Maximizing the Patient Care Experience

On-site retail can support better patient care outcomes.

by Buck Wince, AIA, LEED AP

What is “healthcare” but facilitating the healing of people from the various ills and accidents that happen during a lifetime?  Healthcare facilities touch the lives not only of patients, but their loved ones who are involved in the healing process.

As we noted in our previous blog post “Healthcare Goes Retail,” Fred Lee, in his revolutionary book, If Disney Ran your Hospital proposes that it is the hospital’s job to maximize the patient care experience and minimize anxiety, just as the world’s successful retailers maximize the customer experience.  Lee identifies a major opportunity for hospital management to cultivate patient and their family’s loyalty as a way of bringing them back and spreading the word of quality treatment. The “Gift Shop” is evolving.

The Retail Experience

Beginning in the 1990′s retailers, inspired by stores like Bloomingdale’s, Banana Republic, and the Disney Store, endeavored to use theatrical elements to attract customers, excite them while they were in the store, and ensure that they returned frequently.

Today experiential retail has reached a pinnacle, and is ready to translate into healthcare retail outlets in creative and profitable new ways:

• Technology as Merchandising- In Miele’s latest store in the Netherlands customers are asked to register basic information and in return are given an iPod Touch that leads them on a tailored guided-tour through the store.
• New Cross-Merchandising Platforms-  J. Crew presents complementary lifestyle products next to its fashion merchandise.
• Community Building- Lance Armstrong’s Austin-based bike shop is designed to be a hub for the cycling life, featuring a coffee shop, showers, and bike storage to encourage daily commuting.
• Interaction & Discovery- Stew Leonard’s supermarkets in New England provide animatronic farm animals kids can play with, flat screens showing their own dairy cows, and generous sampling stations.
• A Complete Brand Experience- Apple has crafted their retail environments to deliver a holistic brand experience, a deeper connection with customers through hands-on experiences and one- to-one interactions with knowledgeable staff members.

Creating patient experiences in healthcare

Lee found that patients do not judge their hospital experience by how well their disease is treated but by how they are treated as people.  He recommends that hospital managers must foster a culture of compassion and courtesy that goes beyond the typical patient care experience.  Offering shopping alternatives that will entertain and cheer up patients as they are recovering is one way to achieve this.

There are a few “best in class” examples of retailers locating in hospitals and on healthcare facility campuses. Recently, retailer Build-A-Bear Workshop partnered with Cook Children’s Medical Center (Fort Worth, Texas) to open its first store located inside a hospital. Maxine Clark, founder and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop says, “When kids are sick or injured, making a new furry friend is a great way to take their mind off of their treatment and a teddy bear hug can help them feel so much better.”

Davis Wince sees an opportunity to develop retail concepts tailored to healthcare facility environments, inspired by the retail industry itself and helping to improve patient care outcomes.  Health-focused outlets such as Complete Nutrition, Bookstores, consumer electronic kiosks, toy stores, restaurants, even fashion retailers are all possible concepts that could be adapted to the healthcare facility environment and make being a patient less stressful, contributing to better patient care outcomes.

It is a “captive audience”, similar to airport-bound travelers, and a market segment with similar entertainment and utilitarian consumer needs. However, the right location within the healthcare facility, careful strategic design, and customer appeal are all critical factors to consider. It is still a healthcare facility after all, and retailers must be cognizant of this fact when designing their branded store experience.

Davis Wince, Ltd. has the experience and creativity to handle the challenges of integrating retail into healthcare, having designed projects in both industries.  Contact Jennifer Bobbitt at jbobbitt@@daviswince.com to discuss project opportunities.

By JBobbitt on 4/4/11, In Architecture, Feature, Healthcare, Retail