RETHINKING OPTOMETRIST
OFFICE DESIGN
By Troy Patterson
Jack DiBerardino has upended the traditional optometrist office
format to take the 'waiting' out of ‘waiting room.’
The veteran Orangeville, Ont., optometrist has seen positive
feedback in the year since he implemented a series of drastic
changes to his practice, which DiBerardino said are designed to
improve both customer experience and staff working conditions.
The renovations combined his knowledge and 'best practice'
from 30 years in the field of optometry, with advice from designers,
architects, patients frustrated with healthcare professionals, as
well as ideas from practice management articles and journals.
The years of discussion allowed DiBerardino to put together a list
of changes to achieve his goals for a higher level of customer service.
"The common thread of the frustrations dealt with the concept of
waiting," he said.
For example, a patient gets to an office on time and may have to
wait to check in. This creates an uncomfortable and sometimes
stressful problem with line queues, staff not knowing who patients
are, time filling out forms and more ‘waiting.’ DiBerardino said
patients may not even know what's really going on during the visit,
before being given a prescription and leaving.
“All of this, over the years, I started to say we have to change this,”
he said.
Working with his friend and colleague, Brad Stronach, a retail
consultant with 30 years in the optical field, the two compiled
many ideas about the future of the optical patient experience.
As an example of the changes, DiBerardino's eight-doctor optometry
practice has eliminated the 'front desk' in favour of a 'Greeting/
Welcoming' station that allows staff to deal with the patient directly,
rather than juggling administration tasks at the same time.
“So basically it broke down all of the barriers that I think a health
care practice has,” he said.
6 EYE FOCUS | December Digital 2016