Issue 10 - August 2003

High-volume practice beckons semi-open office design
By Glen David

What type of chiropractic technique do you use? Technique is an important consideration as you decide on the design of your office. If you lay out your clinic to accommodate the technique, you will be able to optimize your space.

The 1,350 square foot office design featured in this article accommodates a chiropractor who uses a CBP technique and has a cash-based wellness practice. If properly designed, the semi-open design can easily facilitate 800 to 1,000 patient visits per week.

Here’s are the key elements to this type of design:

• CA command central. Make the front desk CA station the command center of the practice, with an unobstructed view of the entire facility. Position it so that it faces the adjusting area, not the parking lot.

• Separate sign-in and rescheduling stations. These are key to maintaining patient flow allowing a CA to process two patients simultaneously. Since there is a larger “sub waiting room” directly outside the adjusting area, the “reception room” shrinks in size and is reserved as a new-patient intake area.

• Cervical traction area. Cervical traction usually accompanies CBP technique, typically after the adjustment. Locate the cervical traction area within the outgoing path of the patient.

• Sub-waiting room. Make good use of the sub-waiting area: Turn it into a patient-education suite. Bathe patients in subtle patient-education material and information while they are waiting for treatment.

• Semi-open adjusting rooms. The semi-open adjusting environment actually has a higher volume-potential than a totally open adjusting area, thanks in part to the directed patient flow and the added escape route that this environment provides for the doctor.

Remember to limit table talk to general chiropractic education. HIPAA rules mandate privacy when you discuss an individual’s condition.

• DC office. If your initial consultations and reports of findings take place in a group setting, the room should be sized accordingly. Due to the infrequency of use of this room, the doctor often calls this room “home.”

• Exam rooms. A high volume of new patients is common to doctors who use a CBP technique in their practice. To accommodate the volume, plan for simultaneous exam and re-evaluation rooms.

• Hallway x-rays. If the volume of your practice does not allow for a separate x-ray room, shoot your x-rays from the hall. Just install a leaded speak through window and add a remote button to your x-ray machine.

• Administrative area. Locate the billing and collections staff in the back of the office, away from patient flow.

Having a facility designed and furnished in a manner that compliments your treatment techniques will streamline your ability to adjust more patients in less space, with lower overhead. The net result: more profitability and a great ability to serve your community.

Glen David, director of Davlen Associates LTD, designers of more than 1,200 chiropractic offices across the country, can be reached at 631-654-3511.