How Interior Design Affects your Patients’ Health
Did you know that the look and feel of your clinic set the tone of how you work and treat your customers?
You spend the majority of your day in your workplace, and its interior design impacts your productivity. Research says that healthcare workers like nurses and caregivers are more likely to make mistakes when working at a poorly designed medical facility, putting the patients’ safety in danger. On the flip side, a published paper in 2000 says that evidence-based environmental design of healthcare facilities enhances medical outcomes. As an example, a creative dental clinic design may reduce a patient’s anxiety related to the dental appointment.
In recent years, the future of medical facility interior designing has changed. The number of office theming companies is quickly increasing. Patients are now becoming selective about where to go for healthcare services. As a result, you can see lavish designs and world-class technology when visiting the doctor’s office. Moreover, you can see a custom-made reception desk in reception areas of healthcare facilities since it is the first place where patients have a face-to-face interaction with medical personnel.
It might be a waste of money for many because their main focus should be patient care, but unknown to them, you will find important impacts on the general patients’ experience and caregivers’ productivity and efficiency.
Benefits of a Well-Designed Healthcare Facility
Reduce Anxiety
Being in the hospital is already stressful. That is why the interior design shouldn’t add more stress to patients, family members, physicians, and nurses. Instead, it should function to lift their mood by creating an energetic environment.
An area with natural lighting may have positive effects on the psychological and physical health of patients inside. Imagine waking up in a dark room following your surgery. Research indicates that visual art may enhance the psychological health of patients undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, and other serious procedures. In a pediatric clinic, you can add kids wall mural to divert their attention. Studies also show that women in labor can forget their pain when a masterpiece grabs their attention.
Prevent Infection
Interior design is not all about murals, ceiling design, decorations, and arrangement of furniture but also improving the inside of a building to achieve a healthier environment for individuals using the space. In a healthcare setting, patients who are switching to personal treatment and private rooms can avoid infection. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that single-patient hospital rooms most likely prevent multidrug-resistant organism transmission and health care related-infections.
Previously, being in a single patient private room was a luxury. Now, it is recognized as a new standard of care due to its crucial role in patient safety, thus reducing the length of hospital days.
Total Restful Experience
A noisy environment may impact the quality of care that a patient receives. In fact, it’s stressful in general, not just for sick people but also the healthy ones. In the health care setting, it is more significant. This may be reduced by designing rooms with identical designs and extra space between adjoining walls.
Additionally, acoustically absorbent ceiling tiles and floors can minimize noise, and carpets are known to be the best flooring to conceal sounds. However, because it’s hard to wash thoroughly and fast, they are not ideal for patient rooms. Instead, they are appropriate to lobbies and halls.
