Now that you have signed your new lease for great space for your medical practice, you want to ensure your space is renovated effectively to enhance your practice. A medical office should be fitted out in a way that creates an ideal working environment for physicians and their staffs and is also beneficial to patients. When you prepare to renovate, you must ensure your space is operational and stress free for everyone. Space needs to be optimized for equipment and examinations, as well as waiting patients and those who are being attended to by doctors and staff members.
If your newly leased office space isn’t exactly what you dreamed of, it is time to fit out your space with a medical office renovation that effectively meets your needs.
There are a number of reason this may be the case for you, including:
- Growing staff who need more space to operate efficiently.
- Increasing patient load.
- Expansion of patient services.
- Improving office aesthetics.
- Modernizing facilities and equipment.
- Ongoing maintenance issues (plumbing, electric, HVAC, etc.) which require resolution.
- Creating a more effective design and flow for office activities.
While these reasons for renovations are a great starting point, before you begin renovating your medical practice you should set down your goals and your budget before you begin discussing the project with your design team.
Consider these potential goals which are among the most pressing in many medical offices:
- Increase patient care, comfort, privacy, safety, and overall experience.
- Improve amenities for patients and their families, as well as staff, physicians, and visitors.
- Increase the practice’s ability to resolve ongoing health concerns and community healthcare needs.
- Create a warm and welcoming environment (inside and out) that exemplifies premium care.
- Attract high quality medical specialists and staff members.
With your goals in hand, meet with your chosen design team to ensure your new space is planned effectively and your goals are met successfully. Your design team will ensure you include your practice’s renovation meets all needs including your overall goals.
When you meet, your design team will provide a list of basic needs, as follows, to ensure your final space is exceptional.
- Patient Privacy and Safety are prime concerns for every medical practice. You should have a secure and logical storage system for equipment, medication samples, and patient records which ensures privacy and safety. This includes patient files from digital to traditional records. You may even want to consider separate consultation and examination rooms for added patient privacy.
- Your waiting area provides the first impression for your practices. As such, it should be comfortable, with relaxing chairs, attractive flooring, soothing colors, Wi-Fi, and charging stations for electronic devices.
- In addition to a comfortable waiting room for patients and their families, examination rooms should also present a stress-free environment with calming colors, exceptional cleanliness, and relaxing chairs for your patient and an accompanying caregiver or family member.
- Modern, state of the art IT and Medical equipment is key to ensure accurate record keeping, adherence to government protocols, and more effective diagnosis and healthcare.
- A streamlined check-in and check-out process is essential in your design.
- Bathroom renovations are an area often forgotten. Patients and staff should have separate facilities, with all bathrooms providing functional disinfecting and flushing mechanisms to prevent the further spread of bacteria, viruses, and disease.
- A modern breakroom with kitchen should be included for staff members to relax and enjoy breaks and lunch.
As you begin your medical practice renovation, be certain your design team, project manager, and contractor work with you to stay on budget, while adhering to your timeline, and successfully meeting all your goals.