2020 Building & Design Trends for Medical & Dental Practices You Need to Watch

The world is ever changing. Medical and dental offices are also changing as care and patient needs are evolving. Medical and dental offices and hospitals are making changes to their practices in order to provide a comforting, welcoming, and safe environment for all of their patients and their patients’ visitors.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitals were beginning to focus on treating only the chronically ill or patients who needed immediate, intensive medical treatments. Outpatient facilities are becoming more and more popular and necessary to treat specific illnesses – such as having specific facilities for cancer treatments, cardiac care, physical therapy, etc. With the number of people going to the emergency room on the decline and people hesitating to seek care in person, those who do need in-person appointments are likely to be on edge about their experience at a medical or dental office. Incorporating designs that will help put your patients at ease will be of the utmost importance in 2020. Only a trusted professional contractor, such as Real Services, will be able to help you specialize your office space to give your patients ease and comfort. See the ways practices will be changing in 2020 and beyond.

Telemedicine and Technology

With the rise of telemedicine, more and more people are opting to be treated virtually by doctors via video chat. This is a great way to see patients with non-life-threatening illnesses and conditions or a great way to prescreen patients to determine if they need to be seen in person. Doctors and dentists will need a space in the office to conduct video chats with proper lighting, privacy and a professional looking background behind the doctor or dentist when they’re on their video call. Implementing the proper technology and up to date devices such as laptops, screens, or iPads with the proper software is important as well. This type of space will soon become a staple of every medical and dental office.

Also, with the rise of technology, there is no longer a need to keep paper records or have extensive storage space for patients’ records. With less need for storage and more patients being treated virtually, the waiting room can be expanded to allow more space between individuals waiting to be seen in person, enabling the maintenance of proper social distancing. Staff break rooms can also be expanded to allow for the staff to recharge and refresh during downtime. By increasing the amount of space and layout of your office, you will put both staff and patients at ease.

Waiting Rooms

Gone are the days of sterile, aesthetically unpleasing, cold waiting rooms. Medical and dental practices and hospitals are making upgrades to their waiting rooms to be inviting, comfortable, technology friendly, and versatile. This makes complete sense because a considerable amount of time is spent in waiting rooms. Most practices are adding comfortable seating to make the space more appealing. Having electrical outlets readily available throughout the waiting room can make it more technologically friendly, especially for guests or companions of patients who are spending time in the waiting room while their loved ones are seen. Having the furniture on wheels makes the space versatile and it can allow practices to easily transform the space to suit patients’ needs.

Bringing a Touch of Home

Many offices are opting to go with resimercial designs in their offices. Using advances in technology, manufacturers can now make all different types of furniture and fabrics anti-bacterial and easy to clean. Because of this, medical and dental offices alike are opting to get medical grade furniture that’s more comfortable for their patients and that resembles furniture you find in at home. Bringing this “homey” touch makes patients more at ease when in the office and more likely to choose your office for their medical and dental needs.

Wayfinding, Culture, and Artwork

Medical and dental offices are now using warmer colors to make them more relaxing – almost mimicking designs of spas that are meant to de-stress clients. Besides the colors that you use, there are many other design elements that you can implement. Part of the stress of going to an unfamiliar office or hospital happens when a patient is confused on where to go.

Wayfinding is a type of design that discreetly guides patients where they need to go with clear signage and indicators. By using wayfinding, patients will be able to easily find where they need to be quickly.

Choosing a theme that is aesthetically pleasing and inviting is important as well. Incorporating cultural pieces and artwork adds a personal touch to an office and can help serve as landmarks to patients searching corridors to find their doctor’s office or where they’re supposed to be in a hospital. It can also serve as something for patients and visitors to focus on during their visit.

Although times are changing and are being heavily shaped by current events, there are always new ways to change your medical or dental office spaces to meet your patients’ needs during changing and challenging times. Contact a trusted professional contractor who not only knows the ins and outs of medical and dental office designs, but who is up to date with the latest trends such as Real Services.