By Jeff Wardon, Jr., Assistant Editor

Key Takeaways: 

• Offering kiosk, app-based and in-person check-in options gives patients greater control over how they share personal information and interact with staff. 
• Repurposing vacant retail spaces allows healthcare organizations to expand access to care while potentially reducing construction costs and making use of existing utilities and infrastructure. 
• Updating existing clinics with natural light, refreshed interiors and familiar layouts can help create a more welcoming environment and make healthcare services feel more accessible. 

Healthcare facilities can borrow from retail design to create more welcoming, intuitive patient experiences without compromising privacy or clinical operations. From offering flexible check-in options to converting vacant storefronts into clinics, these strategies can help healthcare organizations improve accessibility while making use of existing infrastructure.  

Healthcare Facilities Today spoke with John Quinn, wellness studio principal with architectural firm Little, to discuss how retail design principles can inform healthcare renovations and patient-centered facility planning. 

HFT: Retail spaces are often designed around convenience and customer choice. How can healthcare organizations apply those ideas without compromising privacy, safety or clinical workflows? 

John Quinn: Privacy concerns are always a key thing we’re trying to consider with healthcare. There are a lot of opportunities to be designed with as far as customer choice, like when you check in — is it a kiosk or a self-service type of thing? Is it meeting with a person directly? Just giving people those options and those different pieces to use help them feel comfortable. 

Maybe if the patient doesn’t feel comfortable talking to someone about why they’re there, they could enter it into a kiosk or app. Then the staff knows to call their name back without them having to talk to multiple people, if that’s a concern bothering them. They just want to indicate that they want to meet and speak with their doctor only. 

HFT Recommends: How Retail Design Principles Can Improve Healthcare Wayfinding

Using those different kinds of customer touchpoints, similar to what a lot of retail places have, is helping bridge that gap in the healthcare world where people may not feel comfortable with check-in and sharing their information. 

HFT: What should healthcare facilities leaders prioritize when updating an existing facility — not building from scratch — to make the patient journey more intuitive and welcoming? 

John Quinn: Right now, a lot of our clients have different clinic setups, whether it's Concentra, Humana, senior-focused primary care or physical therapy. They're looking at reusing existing retail spaces that have become vacant due to downturns in the retail sector.  

That's creating an opportunity for healthcare to become more prevalent and visible while saving the cost of building a new structure from the ground up. They're also saving on the utilities and infrastructure already in place. 

There's also a familiarity factor. People may have already visited these shopping centers for other services, so the healthcare facility becomes a more intuitive place for them to access. 

Inside, it's really about refreshing and updating the space. A lot of retail storefronts already have plenty of windows and natural light, which can make the environment feel warmer and more inviting. Patients can see inside and realize they're not just walking into a big corporate office or traditional medical office building like they might have in the past. 

Jeff Wardon, Jr., is the assistant editor for the facilities market. With more than three years of experience, he covers topics including technology, wellness, sustainability and emerging industry trends. Connect with him on LinkedIn.