How Your Environment Affects Patients' Perceptions Reception area cues by Susan Keane Baker
The environment of your
reception area creates clues for people
about what they should realistically expect
from the care and service in your organization.
Too elaborate a setting, relative to your
service area, may convey that care will
be expensive. An over-crowded room of grouchy-looking
people signals a long wait and a rushed
clinician.
Some organizations take advantage of the
reception experience by providing relevant
health information; by staffing the area
with a gracious person who it truly interested
in helping patients feel comfortable; and
by using scheduling protocols that keep
waits to 15 minutes or less.
Here are some additional techniques:
Provide the names of caregivers, with their
titles and functions, and perhaps their
photos too. It's easier for people to approach
a staff member when they can recall the
person's name. It also sends a message that
every person on staff is a respected member
of the team.
Have a selection of reading materials that
reflects the interests of your patients.
Avoid creaating a perception that it's "all
about me" by having magazines that reflect
your - rather than your patient's - interests.
Listen when people talk about their impressions
and experiences. One woman mentioned to
a pediatrician that she was upset when her
well children were exposed to sick children
in the reception area. He agreed, and turned
a supply room into a sick-child area, where
waiting children are seen faster. Being
seen faster is the incentive for parents
of sick children to take them to that area,
rather than keeping them in the well-child
space.
The best feature of any reception area is
an immediate acknowledgement of people as
they arrive. A warm welcome creates a positive
expectation about the care and service that
will follow and builds trust and rapport.
Saavy clinicians make it an essential part
of their service.
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