Confronting the Most Challenging Design Issues in Healthcare Facilities

It’s not surprising that the patient is the deciding factor in how facilities are designed, and challenges regarding patient access are right at the top of the list. Patient satisfaction in their hospital stay (and thus their HCAHPS scores) are heavily contingent on the access they have to many things: 

- Hospital amenities (entertainment, common areas, bathrooms, etc.) 

- Hospital staff (i.e. how easy it is to get ahold of providers) 

- Information (do they have access to their treatment plans, discharge goals, etc.) 

- Family and friends (i.e. does the hospital make it easy and comfortable for visitors to stay) 

Healthcare designers must take care to ensure that hospitals are laid out so that it is easy for patients to access common areas, there is ample space for visitors, there is available wall space for patient room whiteboards and other communication tools, and patients have everything they need without having to go out of their way to get it. 

Patient privacy is also a large concern, which is why single patient rooms have become the normal layout for modern hospitals. Private patient rooms help patients rest more comfortably and are linked to better patient/provider communication rates. 

Patient Safety 

Nosocomial infections (hospital acquired infections) and falls are the leading causes of inpatient injuries in the U.S., which is why hospitals are intricately designed to prevent infections and reduce patient falls at every turn. The methods of reducing infections (by design) include: 

- Private patient rooms 

- Sealable ventilation systems 

- Sanitation station placement at every door and in every room 

- Glass and non-porous surfaces 

- Simple room designs that are easy to clean and disinfect (i.e. rooms that do not have excessive amounts of corners, nooks, crannies, etc.) 

When it comes to preventing patient falls, hospitals designers turn to: 

- Extra wide doorways that make it easier for patients to use assistive walking devices (particularly bathroom doors in patient rooms) 

- Nursing stations located in areas where they can visibly see into many or most patient rooms 

- Handrails and other wall-mounted safety devices 

- Patient rooms that are designed to discourage patients from getting out of bed (i.e. placing all necessary objects and storage within reach of the bed. 

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