Majority of the people step into a hospital with an anxious mind and it is aggravated by the waiting time ranging from 10 min to 10 hours or more. Though most of the healthcare centres provide newspapers, magazines and television in their waiting rooms, the stress levels of the patients still remain elevated.
We can boost hospitality by improving the wait time experience for the patients in various ways such as:
A) Digital Assist: Providing patients with real- time updates of their estimated waiting time so that they can walk around or do something else stress- free.
B) Room design: Paint the room and furniture with soft colors giving them a sense of calm. Also, include cluster seating, making it easier to interact with family members.
C) Dedicated Staff: A trained staff can update the reason for unexpected delay and check upon patients about any concerns.
These things might sound small but it elevates the overall hospital experience for the patients, reiterating the trust in the hospital.
Tell me about some of your hospital waiting room experiences.
I think it’s important that we implement these measures, and even more, basically anything that makes the environment feel safer and less threatening should be prioritised.
Definitely. Especially for children, when they vsist a pediatric dentist, the environment is perpetually made children friendly. This is with the intention to calm them down, evoke some sense of familiarity so that the patient cooperates in the best possible way. Distraction technique, is absolutely, a great measure to avoid feeling pain, especially in children.
Great ideas! strengthening them with strong administration and operational planning could make the impact even more sustainable. In many Indian settings, administrative systems are often overlooked. Improvements in scheduling, patient flow, and communication can significantly enhance patient experience.
A very interesting and well written topic. I really believe tha it’s a lot of waste of time and energy to be stressed out over an appointment that is hours away. That time could be used on other productive things.