Patient privacy

Carina Shaw explains the importance of looking past open space.

A key element of practice design is respect for patients’ privacy, yet this often takes a back seat in favour of creating a pleasant, open-plan space. However, it can be awkward to be an onlooker, respectfully trying to bury your head in a magazine and pretending not to hear conversations between staff and patients, some of which can be very personal and at times uncomfortable for the patients.

Conversations about treatment plans, details of costs incurred, monthly fees and outstanding bills are, of course, necessary to the running of a dental practice, but facilitating an area of privacy can make all the difference to the way your patients feel and the extent to which they will discuss their options openly.

Greater expectations

Whether you are an NHS, mixed or fully private practice, patients generally have higher expectations nowadays of the conditions in the practice, the quality of service you provide and the time you are able to offer them. If they’re unhappy with the service they receive, or the environment in which they receive it, they’re more likely to take their business elsewhere. What’s more, they may also tell others of their concerns, which of course is bad news for your practice’s reputation.