Design That Works: How Care Team Efficiency Shapes Outcomes
From Comfort to Efficiency
In Part 1 of my Human-Centered Design series, I argued that comfort is a strategic investment. Part 2 looks at a factor that’s just as critical but often overlooked: staff efficiency.
Poor design forces staff to waste steps, wrestle with technology, and work in uncomfortable spaces. The result is burnout, turnover, and weaker outcomes.
Designing for efficiency flips that script. It gives staff the tools and spaces to do their best work — and that translates into better care, stronger teams, and healthier margins.
The Cost of Inefficiency
One of the most common design mistakes I see is wasted steps. It happens when you don’t map the patient journey early in the design process. The clinic opens, and you realize you need to add a critical step — like vitals, vaccines, or lab work — but the space for it is in the wrong place.
Take vitals as an example. If you’re not equipping each exam room with a height rod, scale, blood pressure cuff, and pulse oximeter, you need a central but semi-private spot to collect this information. Put it in the wrong place, and you create bottlenecks or force staff into constant backtracking. Multiply that across dozens of visits a day, and you’ve built inefficiency into your operating model.
The Lab Problem: A Case Study
I’ve been to primary care clinics in hospital systems where the design makes lab work a headache. I saw my provider on the 8th floor, then had to navigate down to the 2nd floor for labs. Once there, I waited in line with the general public. More than once, I’ve been in situations where the lab team hadn’t even received my order yet, so I sat there until the systems caught up.
It’s frustrating as a patient, inefficient for staff, and creates opportunities for errors.
One Medical, on the other hand, integrates labs into every clinic. Labs are located near reception, and coordination between providers and lab staff is seamless. A patient finishes their appointment, walks a few steps, and gets blood drawn without delays.
That design choice eliminates friction for patients and staff, and closes the gaps where errors creep in. The result: better outcomes, happier patients, and a more efficient clinic.
Workstations and Seamless Handoffs
One reason lab orders often aren’t ready when a patient arrives is that providers don’t have the ability to quickly pivot from patient care to admin work. If workstations aren’t designed for seamless transitions — with dual monitors, reliable docking, and intuitive layouts — a provider may walk out of an exam room without having time or space to enter the order. By the time the patient reaches the lab, the system isn’t updated, and frustration builds on both sides.
I’ve had this happen to me—sent to a lab before the order was in. That’s usually a design issue, but most providers will tell you EMRs don’t help.
When spaces make it easy for providers to set up, take notes, and send orders in real time, those downstream failures disappear. That’s what workspace efficiency looks like in practice.
Ergonomics That Prevent Burnout
Another huge factor in efficiency and retention is ergonomics. Healthcare involves more desk time than most founders realize, and poor workstation design creates real strain.
Two common problem areas:
Equipment
Many healthcare workers (8 out of 10) are female and, often, shorter in stature. Built-in workstations are often not adjustable, forcing them to raise their chairs and leave their legs dangling. Simple fixes like footrests and adjustable chairs can solve this. Add dual monitors and plug-and-play docking stations, and suddenly documentation goes faster, errors drop, and staff finish on time.Surfaces
Countertop materials matter. I’ve worked on quartz counters for extended periods, and the cold, hard surface made my hands go numb. It’s uncomfortable and unsustainable. Laminate surfaces may seem less glamorous, but they’re warmer, more comfortable, and more durable in real-world use. Skilled designers can match laminate with stone finishes so the look is seamless while staff comfort is preserved.
These details quietly shape morale, efficiency, and turnover every day.
Design That Protects Patients and Staff
Design also shapes safety and care quality.
Fewer steps = fewer falls. In older adult care, every extra trip is a fall risk. Smarter layouts reduce that exposure.
Line of sight. Staff need to see patients after procedures or lab draws. I remember having stitches removed and unexpectedly feeling faint once the provider left the room. I managed to steady myself, but it was a close call. If I had passed out, no one would have seen it. In another scenario, that could have ended in a fall and a serious injury.
Observational opportunities. Like in waiting rooms, line of sight means staff can spot subtle changes in demeanor or behavior. Those casual observations lead to early interventions.
Staff safety. Even if the risk of violence is low, staff need to feel they can get out of the building quickly or secure themselves. That sense of psychological safety improves morale and reduces stress.
Infection control. Placement of sinks, airflow, and traffic patterns all affect infection risk. Good design reduces spread, which protects patients and staff.
Error reduction. Inefficient layouts increase handoff mistakes between medical assistants, nurses, and providers. A thoughtful flow reduces redundancy and eliminates miscommunication.
Design choices show up in safety, quality, and trust — not only efficiency.
Culture Built Into Space
Efficiency isn’t just about speed. It’s also about culture.
When patients feel valued, they treat staff with more respect. That lowers stress and burnout. When staff work in spaces that make collaboration easy, relationships strengthen. A team that knows and trusts each other is more engaged, happier, and less likely to leave.
Physical space can either build that culture or undermine it. A cramped back room with no natural light signals “just get through the day.” A well-designed break room shows the company values its team.
Culture shows up in the patient experience just as much as in staff morale. If handoffs are clean and staff aren’t constantly asking the same questions, patients feel cared for, not processed. That builds trust and loyalty.
Practical Priorities for Founders
If you only get a few things right for staff efficiency and outcomes, make it these:
Break space with natural light. Staff need somewhere comfortable to recharge.
Map circulation and workflows early. Place supplies, meds, and vaccines where they’re actually used. Every extra step adds up.
Design for work + admin. Equip staff with dual monitors, easy docking, and ergonomic furniture so they can move seamlessly between care and documentation.
These are operational necessities that pay for themselves in productivity, morale, and outcomes.
The ROI of Efficiency
From the boardroom perspective, these design choices drive measurable returns.
Higher throughput means more revenue per day.
Reduced burnout means lower recruiting and training costs.
Error reduction means fewer safety incidents and liability risks.
Patient experience means higher retention and stronger reputation.
Design that supports staff efficiency and outcomes delivers immediate operational wins and long-term enterprise value.
Spaces That Let Care Teams Do Their Best Work
Founders often underestimate how much space design affects their staff. Every wasted step, every poorly placed workstation, every uncomfortable chair adds friction. Over time, that friction leads to burnout, patient dissatisfaction, and weaker outcomes.
When you design for efficiency, you build an environment where your team can do their best work. That translates into better patient care, stronger culture, and higher enterprise value.
If you want to scale healthcare delivery without scaling burnout, you need facilities designed to make your care team efficient, safe, and effective.
At Retained CRE, I help founders translate these principles into real facilities—spaces that don’t just check regulatory boxes, but actively support the care teams that make outcomes possible.
If you’re planning your first healthcare site or scaling your footprint, now is the time to design for efficiency because efficiency drives outcomes, culture, and growth.