A redesign of your dental clinic, medical office or multidisciplinary environment could be the key to a more comfortable, efficient and intuitive working and treatment environment. In fact, research from institutions including Stamford University has concluded that design features can affect practitioner efficiency, patient care, and overall comfort. Here are some of the trends you should be looking out for when considering a new medical office design.
THE CONSULT AND EXAMINATION DIVIDE
The sheer volume of patients that go through healthcare environments on a daily basis has gone a long way in shaping clinic design trends. However, it’s not just the amount of patients, but also their evolving the needs which are changing the face of healthcare practices.
For example, recent trends have seen a shift away from combined consult and examination rooms, with the square footage of a clinic being more thoughtfully divided. In many medical environments, fewer patients actually require an exam, with a conversation-based consultation meeting often meeting their treatment needs. This shift not only encourages patients to engage in a meaningful discussion about their health, but it also allows exam rooms to be more specifically designed to meet the requirements of a physical consultation.
THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON HEALTHCARE DESIGN
Expanding technological capabilities are affecting every industry, with surgery design being pushed further towards a digital-first approach. The ability to input and deliver digital information is becoming more prominent in waiting rooms, examination areas, as well as in behind-the-scenes functions such as administration and accounting. As well as this, many displays in clinics are likely to be replaced with dynamic, flat screens in the coming years.
For dental offices, medical clinics or veterinary surgeries looking to update, it’s essential to find a design and construction team that can handle all electrical work. This will become more important than ever as wired and wireless technology becomes more prominent.
THE RISE OF THE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CLINIC
The rise of healthcare “Super Clinics” has seen more and more practices move towards an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to patient care. This could mean a dental surgery, a physiotherapy office and a GP’s clinic all coexisting within one building.
To solve the challenges of collaborative care environments, healthcare clinics are increasingly being designed to suit the needs of several physicians. With multiple treatment options available, clinics won’t just have to be designed to efficiently house several practitioners and treatment types – they will need to be built with a logical connection between each discipline to more effectively combine these services, both for practitioners and for patients.
SOLVING THE CHALLENGES OF THE FUTURE WITH DENTEQUIP
With more than 40 years of designing and constructing healthcare environments, Dentequip can thoughtfully design a clinic that addresses the evolving needs of your industry. Combining striking architecture and intelligent, ergonomic design, our work reflects both our specialist healthcare knowledge and our understanding of a changing medical landscape.
To enquire about clinic design and equipment supply in Melbourne and Regional Victoria, contact us via the form on this page.
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