Clients spend the most time here, so let the design illustrate your level of care and competence.
Once upon a time, veterinary exam rooms were comfortable, uncluttered, and easy-to-clean areas where practitioners performed physical examinations on pets. This definition isn’t wrong, it’s just outdated. Today’s exam rooms need more features that reflect the high-quality care and customer service clients have come to expect. When it’s time to design or renovate your exam rooms, modernize them by ensuring they fit these criteria suggested by Dennis Cloud, DVM, owner of Cloud Veterinary Center in St. Louis, Mo.
1. Plentiful
Fit as many exam rooms into your clinic as possible. “Contemporary exam rooms are used for more than physical exams,” Dr. Cloud says. “They’re also used to educate clients, schedule follow-up appointments, and check out clients. We have two rooms per doctor now, and we frequently need another.”
2. Spacious
Make the rooms large enough to use the space efficiently. “It’s not unusual for me to have a mother, three kids, and two Labradors in one exam room,” Dr. Cloud says. “You need enough space to sit down with clients, talk to them, and put them at ease.”
3. Flexible
Equip at least one exam room with a mobile, lifting exam table. If a client arrives with a dog that’s been hit by a car, you can take the table out to the car and return directly to the exam room with the dog. In other rooms, folding wall tables save space and eliminate a barrier between you and clients. They can also create a more open feel in exam/grieving rooms.
4. Well-Organized
Adequate storage space is essential for a thoroughly equipped exam room, so plan ahead. And don’t forget client education materials. Dr. Cloud stores his inside the cabinets and displays them in wall racks.
5. Tech-Ready
Every exam room should have a computer keyboard and monitor, Dr. Cloud says. This allows staff members to check medical records, schedule follow-up appointments, and take payments. Often, clients feel more at ease when they can talk about money or credit in private. (With wireless capabilities, staff members can use laptop computers. Flat-panel, wall-mounted monitors save space.)
To educate clients more effectively, upgrade your clinic with digital technology (e.g., digital photography, radiography, ultrasonography, endoscopy, and electrocardiograms) so clients can see images and results on the exam room monitors.