look at while you waiting.

Answer 11

O.k. personally i would like to see some more decorative stuff...flower vases,pictures on wall,and nice wood tables with a nice variety of magazines of all kind,except dirty ones. not to mention but magazines people will actually read. dont forget the comfty chairs too.