Office based surgery suites for gastrointestinal (GI) clinics are ideal solutions for patients requiring minor surgical procedures. However, your clinic design impacts the level of care and efficiency your team offers. Here we look at how design-build factors can improve your GI patient flow.
What is a design-build model?
A design-build model integrates design, architecture, and construction to minimize risk, efficiently manage timelines, and maximize space to increase your return on investment.
Efficient Use of Space
Efficient use of space is a major factor in the design-build process ensuring a balance in operating rooms, office space and general areas such as waiting rooms and corridors. With proper planning, you can improve how traffic and work flows in the clinic to optimize patient care and revenue generation.
For example, if you have a two-story facility, how can that space be divided to improve flow and efficiency? Other questions critical to the design-build process might include:
- What are the different areas of the clinic?
- Do you require infusion bays? If so, how many nurses service those bays to determine the size of the nurse’s station?
- Do you require equipped lab draw and pathology lab rooms? How can these areas be integrated into the floor plan to create a seamless process?
- What is the average number of patients undergoing treatment each day and what procedure types see the highest demand?
- How many procedure types do you offer?
- Do you require separate patient check-ins for each floor?
- Is the highest demand expected for the main gastroenterology office and endoscopy center?
- What other spaces are required, i.e., a dietician consultation room, a behavior health consultation room, etc.?
- How many pre/post-operative operatory bays are required?
These questions help inform thoughtful design and layout to improve efficient patient flow and high-quality care.
Suitable Electrical Systems
Your clinic requires a suitable electrical system to support the necessary medical and office equipment to safely perform minor surgeries and operate a compliant practice. As a result, an important factor in the design-build process is the current electrical system and/or how to manage the necessary load density and electrical distribution components required.
Design-build teams ensure you comply with code based on your clinic’s categorization in your electrical system design. For example, not only do you need to understand the requirements for an alternate power source in case of blackouts, but how long that supply must last.
Other considerations include:
- Requirements for wet procedure locations to protect against electrical shock such as ground fault panels or circuit interrupters
- Understanding what is best suited for emergency power such as a portable battery pack or a wall-mounted unit included on the circuit of outlets
- Positioning of emergency lighting
Cohesion in Design and Function
A benefit of the design-build process for specialty clinics is ensuring each area is purposefully designed to create a sense of aesthetic cohesion that is also functional. Cohesion creates a more calming environment across all design elements, with careful consideration for the suitability of materials and features needed at each leg of the typical patient journey.
Planning Efficiency Between Office and Surgical Staff
Design-build models consider your clinic holistically to find opportunities to improve flow. As a result, the process must include feedback and input from your team.
Identifying opportunities in the early stages ensures the layout and design plan includes solutions to overcome patient flow deficiencies. Design decisions are based on day-to-day interactions between staff, patients, and surgeons.
Some considerations include:
- What is the logical positioning of prep areas and storage areas to help improve efficiency?
- Where should sterilization stations be placed to reduce staff steps?
- Can two-way access be used to reduce roadblocks and steps?
- Can multi-purpose stations and rooms help optimize space to increase patient volume?
- Is a single check-in best, or should certain patients head directly to a specific check-in area?
These factors demonstrate how the design-build model effectively creates purpose-built spaces that elevate both patient and staff experiences. Through end-to-end collaboration the design-build team overcomes common roadblocks to facilitate growth that increases revenue.
Bring your vision to life with Apex.
Apex Design Build creates expandable, adaptable designs for longevity and ongoing cost-effectiveness for your gastrointestinal projects. Reach out to Apex to discuss your GI clinic design to learn how our proven methodology can ensure your patients receive next-level care.