Q. Just wondering, I am buying a 1002 sq. ft office and wondering if I should have a separate CL fitting room or incorporate it into my dispensary??? I will have two exam rooms with a pre-test room.
A. When you put two exam rooms into a 1002 sq. ft. office it is definitely a challenge to find space for a C.L. Fitting/Training Area.
From the patient's point of view, learning how to insert and remove contacts can feel awkward and uncomfortable. Doing this in the dispensary in view of other patients would only add to their discomfort. Therefore, I do not recommend it.
Here are several better possibilities for the location of your C.L. Training Area:
1. A nook or widened space in a hallway, away from the dispensary
2. A small table in one of the exam rooms
You don't need a separate room for C.L. Training, but you do need a place that is semi-private and away from the front office (Reception/Waiting/Dispensary) area.
October 21, 2006
October 10, 2006
Color Scheme Struggle
From Ask The Expert:
Q. I am struggling with my selection of a color scheme and time is running out. I have purchased used mahogany frame boards and I like classic design features. Would a selection of earth tones be in my best interest? I am considering a sand neutral for the majority of the public areas and white for the exam rooms. I am also considering a brick red to compliment the sand on one wall in the dispensing area.
What do you think? I am also concerned because my contractor wants me to go ahead and paint before selecting counter tops and floor coverings and I think I should do it the opposite due to the fact that you can always match paint up to your other selections.
Your book has helped me immensely! Thanks! Chris
A. The professional way to create a color scheme is to start with the carpet. Choosing a multi-hued carpet with an overall pattern or texture is the easiest path to a good color scheme because the carpet designer has already chosen colors that look great togther. Once you have a carpet that you love, you can pick out colors from the carpet to match or blend your plastic laminates (Formica) , paint, wallcoverings and other floor coverings like tile or vinyl.
Selecting paint first and then trying to find a carpet later is a recipe for disaster. Your idea of a sand neutral and brick red accents with mahogany cabinets can work very nicely, but I strongly recommend that you find a carpet that has the sand and brick colors in it first. Then you can match up the paint to the colors in the carpet and it will all look good together.
White is a color that can be very tricky to work with. There is a wide range of shades of white with subtle differences that the untrained eye may not pick up from looking at a paint chip. There are warm whites, cool whites, creamy whites, greyed whites and more. With your sand and brick color scheme you will have to be careful to stay on the warm side of the spectrum with your sand tone. I'd recommend going with a cream or ivory shade of white.
The wrong shade of white could make your office look harsh and cold. You would benefit from getting some professional assistance in putting together your color scheme. Don't let the contractor bully you into putting paint colors on the walls before you have selected your carpet and other elements (plastic laminates, tile, vinyl, wall covering, etc.)
Paint colors are the LAST thing to select because you must be sure you get the exact shade that will blend with all your other choices.
Q. I am struggling with my selection of a color scheme and time is running out. I have purchased used mahogany frame boards and I like classic design features. Would a selection of earth tones be in my best interest? I am considering a sand neutral for the majority of the public areas and white for the exam rooms. I am also considering a brick red to compliment the sand on one wall in the dispensing area.
What do you think? I am also concerned because my contractor wants me to go ahead and paint before selecting counter tops and floor coverings and I think I should do it the opposite due to the fact that you can always match paint up to your other selections.
Your book has helped me immensely! Thanks! Chris
A. The professional way to create a color scheme is to start with the carpet. Choosing a multi-hued carpet with an overall pattern or texture is the easiest path to a good color scheme because the carpet designer has already chosen colors that look great togther. Once you have a carpet that you love, you can pick out colors from the carpet to match or blend your plastic laminates (Formica) , paint, wallcoverings and other floor coverings like tile or vinyl.
Selecting paint first and then trying to find a carpet later is a recipe for disaster. Your idea of a sand neutral and brick red accents with mahogany cabinets can work very nicely, but I strongly recommend that you find a carpet that has the sand and brick colors in it first. Then you can match up the paint to the colors in the carpet and it will all look good together.
White is a color that can be very tricky to work with. There is a wide range of shades of white with subtle differences that the untrained eye may not pick up from looking at a paint chip. There are warm whites, cool whites, creamy whites, greyed whites and more. With your sand and brick color scheme you will have to be careful to stay on the warm side of the spectrum with your sand tone. I'd recommend going with a cream or ivory shade of white.
The wrong shade of white could make your office look harsh and cold. You would benefit from getting some professional assistance in putting together your color scheme. Don't let the contractor bully you into putting paint colors on the walls before you have selected your carpet and other elements (plastic laminates, tile, vinyl, wall covering, etc.)
Paint colors are the LAST thing to select because you must be sure you get the exact shade that will blend with all your other choices.
September 10, 2006
I Want A New Office...Where Do I Begin?
From Ask The Expert:
Q. I am a solo ophthalmologist who has been in practice for 6 years and have rented space within a family practice office. I have now outgrown the rented space and would like to move on up to about 1600-2000 sf for me with room for a dispensary and another office or two to rent out. What is the best way to start looking and creating the office of my dreams? (or the one that I can afford). I know this is a vague question but I 'm at a loss for how to begin this journey.
A. You need to do some business and financial planning before you'll be able to really start down the road to your dream office. Knowing what you can realistically afford is the first step. Otherwise you have no way of evaluating whether a location is a real possibility for you.
I'd suggest speaking to a few different practice consultants about what you want to accomplish. Then select the one who seems best able to guide you in putting together a business plan for your practice.
You will most likely need a loan to build your new office and the bank will require a good business plan (and the track record of your current practice) in order to approve the loan. In the course of putting together the business plan you can do some preliminary scouting for office space and find out what the rental rates are in your desired area.
Good luck with your new office!
Q. I am a solo ophthalmologist who has been in practice for 6 years and have rented space within a family practice office. I have now outgrown the rented space and would like to move on up to about 1600-2000 sf for me with room for a dispensary and another office or two to rent out. What is the best way to start looking and creating the office of my dreams? (or the one that I can afford). I know this is a vague question but I 'm at a loss for how to begin this journey.
A. You need to do some business and financial planning before you'll be able to really start down the road to your dream office. Knowing what you can realistically afford is the first step. Otherwise you have no way of evaluating whether a location is a real possibility for you.
I'd suggest speaking to a few different practice consultants about what you want to accomplish. Then select the one who seems best able to guide you in putting together a business plan for your practice.
You will most likely need a loan to build your new office and the bank will require a good business plan (and the track record of your current practice) in order to approve the loan. In the course of putting together the business plan you can do some preliminary scouting for office space and find out what the rental rates are in your desired area.
Good luck with your new office!
August 2, 2006
New O.D. Wants to Start Practice
From Ask The Expert:
Q. I am a fairly new licensee ( 2 years ) from Boca Raton Florida. I am anxious to open up an exciting new practice. Only, I feel its so far away and overwhelming. I received some cards in the mail and ran into your info. I went to your website and see you offer design services. How would it work with you being located in Oregon?
Q. We work with OD’s like you all over the country. All we need is an accurate plan of your space to work from (often the landlord or building architect provides this for you). Photos of the space are helpful, too.
I really enjoy getting new OD’s off to a flying start with a creative design that will fit within the typical tight budget of a first practice. Opening your first practice can certainly seem like an overwhelming task. That’s why it’s important for you to select your designer carefully. A well-designed dispensary should practically sell the frames for you and you need someone who is experienced in optical design to do that.
You will find my Office Design Guide book very helpful. It gives you a great overview of all the factors you need to consider for your new office, plus 100 floor plans. You can order it here: http://www.barbarawrightdesign.com/book.html
Q. I am a fairly new licensee ( 2 years ) from Boca Raton Florida. I am anxious to open up an exciting new practice. Only, I feel its so far away and overwhelming. I received some cards in the mail and ran into your info. I went to your website and see you offer design services. How would it work with you being located in Oregon?
Q. We work with OD’s like you all over the country. All we need is an accurate plan of your space to work from (often the landlord or building architect provides this for you). Photos of the space are helpful, too.
I really enjoy getting new OD’s off to a flying start with a creative design that will fit within the typical tight budget of a first practice. Opening your first practice can certainly seem like an overwhelming task. That’s why it’s important for you to select your designer carefully. A well-designed dispensary should practically sell the frames for you and you need someone who is experienced in optical design to do that.
You will find my Office Design Guide book very helpful. It gives you a great overview of all the factors you need to consider for your new office, plus 100 floor plans. You can order it here: http://www.barbarawrightdesign.com/book.html
July 17, 2006
How Much Will My New Office Cost?
Q. How much will my new office cost?
REMODELING PROJECTS are the most difficult to "guess-timate" before you have actual plans in hand because the amount of work can vary so much. If you are remodeling a small dispensary you probably need to budget at least $20,000. to do enough to make a real difference. Medium to large dispensaries can cost $30,000. to $50,000. or more.
BUILDING OUT AN INTERIOR SPACE varies according to labor costs in your area. Generally it's more expensive to build on the East Coast or West Coast and less expensive in the Midwest and South. Figure on spending $75. to $100. per square foot on the average for a nice office with good quality materials, custom cabinets and state of the art dispensary lighting.
BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP starts at about $125. per square foot (not including the land) for a simple building in a medium or small size town with lower construction costs. You could easily spend $150. to $250. per square foot and more for a building in or around a busy metropolitan area.
You can ask contractors in your area what a typical commercial building costs in your area, but the numbers he quotes you will not include the specialized display fixtures and lighting you'll need in the optical area. Be sure to add on $25,000. to $50,000. more for your optical.
REMODELING PROJECTS are the most difficult to "guess-timate" before you have actual plans in hand because the amount of work can vary so much. If you are remodeling a small dispensary you probably need to budget at least $20,000. to do enough to make a real difference. Medium to large dispensaries can cost $30,000. to $50,000. or more.
BUILDING OUT AN INTERIOR SPACE varies according to labor costs in your area. Generally it's more expensive to build on the East Coast or West Coast and less expensive in the Midwest and South. Figure on spending $75. to $100. per square foot on the average for a nice office with good quality materials, custom cabinets and state of the art dispensary lighting.
BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP starts at about $125. per square foot (not including the land) for a simple building in a medium or small size town with lower construction costs. You could easily spend $150. to $250. per square foot and more for a building in or around a busy metropolitan area.
You can ask contractors in your area what a typical commercial building costs in your area, but the numbers he quotes you will not include the specialized display fixtures and lighting you'll need in the optical area. Be sure to add on $25,000. to $50,000. more for your optical.
May 10, 2006
How To Pick Exterior Color for a Building
From Ask The Expert:
Q. I own a small (2,800 square foot) professional building. We remodeled the interior last year and I want to repaint the outside, which is stucco. How do I pick a color for the outside? I want something that's a little bit different than the typical beige, but I don't want it to turn out looking too bright or too dark. Can you help?
A. Selecting an exterior color is a two step process. First you need to select three or four colors that appeal to you. You may want to get some professional advice at the paint store to help you your select your possible colors. Buy a small can of each color.
Next pick a wall that can be seen from a distance and paint a good size swatch of each color (3' x 6' or 4' x 8') on the wall with some space between the colors. Let it dry and look at the colors several times over the next few days. Check how they look at different times of the day: morning, noon, dusk. Look at them on a bright, sunny day and on a cloudy day.
You'll be amazed at how different a color can look from one day to another or from one time of day to another. Make sure you look at the colors from a distance, the way people driving by will. After a few days of observation you will be able to decide which one looks the best to you.
Q. I own a small (2,800 square foot) professional building. We remodeled the interior last year and I want to repaint the outside, which is stucco. How do I pick a color for the outside? I want something that's a little bit different than the typical beige, but I don't want it to turn out looking too bright or too dark. Can you help?
A. Selecting an exterior color is a two step process. First you need to select three or four colors that appeal to you. You may want to get some professional advice at the paint store to help you your select your possible colors. Buy a small can of each color.
Next pick a wall that can be seen from a distance and paint a good size swatch of each color (3' x 6' or 4' x 8') on the wall with some space between the colors. Let it dry and look at the colors several times over the next few days. Check how they look at different times of the day: morning, noon, dusk. Look at them on a bright, sunny day and on a cloudy day.
You'll be amazed at how different a color can look from one day to another or from one time of day to another. Make sure you look at the colors from a distance, the way people driving by will. After a few days of observation you will be able to decide which one looks the best to you.
May 6, 2006
Orphan Dispensaries and the 11th Hour Save
It happened again this week. An O.D. who shall remain nameless called me in a panic. He's in the middle of construction on his new building and he was not happy with the dispensary design that the building architect did for him. He thought he could do it himself and started by ordering a few showcases. Now he doesn't know how to do the rest and how to put it all together so it won't look like an afterthought.
It sounds unbelievable that someone would put all that time and effort (and money!) into his building project and then leave the dispensary design til the end. They wait until they are stressed out and in a bind to get help from an optical design specialist when they should have done that in the first place.
This type of project I call the "11th hour save" because that's what I have to do for the client. Step in at the last minute and save the day like some cartoon superhero. These can be the most difficult design projects to do. We have to work with what's already been done in a piecemeal fashion, design whatever is missing, and pull it together so it all works and looks wonderful to boot! And we have to do it all in half the time it normally would take.
Maybe I have not done enough to educate people on how to work with their design and building team to avoid these kind of problems. The design of the dispensary is such a critical part of any new office. When it's done right it helps to create maximum profits for the practice. It's too important a profit center to treat like an orphan.
I am not out to trash architects here. Just like any other profession, there are good ones and bad ones. If you want a really special looking building, you need a talented architect to design the building shell for you. But if they are not intimately acquainted with the complexities of optical retailing and optometric practices, letting them do the interior design and especially the dispensary sometimes leads to disaster.
Don't let this happen to you. If you are in a position to build from the ground up, do your homework. Assemble a team of experts and let them do their best for you. Don't wind up with an "orphan dispensary" and a frantic search for a superhero designer to save you at the 11th hour.
It sounds unbelievable that someone would put all that time and effort (and money!) into his building project and then leave the dispensary design til the end. They wait until they are stressed out and in a bind to get help from an optical design specialist when they should have done that in the first place.
This type of project I call the "11th hour save" because that's what I have to do for the client. Step in at the last minute and save the day like some cartoon superhero. These can be the most difficult design projects to do. We have to work with what's already been done in a piecemeal fashion, design whatever is missing, and pull it together so it all works and looks wonderful to boot! And we have to do it all in half the time it normally would take.
Maybe I have not done enough to educate people on how to work with their design and building team to avoid these kind of problems. The design of the dispensary is such a critical part of any new office. When it's done right it helps to create maximum profits for the practice. It's too important a profit center to treat like an orphan.
I am not out to trash architects here. Just like any other profession, there are good ones and bad ones. If you want a really special looking building, you need a talented architect to design the building shell for you. But if they are not intimately acquainted with the complexities of optical retailing and optometric practices, letting them do the interior design and especially the dispensary sometimes leads to disaster.
Don't let this happen to you. If you are in a position to build from the ground up, do your homework. Assemble a team of experts and let them do their best for you. Don't wind up with an "orphan dispensary" and a frantic search for a superhero designer to save you at the 11th hour.
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