Critical Incident Issue -- Level of stress in the waiting room for XYZ Clinic. Only frequencies of 2 + were noted and only those with importance level of 1 (extremely important) or 2 (important) were noted.

Type of Incident

Frequency

Importance

Excessive wait time (> 30 minutes)

4

1

Atmosphere of waiting area pleasant, chairs comfortable

3

2

Regular interaction with reception; realistic expectations

3

2

Resources while waiting; magazines, Wi-Fi, television, etc.

2

2

We are aware that a sample of 4 is not large enough to be statistically inclusive of a larger population. However, based on dialog within the waiting room over a number of days, we did come to the conclusion that many of the patient's in the waiting room had similar opinions. Further, we believe that further analysis would show that there was a deeper and broader set of expectations and experiences that might go far to improve service and patient expectations at the clinic.

Discussion/Analysis- The waiting room experience is stressful...

It is the face of the doctor's office, and can contribute to feelings of anxiousness, nervousness and actually decrease the healing experience. Lengthy wait in an uncomfortable room tends to make patients anxious. Studies have shown that stress and anxiousness create brain chemicals that contradict some medications and healing, and can actually raise blood pressure and heart rate and cause incorrect and unrealistic test results, much like the so-called "White Coat Syndrome" (Sine, 2010). Because waiting room issues are a regular part of the medical experience, using the Critical Response Analysis technique in a more robust manner could make it far easier for the clinic to establish small, but important, changes in their facility that would enhance the comfort level of the client.
REFERENCES

Framton, S., et al., eds. (2009). Putting Patients First. New York: John Wiley.

Since, R. (2010). Beyond "White Coat Syndrome." Web MD. Cited in:

http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/features/beyond-white-coat-syndrome

White, S. (2005). Show Me The Proof: Tools and Strategies to Make Data Work for You! Englewood,…