To get a sports medicine clinic up and running in Dubai, first the facility was designed so space is fully optimised, making the patient flow and journey as pleasant as possible, according to Dr Anna Zickerman in her blog for the Hospital Build & Infrastructure website.
Zickerman selected a location and remodeled it to the clinic’s requirements in order to be accessible, functional, safe, and secure.
"It was important that the (clinic) experience is welcoming and comforting, so we looked at the flow of traffic and used signage and other visual elements to enhance the patient experience. You might be tempted to overlook this element in a small space, but ask yourself; 'How many times have you seen photocopied signage stuck to doors, or a row of seating that places patients staring directly back at each other?' What sort of impression did this leave you with?" she wrote.
The design solutions were pleasing to the eye, but they also played a functional role, she said. There was also an emotional element: How did the design of the clinic environment make the patient feel?