The reception is the first part of the clinic your patients will "meet" when they enter the clinic. This is where the first contact with staff takes place, and where patients create their first impressions of the clinic. 

However, the reception desk is also a work place which needs to meet employee demands for functionality and a good working environment. There should be space for storage, putting things to one side, IT equipment and preferably a raising/lowering desktop. At the same time, it should obviously provide the best possible means of serving patients.