Medical Practice Management · July/August 2003

26

Figure 8. General zoning concept.

desirable. They also take up the "slack" in the differing

production rates of the different parts of the office. For in-

stance, the exam module will discharge patients at its own

rate, without regard to whether the lab or x-ray can ac-

cept the referral in a timely manner. Sub-waiting bridges

the gap (Fig. 7).

If patients are coming to the facility for a diagnos-

Figure 9. Sample reception area/business office.

tic test, and will not see a doctor, the location of the di-

agnostic area with in the facility needs to be carefully

receive patients while maintaining the connection be-

considered. You do not want those patients walking through

tween the check-in desk and the rest of the office.

the exam modules to get to diagnostics. There needs to be

However, you must keep in mind the needs for privacy

a separate path for those patients.

and confidentiality.

Business Office

·

Check out should be performed outside of the wait-

ing room; this is not only a privacy concern but also

In your practice, there will be staff that will have di-

an issue of controlling the patient flow and being sure

rect patient contact and those that will never or rarely need

that each patient checks out before they leave your fa-

to meet with patients face-to-face. A general zoning con-

cility. The desk shown in Figure 9 shows the check-out

cept of the business office is illustrated in Figure 8.

desk on the clinical side of the practice, yet close to the

The "public" areas are those with direct interaction

receptionist. In this case, the patient has to go by the

with patients, like check-in. The "semi-public" areas, like

check-out desk to get back to the waiting room.

real-time registration and check-out, are easily accessed

·

Pay close attention to sightlines to keep the waiting

by patients but need acoustical privacy. "Semi-private" ar-

patient from seeing back into the clinical area.

eas need access to the patient track but are more private

·

Privacy concerns need to be addressed at check-in,

for patient counseling. This might include someone like

check-out, and for staff in that area on the phone to

the office manager. The "private" spaces are those that

patients.

never (or almost never) have face-to-face contact with pa-

·

Sound attenuation is important in the business office as

tients in the office. These would include bookkeepers and

well. Noise and telephone conversations can be a large

transcriptionists. A careful consideration of the job de-

scriptions of your business staff will need to be under-

distraction and impediment to productive work.

taken (and sometimes adjusted) to determine the best

location for your staff. In smaller practices, consideration

CONCLUSION

should be given to keeping the business staff contiguous,

You now have defined your project, conformed to lo-

something that is problematic in large practices.

Some key considerations in the design of the busi-

cal regulations, designed your space, and negotiated for con-

ness office are:

struction. You still need to arrange for financing your

· Make reception an inviting space; try to avoid sliding

project and the actual bidding-construction process.

frosted glass windows. In fact, having the reception

In the next issue, the final article in this series will pro-

vide some guidelines in this phase of the building process. ■

desk stick into the waiting room is an inviting way to

Journal of Medical Practice Management

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