Healthcare has always been a mobile process. Physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals move from one bedside to the next and from the office to the hospital and back. And of course, with the critical nature of healthcare, it’s essential that doctors be available 24/7.

Phones ringing endlessly on five incoming lines – but no one felt it was their job to answer them. Front desk personnel sitting idly by, not greeting patients. This was the chaotic scenario witnessed by Raquel Garcia de Acosta, office manager for Morris Sussex Family Practice in Lake Hopatcong, N.J., when she was asked to observe another large, multi-practitioner office as an independent consultant.

Physicians need to consider both software and hardware – including the physical layout and equipment in their clinics.