Jack and Jill rooms separate physical exam from consultation
Patients find comfort in two-room consultation suites
Imagine a patient visit that starts in a small room with a rounded table, computer monitor, comfortable chairs and only one piece of medical equipment: a blood pressure monitor. The patient remains fully clothed and sits side by side with medical providers and family members, if present.
80 percent of the patient visit is a conversation
This kind of room is a reality at the Gonda Building in Rochester, Minn. It's called a "Jack and Jill room," and it opens the door to better patient-provider communications.
Research reveals that 80 percent of the patient visit is a conversation, and only 20 percent consists of the exam. By helping patients and providers have more meaningful exchanges, the innovative design of the Jack and Jill room — a two-room suite with both an exam room and a conversation room — is transforming how care is delivered. The design for this new room came out of a collaboration between General Internal Medicine and the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation using design-thinking and prototyping with patients.
Exam room is all business
When it's time for a physical exam, the patient enters an adjoining room with the traditional exam table and medical devices. After the patient changes into a gown, the doctor can enter the room to do the exam.
Conversation room puts patients and doctors on equal ground
After another quick change of clothes, the patient rejoins the doctor in the conversation room. The living room-like environment is designed to make patients feel more comfortable and equal. And this helps them confidently discuss health issues and a plan of action.
Simple, human approach makes patients feel healthier
A patient who had an appointment in a Jack and Jill room comments, "When I'm dressed, I feel healthier than I do in a paper gown." Mayo Clinic sees opportunities to better educate and more accurately diagnose patients who feel empowered and optimistic about their health — despite being a patient at a clinic or hospital.
"The computer has changed how we interact with patients significantly," says William Mundell, M.D. "Patients complain the doctor is always looking at the computer, not at me. For a Mayo space, the concept is very different."
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