Design

The ongoing evolution of healthcare spaces continues to grow. The challenge now is how to design intelligent, functional, empathetic and sustainable patient-centric facilities.

In theory this sounds achievable, but in practice, with fast changing technology, increase in patient needs/desires, and constraint in budgets, to achieve the end game, you might need to consider healthcare design specialists during the design phase.

Let’s look at some emerging trends.

Technology Advancements

It’s a no-brainer to assume that technology will continue to drive change in the Healthcare arena.  New age phrases like ‘touchless healthcare design’ and ‘sustainable clinic design’ are being thrown around. Ideas like these will only be relevant with technology advancement.

These ideas leverage advancements like AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Big Data to create ideas for new medical clinic designs.

Technology driven clinic fitouts will be the norm in 2025. The design will centre around how to improve patient flow, work processes, patient turnaround time and staff and patient satisfaction.  The technology advancement will play right into the hands of healthcare design specialists. These specialist companies will have a head start in understanding the end game through their unique understanding of the medical industry. Healthcare interior design firms will have the know-how to lay the foundations to future proof the design of your medical environment.

How can Nature contribute?

Another new age term being bounced around is Biophilic Design. This is where nature takes center stage. Weaving nature, serenity and design to achieve an environment where the healing benefits of nature are appreciated. New medical clinic designs should prioritise natural light, greenery and soothing sounds to enhance the healing benefits of nature. New medical practice design ideas must incorporate such ideas to future proof their practice.

These ideas are already being rolled out in medial environments with hanging gardens, abundant potted plants and indoor water features. This sustainable clinic design is key to a calmer more patient-centered environment.

Other ideas for new medical practice design ideas should encompass and support the restorative abilities of biophilic design to promote healing in the design phase.

Multifunctional Spaces.

Adaptability. The idea behind future proofing medical spaces to be flexible and reactive. This idea encompasses an approach where medical spaces should be tailored to meet patient needs rather than the other way around. Today, healthcare design ideas are able to create a mixed-use facility to accommodate a potential shift in medical treatments as a reaction to current demand. These days offering a wide range of associated medical affiliations on different days might be a good idea. For example, a space could be utilized as a psychology space on Mondays and Tuesday and then convert to a Podiatry space on Wednesday and Thursday. These sustainable clinic ideas will be a key design idea for many new build practices.

Healthcare for all

One big idea in future medical treatment is to bring healthcare to the community. This might be through touchless healthcare design like telehealth or zoom based healthcare services. Other ideas are ‘pop up’ healthcare providers in more rural areas that might be available on a monthly basis. It might also be in the form of education where specialists train ill patients how to collect their own vital information on behalf of the healthcare provider. There are so many medical practice design ideas that can be incorporated to future proof your practice to enable access to healthcare for all.

As we head towards the middle of 2025, we can feel the pressure to design and construct the ultimate healthcare environment for all stakeholders. One that combines patient-centric ideas with sustainable presence and a decent return on investment. Please ensure you partner with a reputable healthcare design specialist to ensure you are not designing an outdated medical practice.

 

As an owner, investor or even a practitioner – your practice is the face you show your clients.  An outdated practice can allude to an uncaring façade which can drive patients away or at the very least show an uncaring attitude.

 

The balance to invest capital into a dental practice renovation using modern dental clinic designs vs the act of doing nothing can impact your bottom line.  The old saying “if you do the same thing you get the same result” is a good simile.  If your practice is losing patients and you do nothing, then your practice will continue to lose patients. 

 

After this occurs, the chase to get them back or to attract new patients can be a costly and lengthy challenge.

 

What is your dental clinic communicating to patients?

 

If your equipment and tools of trade are older than 20yrs then their wear and tear will tell their own story.  Patients sitting in a waiting room on 1990s chairs, stained walls, shaggy stained carpet and interior design that screams ‘I’m old’ is giving your patients every reason to find a new dental practice with an updated dental clinic design.

 

Although dental chairs have not changed in design a great deal, an updated dental chair is the rooms hero – a necessary piece of furniture that must be in ‘as new condition’. Patients need to feel that the chair is clean and updated for them to feel they are in good hands. 

 

You might be an experienced dentist with years of treatment under your belt, but if your chair and tools of trade look tired your patients will immediately lose confidence. These are reasons enough for patients to look for a new modern dental clinic.  Once patients have made the choice to seek an alternative dental practice the act of wooing them back is a difficult one.

 

What do your dental methods communicate to your patients?

The 2020s sees Australian’s being very health conscious. Dental health is considered important to patients.  Further, patients no longer accept waiting in long lines or waiting for extended times in the waiting room and patients expect to see a dentist at the time of their booking. Therefore, for your practice to reflect up to date methodologies is important to show your patients that your dental practice is forward thinking and proactive.  Introducing things like sms appointment reminders the day prior is now highly effective. Old practices like Reception staff pulling patient cards no longer looks clever – this is outdated and archaic.  Patients now expect digital x-rays over radiographs due to health benefits. Patients are more informed than ever before. Don’t let your outdated methods let patients walk out the door.  

 

For many people today, the world around us is important.  As the worlds resources are limited people now see waste as hugely unethical.  If your staff are still using outdated methods for communication and filing, you might be sending a message that is counter conductive to many values that new age patients now hold.  

 

Showing that your office methodologies are up to date is an easy way to retain patients.

 

What your style is communicating?

Consider sitting in a dental practice that was a converted house back in the 1990s.  Laminate brown chairs, dirty carpet, the receptionist sitting at the converted kitchen bench, small windows, the old gas heater still working – it’s a pretty bleak image.  An image most people won’t miss.  A dental practice like this is screaming for a dental practice renovation to bring it back alive.  For it’s heart to keep beating. 

 

Further, in order for dentist to work at their best they require a peaceful ambiance of neutral colours and a clean crisp environment.  Support staff require well laid out areas that enable them to perform at their best.  Patients require clean up-to-date areas that elude a calm and peaceful environment.  All stakeholders require a dental interior design that is modern and sophisticated. 

 

To retain patient numbers and attract new patients your dental practice façade and practice interior design must be modern and up to date.

 

Things to consider:

To ensure your dental practice is up to scratch, at the time of thinking about a dental practice renovation, we would suggest you consider partnering with dental fit-out companies.  Specialist dental fit-out companies will ensure a modern dental clinic with clever dental interior design that will show your patients that your care and respect their health.

 

When we conjure up an image of a hospital, a clinic or any specialised heathcare centre, the image that comes to mind is a bright white room with fluorescent lights and the smell of disinfectant.  Now, a quarter way through the 21^st Century this image is slowly evolving. Modern medical practice construction is shifting gears and focusing on efficient clinic layouts that focus on function but also patient experience.

The relationship between an efficient design and a Patient Centric Design?

Patient Centric Design is an approach that places the greatest weight to patient comfort during the design phase. 

Efficient Design is an approach that places greatest weight on moving patients to the next stage with ease and efficiency during the design phase.

How do these two competing ideas work together in the design phase?

In practice, we have found the differing needs of stakeholders can compete but can also compliment one another.  In effect, an efficient layout that moves patients seamlessly increases the patient turnover each day but it also works to enhance the patient experience with less time waiting around.

Benefits of Patient Centric Design

Designing an efficient clinic layout that focuses on patient centric layout there are things to consider for any healthcare fit out:

Comfort and Accessibility – Spaces are designed with patient mobility and comfort in mind. 

Dignity and privacy – Design a layout that provides privacy through soundproofed rooms to ensure patients feel secure and safe

Family – Designing places that incorporate families to feel included and close

Emotions – design spaces with appropriate lighting, ambience, temperature

Navigation – design spaces with suitable signage to take away uncertainty.

Outcome on Patients

Less anxious patients are more relaxed patients.  It improves their current mood and also contributes to improved recovery times.  Healthcare construction companies today, are aware of the benefits for the patient and design spaces that are patient centered.

Designing spaces that are patient centered does not actually increase the cost of a medical centre fit out. 

Increase in Patient Satisfaction

An overall positive experience is a satisfied patient. This benefits both the patient and the healthcare provider.

For example, if a dental practice renovation was completed with a patient centric design this might increase their patient numbers through word of mouth.

Practice Efficiency

A well laid out medical practice construction, healthcare fit out or even a dental practice renovation will not only benefit the patient but will also benefit the practice.

For example a dental fit out Melbourne that has a sensible design might reduce walking time for staff who move between rooms increasing efficiency and reducing burnout.   Another example -undertaking a dental practice renovation that designs an efficient treatment room enabling all tools of trade to be on hand will reduce patient treatment time.

Brand Image

We have all driven down the road and looked at run down houses that accommodate a medical practice and thought to ourselves that we would never be treated there. 

Knowing this the cost of a medical practice fit out would be a good investment for these run-down practices.  They would attract new patients due to the updated street appeal and word of mouth.

Healthcare providers that cater for an efficient patient centred design will certainly attract new patients.  A new dental fit out Melbourne will differentiate themselves from other run-down practices.  When patients enter a practice, their first impression will often dictate how the whole experience will go.  A positive first impression is critical for future referrals.

Long Term Benefits

The cost of a medical centre fitout might seem like a costly venture, but in the long run the financial benefits might be well worth the investment.

Investing in a well-designed healthcare fit out should increase patient satisfaction and increased operational efficiency will lead to repeat business that should result in long term financial success. 

In short – Before you invest in a medical practice construction with a healthcare construction company please ensure you consider the benefits of an efficient patient centred design. 

 

Healthcare delivery has changed enormously over the last 20 years.  In the past driving down the road we saw medical practices trading from converted homes.  These places would only be identifiable as a medical practice by the oversized signage standing upright in the garden. These days, we see custom built healthcare clinics that are designed to put the patient first. Medical Practice Construction companies and medical clinic builders who specialise in medical design and healthcare fitouts are the springboard behind superior healthcare delivery over the last 20 to 30 years.

 

Using a Healthcare design specialist company and medical fitout companies can be the key to a successful medical clinic.  So whether you require dental surgery design or medical clinic designs we would highly recommend that you consider using a specialised medical fitout company and medical clinic builders to avoid some common mistakes.

 

Here are a few common mistakes:

 

Not knowing the Industry

 

The construction and fitout of a medical clinic, whether this is a GP clinic, Veterinary Clinic, Dental clinic or an allied Health clinic are highly complicated and not suitable to regular builders.  From experience, we will often find that regular builders will fall foul of the stringent regulations resulting in additional costs and time delays.

 

Another trap often experienced is using a commercial architect to develop the medical clinic design. Common sense would suggest that a commercial architect would not fully understand all the intricate storage requirements of a dental surgery design or a gp clinic design.  Ensuring tools of trade close at hand or designing the layout to ensure staff safety requires specialist medical fitout companies to handle the design and layout of the project.

 

Thinking about a Commercial Architect

 

Further to not fully understanding the medical design and construction landscape mentioned above, sometimes the ‘commercial’ architect who although will arrive at an amazing design will often present designs and plans that might superseded the budget of the project.  In the long term, this can cause delays as the design drawings will require altering and re-work. 

 

Saying this, as medical design requires very unique skills, we would recommend investing in an architect who spcialises in dental/veterinary/medical design.  This would be a sensible business decision that at the very least would warrant a thought. 

 

Further, we would suggest you consider partnering with a medical builder with a design arm in other words a ‘design and construction company’ who know the industry, understand budgets and can provide both specialist design and specialist construction to budget and taste.

 

Forgetting to Future Proof

 

Living in the 21^st century we have seen technology develop beyond out imaginations.    And although we can not envisage how the future of healthcare delivery will look, we must be smart enough to design a space that can cater for the future – whatever that might look like.

 

Even a simple healthcare fitout should not just ‘build for now’.  The idea of investing a small fortune in capital improvements of a healthcare provider and only to find your practice is outdated in the next few years would be a poor business decision.  It is imperative medical clinic builders and medical fitout companies consider the future.

 

A few things to consider would be:

• How will the practice function if its at capacity?
• Can rooms be multifunctional?
• Can the carpark cater for growth?
• Does staff areas have capacity to seat more staff?

Is there room to add additional new equipment?

 

Poor Patient Design

 

The new buzz word to describe a well-designed medical practice is ‘patient centred design’.

 

Without this new age buzz word, patients will not feel empowered and their medical experience will be effected.  Poor patient design might leave the patient feeing frustrated that would most likely result in them not returning.

 

Healthcare design specialist and medical clinic designers will ensure that all their design projects are patient centred – the patient comes first.  The patient experience is paramount from the time they enter the practice to the time they leave. Patient privacy, pleasing aesthetics, well trained staff, up to date technology, and patient comfort are all areas that are considered in the designs developed by medical practice construction and healthcare fitout specialists.

 

Feet First and Uninformed

 

Do your research. Know your budget. Understand the healthcare fitout and medical practice construction process. 

 

We suggest you talk to your accountant and to your finance lender to understand your financial position to ensure you have the budget to build or fitout your medical practice.  Talk to associates that might have gone through the construction or fitout process previously.  Ask them about tips and tricks – what to celebrate and what to avoid.

 

Discuss your ideas with healthcare design specialists or medical clinic builders to ensure you go into the process with your eyes wide open.  Don’t get tripped up by not doing your homework.

The process of a medical practice renovation or a healthcare construction is a huge deal – not something to take lightly.  The above list are a few things to consider to limit the exposure to trip-ups.

 

So if you are considering a gp clinic design or a dental practice design ensure you speak with specialist medical clinic builders or healthcare design specialists to ensure your medical clinic designs are future proof and patient centred.