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| The following is a reprint of an article
that was featured in "Dental Economics"
July 2002 issue- entitled, "Ten Essential
Elements of a Productive Treatment Room" Part
2 by Dr. David J. Ahearn. All rights reserved. |
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Ten
Essential Elements of a Productive Treatment Room - Part
2
Eliminate the
nagging feeling that the operatory is cluttered.
...Continued from
Part 1
In the June issue, we discussed the first five essential
elements of a productive treatment room - cost, ease of
use, fingertip access for all supplies, universal access,
and staff friendly design. In this article on treatment
room function, we'll go into detail on the five additional
elements:
• Create a compact operatory
• Plan for the future
• Allow free access
• Easy re-equipping
• Don't scare the patient
6. CREATE A COMPACT OPERATORY-
There are many functional possibilities for a successful
design of an operatory. Before creating a physical layout,
your first objective is to be able to recognize the difference
between clear and concise and chaos and clutter. Bigger
is not better. A treatment room overstuffed with low-use
equipment is not the goal. Consider how you will use all
three room dimensions as you decide upon the overall layout.
A compact plan is not only more efficient, it is also
more easily worked into your office space, possibly even
allowing for additional treatment rooms. (Figures 1A,
1B).
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Figures 1A, 1B. Two examples
of compact, yet highly functional layouts.
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7. PLAN FOR THE FUTURE-
New technologies are a fact of life. They represent great
opportunities. Yet, technology often is poorly utilized
because the overall office system actually gets in the
way of the new capability. Your operatory must make the
deployment of new technology effortless. You must have
clear egress for mobile units. Cable clutter cannot be
tolerated, and bulky equipment should be avoided. You
can't always know what your future will include, but you
can leave room for it.
8. ALLOW FREE ACCESS-
Balancing the need for privacy and access is never easy.
A contemporary design must simultaneously respect the
patient's unequivocal desire for privacy while allowing
the workers convenient access in and out of the treatment
environment. Some offices are more willing than others
to err on one side or the other of this equation. Some
offices use cabinets as room dividers, which are acoustically
and even visually porous. This method of division takes
up needed space and costs more - don't do it. Offices
at the other extreme create treatment rooms with a single
entrance door. These alternatives have merit in selected
situations - a surgical suite, for example. A private
operatory with dual access, though, allows freer range
for both doctor and assistant. One type of treatment room
often should be different (Figure 2). Contrary to popular
wisdom, we will recommend that a general practice apportion
25 to 35 percent of their operatory space to dedicated,
single-door hygiene rooms. This design can often be tightly
integrated with the doctor rooms. (Figure 2).
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Figure 2. A doctor treatment
room is adjacent to a hygiene treatment room.
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9. EASY RE-EQUIPPING-
Now that you have designed a productive, ergonomically
sound, easy to use, and compact treatment room, don't
forget the necessity to disinfect and reset rapidly. Avoid
busy equipment with brackets and edges that are difficult
to clean. Also avoid plans that make use of extensive
cabinetry. Every item of equipment and cabinetry that
you purchase is a potential source of contamination that
must be permanently maintained. Given this fact, the cost
of the equipment that you may have or will purchase for
this room pales in comparison to the cost of its care
and cleaning (Figures 3A, 3B). Consider this carefully.
If you discover that cabinetry is difficult to maintain
and is not essential to production, do not hesitate to
rid your office of it.
Figures 3A, 3B. This
area (top, left) is cluttered, is not functional,
and features hard-to-clean side cabinetry, as opposed
to easily disinfected surfaces (top, right).
Figures 4A, 4B. Handpieces are thrust into the face
of the patient in the illustration (bottom left),
while the patient waits in a compact yet uncluttered
environment (bottom right).
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10. DON'T SCARE THE PATIENT-
Last, but certainly not least, please remember your patient.
With so many ways to outfit an operatory, why choose a
layout that places drills and pointy explorers in the
patient's face? Since the actual use of handpieces occurs
during only 7 to 10 percent of a patient's visit, you
might consider this in the overall plan. What are your
overall practice objectives? Referrals? Patients that
choose elective treatment and volunteer for additional
services? Relaxed patients? If those are primary objectives,
then you must seriously consider slight modifications
in your handpiece placement. If your office is a fee-for-service,
independent practice, it is a small concession to make
in order to realize your objectives (Figures 4A, 4B).
In summary, the operatory is our place of refuge, the
soul of the dental practice, and the engine of its productivity.
Careful planning will allow you to exceed your expectations
for the practice's quality and productivity while enhancing
the practitioners' health and well-being. The plans do
not need to be large or expensive in order to reward you
with great success.
D/E
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