By Elaina Myers, Assistant Editor

Key Takeaways: 

• Waiting begins before patients enter the building, so clear, dignified access — from appointment booking and arrival through check-in — can reduce uncertainty. Inside, intuitive circulation, visible destinations and clear queue areas help patients understand where to go. 
• A mix of individual, semi-private and communal seating lets patients choose how and with whom they wait. Privacy is especially important at check-in and during sensitive conversations, where semi-enclosed registration areas and private rooms can help. 
• Reduce anxiety with less paging noise, acoustic materials, layered lighting and access to daylight or nature in waiting rooms. The room should feel calm but not so silent that conversations become exposed; thoughtful sound and lighting choices can support comfort and privacy. 

Waiting rooms are often among the most heavily used spaces in a healthcare facility, yet they can be challenging to design and manage. They must accommodate fluctuating patient volumes and support staff operations while also accounting for privacy and flexibility.  

David Maister, renowned author and former Harvard Business School professor who wrote the seminal 1985 essay, "The Psychology of Waiting Lines,” and his research on the psychology of waiting provide an important foundation for considering these spaces. Perceived waiting time can matter as much as actual elapsed time, making the physical environment part of the waiting experience.  

One of the most important considerations is how easily patients can understand the space when they enter.  

"The 'first wait' occurs before a patient even reaches the building," says Rhonda Malone Wyskiel, RN, MSN, EDAC, principal at HCM. "It could be on a phone call waiting for an appointment, in an online queue or in the parking lot. Designing for dignity across the entire experience spans multiple stages and channels, starting from initial appointment access." 

Within the waiting room, circulation should be intuitive. Clear sightlines to check-in and other key destinations can reduce confusion. A setback line, or defined queue zone can communicate where patients should stand without relying entirely on signs.  

Rather than treating the waiting room as one large communal space, facilities can use different types of seating to give the room greater flexibility.  

HFT Recommends: Why Hospital Waiting Rooms Aren't Going Away

"Having the agency to choose how, where and who they wait with makes a big difference for a patient," Wyskiel says. 

That can mean incorporating individual seats, semi-private seating and small communal groupings. Different seating choices can also divide a large room into more functional zones. 

"Privacy is usually lost at check-in, triage and name-calling, not in the seating arrangement," Faulkner says. "Semi-enclosed registration pods and a small private room for sensitive conversations do the most work. In the seating area, aim for refuge without isolation: small clusters of seats with varied orientations and partial-height screens that block views at seated eye level while staying open above." 

Noise is another major design consideration.  

"Waits feel longer when we are anxious, and uncontrolled noise and glare raise anxiety," Wyskiel says. "Start by removing noise at the source: replace overhead paging with pagers, text alerts or staff walking to the patient and keep televisions off by default or confined to a captioned zone. Absorb what remains with acoustic ceilings, fabric wall panels and upholstered seating." 

The waiting room should be calm, but not silent. 

"A room that is too quiet makes every conversation audible, so a low background sound protects privacy while staff speak normally," Wyskiel says. "Separate the places where staff talk with patients from the places where patients wait and add hearing loops at counters for patients who are hard of hearing." 

Lighting also can substantially influence the character of a waiting room.  

"Reduce or replace glaring overhead light with layered, dimmable lighting and daylight or simulated daylight," Wyskiel says.  

Natural light can also be paired with outside views and other biophilic elements to add a sense of familiarity and calm to the space.  

"By approaching waiting rooms with an eye towards emotional well-being, we can reduce suffering before care begins and transform the "in-between" moments of healthcare into integral, healing parts of the patient journey," Wyskiel says.  

Elaina Myers is the assistant editor of the facilities market. She has covered various topics from pest management to resilience to sustainability and covers all holidays and special days in the facilities field. She also manages the FacilitiesNet social media accounts.