Your Waiting Room is Just as Important as Your Exam Room

Having a clean and comfortable waiting room is essential, but many physicians don’t realize just how important it is.

Physicians all understand the importance of having a efficient medical practice and consider it an important part of establishing a long-lasting relationship with patients.

The waiting room should not be an afterthought in enhancing the patient experience.

The most stressful part of a patient’s visit, and coincidentally the first place they go after arriving at your practice, is the waiting room. The appearance of the waiting area reflects the attitude and the habits of a practice’s physicians. Your waiting room is the first impression for patients and gives them insight into how they will be treated by you. If they check in for an appointment and the receptionist’s desk is a mess, or people are not friendly, it could send the message that their health may not be in the best hands.

According to a survey conducted by the design and development firm Sequence, patients say the waiting period is often the worst part of the doctor’s visit. What is worse is that, “the vast majority of patients — 85% — say they have to wait anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes past their scheduled appointment time to actually see their doctor.” In most cases, that is significantly longer than the encounter itself.

Patients comment on ambiance and wait time more often than they rate clinical skills. Patients’ perception of their time in the reception area affects not only their opinion of the practice but also their health. It is important for your practice to know what the common patient complaints are so you can make sure they aren’t happening in your waiting room. Here are some of the big ones:

Cleanliness. Patients travel in and out of the waiting room all day, so it is unsurprising that those spaces can often become a little dirty. This is especially true if children are also present in the waiting room. Having hand sanitizer dispensers, wiping down chairs and tables, and vacuuming if there is carpeting can go a long way for an image.

Restroom accessibility. People who need to use the bathroom become uncomfortable if they need to ask for keys or are otherwise unable to find it. Make sure to post signs if your restrooms are not located directly off the waiting room.

Thick windows. Having thick windows with small holes for speaking to a receptionist can turn people off. It makes the experience extremely impersonal.

Out-of-date magazines. If patients need to be subjected to long waiting times, the least your practice can do is update the magazine selection to keep everyone occupied as they wait to see the doctor. Having old magazines is just sloppy waiting-room maintenance etiquette.

Lack of beverages. Offering coffee, or at least water, to your patients is a great gesture that can come at relatively little cost to your practice. Which eases the sting of having to wait a while to see the doctor can be abated.

Unclear information. The answers to essential questions like “Where should I park?” or “Is there a place I can store my jacket?” need to be readily available so patients can just sit down and relax in the waiting room as soon as possible.

Internet access. You should definitely be making your WiFi public or posting the password to a secured WiFi in an easy-to-see place. Patients and their families or caregivers deserve to be able to surf the web or get some work done while they wait to see the doctor. Also, having extra phone chargers on hand would be nice too.

Keep in mind that having these conveniences does not just benefit patients. We analyzed the waiting room of 20 practices in the NYC and Philly area. What found that more than 50% of the patients in the waiting rooms were a patient’s family member, friend or caregiver. In other words, half of the people in your waiting room are not even patients. These people deserve to have comfortable experiences as well.

Practices stand to benefit greatly from an improved waiting experience. Happy, satisfied customers in every industry are more likely to return and to tell their friends and loved ones about the business — and medical practices are no exception. This translates to higher profits for your practice, which is secondary to providing stellar service, but still extremely important. Invest in your waiting room and you will inevitably see returns.

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