Putting Your Office in Order

A medical facility should function in its most efficient manner. That happens when rooms are located in a particular order.

If possible, locate the patient holding area closest to the entrance of the building, but make it no larger than necessary. The seeming disadvantage of a small space can be offset by the right combination of lighting, wall coloring and pictures.

This should lead into the greeting/waiting area, where patients are situated who will soon see a physician or laboratory technician. The "right touches" of color, appropriate reading material, windows and lighting can offset smaller space. It should be large enough to be comforting and pleasant, but it need not look like a warehouse.

The clinical support area should be located immediately after the waiting area, while the examination rooms should be located further to the rear of the building.

The layout of the clinical support area should allow it to be accessed by patients requiring laboratory facilities but not physician services, for reasons previously mentioned. The designer’s goal is to make patient "flow and function" run smoothly, with a minimum of disruption and noise.