Consulting Room Design for Your Medical Clinic

As a doctor, your consulting room is likely to be the space where you spend most of your time.  It’s also a room where your patients spend a significant amount of time – and it can have an impact on the quality of their visit with you.

So, whether you’re opening a new practice or refurbishing your existing medical clinic, it pays to get your consulting room design right.

Physical Setup

The way you arrange the physical space in your consulting rooms – as well as the placement of furniture – can impact patient experience.  Indicators of positive patient experience, including eye contact, interactions between patients and doctors, and feelings of empowerment, can all be influenced by your room’s setup.

The right setup can also make your life easier. A good setup supports your workflows for natural movement between your computer, examination table, and other equipment.

Physical Features

Sickness, pain, uncertainty, worry, and anxiety, or a combination of all five , can all negatively affect patient experience. However, with the use of carefully-selected distractions and other design features in your consulting room, you can help to make your patients’ experience a more positive one.

Beginning with the basics, it’s important to ensure your consulting room is well-lit and free from excessive noise.  It should maintain a comfortable temperature, have a calming and welcoming colour scheme, and offer patients privacy. Space for family or friends to accompany a patient in your room is also a good idea.

Positive Distractions

Another design strategy for improving patient experience and helping to lower anxiety is to include “positive distractions”. This can be a piece of artwork on the wall, or an indoor plant.  If your practice has a large proportion of younger patients or families, consider colourful wall decals or a basket of toys and figurines. 

Multi-use Consulting Rooms

Multi-use consulting rooms are designed to be shared between different health or medical professionals who aren’t onsite all the time. This could be part-time doctors who work in your facility on different days. Or it may be visiting medical specialists or allied health practitioners.

To work effectively, a multi-use consulting room’s specific design will depend on who is using the room and what they’re using it for. It should be designed to meet the needs of all its users.  Storage is a key element of the space. This ensures appropriate equipment is available for whichever health practitioner is operating out of the room.

Get Inspiration

Elite Fitout Solutions has helped numerous doctors with medical clinic fitouts and refurbishments. So we know a thing or two about getting your consulting rooms right.

Take a look at our fitout project gallery for inspiration for your medical clinic consulting room.  Or, if you’d like to learn more, contact Elite today on 1300 765 344.