By Catherine Christian
Director of Property Development, Solidaritus Health
Of all the experiences we have as consumers, interactions with the healthcare industry likely rank near the bottom of the list in terms of being pleasant, productive and positive. Yet, going to the doctor doesn’t have to be such a dreadful endeavor.
I have spent the majority of my career crating consumer experiences for leading brands, such as Sephora, Jamba Juice and Peet’s Coffee to name a few. When I accepted a position in the primary care arena, I had a simple goal of bringing delightful and memorable experiences to healthcare settings.
Retailers have the customer experience down to a science. Why do we feel inspired and yet somehow not quite worthy when we walk into Restoration Hardware? Why do we feel like we could strut down the runway when we walk into Sephora? Why do we feel like we, too, could have an Insta-worthy home when we walk into Pottery Barn? These spaces have been carefully designed and curated to create these feelings in us. The colors and materials were not chosen by accident. The music playing in the background. Literally everything about the sensory experience was thoughtfully considered.
We are at our most vulnerable when we enter a healthcare space, so creating a sense of peace should be the top priority in healthcare design. Calming, approachable and serene. Just a few of the states for which we should strive. Our counterparts in Eastern medicine have long known that appealing to the five senses is one way of accomplishing this. As humans, we seek connection both with other people and with the natural world around us. If our goal is to provide an environment in which serenity and healing take place, we need to appeal to the five senses through a connection with nature.
The most straightforward way to do this is using the principles of biophilic design, a concept first attributed to psychologist Erich Fromm in the 1960s. It describes the human instinct to connect with nature and other forms of life. In a nutshell, biophilic design incorporates natural elements as much as possible, including plants, stone, wood, and framing the view of nature. In areas where there simply isn’t a view of nature to be had, even photographs of nature can have the same effect. Biophilic design tends to mimic the shapes found in nature and highlight the interplay between light and shadow.
Psychologists have found that simply adding a plant to a workspace increases well-being by 47%, creativity by 45%, and workplace productivity by 38%. Visual connection with nature through natural analogues such as wood surfaces can lower blood pressure and heart rate, improve mental engagement, and improve cognitive performance. This is linked to a lower incidence of heart disease, depression, and diabetes.
Again, it’s not just about designing a beautiful space, even though that alone would advance the typical healthcare setting. It’s about creating an environment where clinical staff and patients alike feel calm and engaged – a place where healing can begin. This requires that we turn the traditional healthcare experience on its head.
Imagine yourself as a patient for a moment. You have an appointment to see a primary care physician. You enter the health center to experience a living wall of plants, pleasant music, seating that is comfortable and inviting, a beverage station that serves up filtered water, coffee, tea, and healthy snacks. You are one of the only, if not THE only, patient waiting to be seen. And you don’t wait long before a warm and welcoming physician greets you and ushers you back to an exam room that feels more like a living room. There’s no typical sad, windowless cell waiting for you. Instead, you enter a large, airy space that can accommodate a whole family. There is a comfortable love seat in addition to the exam table. There’s an outlet next to the seating area where you can charge your phone. Your personal physician can project lab results and educational materials on a big screen TV so you can review your information together in a collaborative, face-to-face manner. Paint colors and art work in the exam room are soft shades found in nature. Plants are strategically placed. Lighting is not the usual blue-toned fluorescent, but rather warm-toned overhead lighting paired with layers of indirect and sconce lights.
How different, and better, is this fantasy world compared to your past doctor appointments? It should be quite obvious how superior this experience is to what most Americans encounter in today’s healthcare system. It should also be obvious how much more effectively we could engage and help patients in this utopia. This is the work I engage in on a daily basis. Bringing nature, convenience and safety to healthcare encounters. Incorporating best practices from retail giants to improve how we all consume care.
Want to learn more about deploying biophilic design to enhance the experience for healthcare consumers? We would love to share our approach.
