The
only thing changing more than the weather this time of year
is technology. The rapid developments made recently in high-tech
healthcare are revolutionizing hospitals through advancements
in medicine, surgical techniques, and computerized procedures.
Although technology is possibly the most obvious driver of
facility design changes today, others include an increased
sensitivity to patient and family; a desire to provide amenities,
services, comfort, and convenience; and the realities of limited
reimbursements.
In with the Outpatient:Trend #1 With the invention and approval of minimally invasive surgeries, patients increasingly find themselves walking in and walking out of the hospital in the same day. Surgeries that once spanned a doctor’s entire shift have become simplified procedures through the assistance of modern technology. Because these surgeries are less straining on patients’ bodies, recovery times are shorter. What does all this mean for healthcare facilities nationwide? Fewer beds. According to the AHA Annual Survey Database, outpatient visits were up 20.3 percent in 1998, compared to 1994. Due to great strides in telemedicine, and its ability to transport critical patient data effectively and in lightning speeds, many small outlying or suburban hospital facilities have become largely diagnostic and outpatient-oriented. “The hospital infrastructure has gone through a major rethinking of space allocations,” says Andrew Alt, vice president, and project executive for Jeffrey M. Brown Associates Inc., New York City. Areas that previously functioned as medical records rooms, darkrooms for x-ray development, etc. have all but vanished, driven into obsolescence by the computer and the Information Age.Flexibility and Efficiency: Trend #2 As time changes, so does technology. With so many new developments coming to light every day, healthcare facilities must be ready to accommodate whatever the future holds. With the issue of reimbursements becoming tighter and tighter, not only is flexibility paramount, efficiency is key. “One of the things that’s happening as a result of the staff efficiency issue is … an erosion of departmental boundaries. We’re beginning to see hospitals designed around the clinical pathway of the patient,” says H. Ralph Hawkins, executive vice president, HKS Inc., Dallas. By making adjacencies and ancillary spaces within close proximity, patients will not be routed all over the hospital for treatment. When staff is cross-trained, personnel can be utilized in more than one area during downtimes, maximizing their ability to provide quality care in the most efficient manner. It is impossible to predict what is on the horizon for healthcare and, yet, providers everywhere are leaning on facilities professionals to do just that. The design of new facilities must be more flexible than the hospitals of old. Universal patient rooms are proof of this. According to John L. Castorina, vice president, RTKL Associates Inc., Irving, TX, “Acuity levels are getting higher, so we’re trying to design patient care areas to be flexible enough to handle any profile of patient at any time.” Larger, single-patient rooms are becoming the standard and are fitted with gases and equipment necessary to treat varying acuity levels.Home-like Environments: Trend #3 Click your heels together three times and repeat, “There’s no place like the hospital.” Okay, so going to the hospital isn’t exactly a trip to the Land of Oz. It’s cold; it’s sterile; it’s uninviting – right? WRONG! Facilities are doing as much as possible to contradict this stigma, including taking hints from the other commercial buildings industry that considers “home away from home” its motto – hospitality. “Nobody seems to hesitate going into the lobby of a nice hotel,” says C. Daniel Wardrop, director of health facilities, Morris Architects, Houston. The following characteristics increase the level of comfort for both patients and their families: • Low-wavelength colors that have a calming effect. • Differentials in ceiling heights in both public spaces and patient rooms. • Views into exterior courtyards and gardens. • Larger windows. • Single-patient rooms instead of semi-private units. • Upholstered furniture, such as three-seat couches and loveseats. • Plants. • Aquariums. A key element in a patient’s healing process involves a number of caretakers – doctors, nurses, and loved ones. “The family, being an extension of the patient, has become more and more important [in the design] – as it should have been all along,” says Richard L. Miller, principal, Earl Swensson Associates Inc., Nashville. Resource centers and Internet hook-up capabilities provide families with the post-operative or post-treatment education needed to ensure quality care once a patient is released. Visitation hours are extended to accommodate the hectic schedule of today’s society, while overnight stays are not only common, but welcome.One-stop Medical Shopping: Trend #4 Perhaps taking its cue from big corporations that lure the best and brightest employees in with a Starbucks, hospitals and healthcare facilities are following suit in providing patients with amenities and services that hinge on the big “C”: convenience. An individual stopping in to have a sprain x-rayed can check e-mail or access the Internet at a computer station, drop the kids at the daycare center, grab a cup of coffee, view a traveling art exhibit, and skim through the latest bestsellers at the library – all while waiting to meet with the doctor. Some innovative providers are even distributing pagers to waiting patients. According to Castorina, “[Patients] don’t want to leave the waiting room because they are afraid to lose their space in the queue. If you give them the ability or empowerment to go out and do other things – experience other things – maybe it will [remove] the intimidation of what they are about to go through.” Not only are you able to Fed-Ex packages and stroll through exterior gardens during your visit, you may also experience a taste of holistic medicine. “We’re seeing almost a spa-type development in some of these facilities – where you can do anything from a massage to aromatherapy,” says Miller. Too bad you have to check in to check it out, huh?High-tech Healthcare: Trend #5 Patients are more demanding, pickier, and better informed. The doctor’s word is not “as good as gold,” and many patients are seeking a second opinion – on-line. “The healthcare industry is waking up and realizing that they’ve got a new consumer now,” says Bradley T. Barker, senior vice president, RTKL Associates Inc. This new consumer has been watching TV and surfing the Internet – he/she is a more educated patient and therefore expects more. Because of advancements in technology and the recent strides of telemedicine: • Patient stays have decreased in length, benefiting hospitals in a time when reimbursement is limited. • Hospitals are maintaining a competitive edge and quality care through the offering of these procedures and services. • Small facilities are able to get diagnostic and treatment suggestions from mainframe hospitals and specialists quickly and efficiently. • Monitoring of an individual’s heartbeat and breathing rate can occur in the home, reducing unnecessary patient visits. • Files and films can be organized digitally/electronically, allowing staff quick and easy access to patient data while reducing paper storage requirements. • Pre- or post-operative education is provided on-line. Techno-savvy providers are offering the latest in technology, despite the expense. “One of the problems is cost. With the minimally invasive video monitoring, companies are starting to lease this equipment because the technology is changing so fast,” says Debbie Cameron, executive vice president, EQ International, Irving, TX. Telemedicine is an extraordinary means for communication and requires adequate technology and networking. “If the wiring closets aren’t large enough, if the right pieces of telecommunications information systems equipment aren’t bought, if you can’t get the services from your local public utility, then you can’t do it because there’s no way to send information on to someone else,” says Vyoyan B. Cothron, director of telecommunications, information systems, and engineered systems design, EQ International’s Dallas office. Hold on to your hats: The winds of change are gusting through healthcare facilities nationwide. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for more of the same – technology-driven designs, patient- and family-focused care, and warm environments filled with all the best of today’s modern conveniences.Jana J. Madsen ([email protected]) is senior associate editor at Buildings magazine.
In with the Outpatient:Trend #1 With the invention and approval of minimally invasive surgeries, patients increasingly find themselves walking in and walking out of the hospital in the same day. Surgeries that once spanned a doctor’s entire shift have become simplified procedures through the assistance of modern technology. Because these surgeries are less straining on patients’ bodies, recovery times are shorter. What does all this mean for healthcare facilities nationwide? Fewer beds. According to the AHA Annual Survey Database, outpatient visits were up 20.3 percent in 1998, compared to 1994. Due to great strides in telemedicine, and its ability to transport critical patient data effectively and in lightning speeds, many small outlying or suburban hospital facilities have become largely diagnostic and outpatient-oriented. “The hospital infrastructure has gone through a major rethinking of space allocations,” says Andrew Alt, vice president, and project executive for Jeffrey M. Brown Associates Inc., New York City. Areas that previously functioned as medical records rooms, darkrooms for x-ray development, etc. have all but vanished, driven into obsolescence by the computer and the Information Age.Flexibility and Efficiency: Trend #2 As time changes, so does technology. With so many new developments coming to light every day, healthcare facilities must be ready to accommodate whatever the future holds. With the issue of reimbursements becoming tighter and tighter, not only is flexibility paramount, efficiency is key. “One of the things that’s happening as a result of the staff efficiency issue is … an erosion of departmental boundaries. We’re beginning to see hospitals designed around the clinical pathway of the patient,” says H. Ralph Hawkins, executive vice president, HKS Inc., Dallas. By making adjacencies and ancillary spaces within close proximity, patients will not be routed all over the hospital for treatment. When staff is cross-trained, personnel can be utilized in more than one area during downtimes, maximizing their ability to provide quality care in the most efficient manner. It is impossible to predict what is on the horizon for healthcare and, yet, providers everywhere are leaning on facilities professionals to do just that. The design of new facilities must be more flexible than the hospitals of old. Universal patient rooms are proof of this. According to John L. Castorina, vice president, RTKL Associates Inc., Irving, TX, “Acuity levels are getting higher, so we’re trying to design patient care areas to be flexible enough to handle any profile of patient at any time.” Larger, single-patient rooms are becoming the standard and are fitted with gases and equipment necessary to treat varying acuity levels.Home-like Environments: Trend #3 Click your heels together three times and repeat, “There’s no place like the hospital.” Okay, so going to the hospital isn’t exactly a trip to the Land of Oz. It’s cold; it’s sterile; it’s uninviting – right? WRONG! Facilities are doing as much as possible to contradict this stigma, including taking hints from the other commercial buildings industry that considers “home away from home” its motto – hospitality. “Nobody seems to hesitate going into the lobby of a nice hotel,” says C. Daniel Wardrop, director of health facilities, Morris Architects, Houston. The following characteristics increase the level of comfort for both patients and their families: • Low-wavelength colors that have a calming effect. • Differentials in ceiling heights in both public spaces and patient rooms. • Views into exterior courtyards and gardens. • Larger windows. • Single-patient rooms instead of semi-private units. • Upholstered furniture, such as three-seat couches and loveseats. • Plants. • Aquariums. A key element in a patient’s healing process involves a number of caretakers – doctors, nurses, and loved ones. “The family, being an extension of the patient, has become more and more important [in the design] – as it should have been all along,” says Richard L. Miller, principal, Earl Swensson Associates Inc., Nashville. Resource centers and Internet hook-up capabilities provide families with the post-operative or post-treatment education needed to ensure quality care once a patient is released. Visitation hours are extended to accommodate the hectic schedule of today’s society, while overnight stays are not only common, but welcome.One-stop Medical Shopping: Trend #4 Perhaps taking its cue from big corporations that lure the best and brightest employees in with a Starbucks, hospitals and healthcare facilities are following suit in providing patients with amenities and services that hinge on the big “C”: convenience. An individual stopping in to have a sprain x-rayed can check e-mail or access the Internet at a computer station, drop the kids at the daycare center, grab a cup of coffee, view a traveling art exhibit, and skim through the latest bestsellers at the library – all while waiting to meet with the doctor. Some innovative providers are even distributing pagers to waiting patients. According to Castorina, “[Patients] don’t want to leave the waiting room because they are afraid to lose their space in the queue. If you give them the ability or empowerment to go out and do other things – experience other things – maybe it will [remove] the intimidation of what they are about to go through.” Not only are you able to Fed-Ex packages and stroll through exterior gardens during your visit, you may also experience a taste of holistic medicine. “We’re seeing almost a spa-type development in some of these facilities – where you can do anything from a massage to aromatherapy,” says Miller. Too bad you have to check in to check it out, huh?High-tech Healthcare: Trend #5 Patients are more demanding, pickier, and better informed. The doctor’s word is not “as good as gold,” and many patients are seeking a second opinion – on-line. “The healthcare industry is waking up and realizing that they’ve got a new consumer now,” says Bradley T. Barker, senior vice president, RTKL Associates Inc. This new consumer has been watching TV and surfing the Internet – he/she is a more educated patient and therefore expects more. Because of advancements in technology and the recent strides of telemedicine: • Patient stays have decreased in length, benefiting hospitals in a time when reimbursement is limited. • Hospitals are maintaining a competitive edge and quality care through the offering of these procedures and services. • Small facilities are able to get diagnostic and treatment suggestions from mainframe hospitals and specialists quickly and efficiently. • Monitoring of an individual’s heartbeat and breathing rate can occur in the home, reducing unnecessary patient visits. • Files and films can be organized digitally/electronically, allowing staff quick and easy access to patient data while reducing paper storage requirements. • Pre- or post-operative education is provided on-line. Techno-savvy providers are offering the latest in technology, despite the expense. “One of the problems is cost. With the minimally invasive video monitoring, companies are starting to lease this equipment because the technology is changing so fast,” says Debbie Cameron, executive vice president, EQ International, Irving, TX. Telemedicine is an extraordinary means for communication and requires adequate technology and networking. “If the wiring closets aren’t large enough, if the right pieces of telecommunications information systems equipment aren’t bought, if you can’t get the services from your local public utility, then you can’t do it because there’s no way to send information on to someone else,” says Vyoyan B. Cothron, director of telecommunications, information systems, and engineered systems design, EQ International’s Dallas office. Hold on to your hats: The winds of change are gusting through healthcare facilities nationwide. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for more of the same – technology-driven designs, patient- and family-focused care, and warm environments filled with all the best of today’s modern conveniences.Jana J. Madsen ([email protected]) is senior associate editor at Buildings magazine.
