Medical Construction & Design

MAY-JUN 2017

Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process.

Issue link: https://mcdmag.epubxp.com/i/827184

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 29 of 70

MCDM AG.COM | M AY/ J U N E 2017 | Medical Construction & Design 25 EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN DRIVEN A necessary prescription for creating successful healthcare environments The Minnesota Health & Clinics Surgery Center designed its lobby space and patient experience to refl ect customer experiences akin to Apple stores. BY JOCELYN STROUPE Photo: Craig Dugan Designing healthcare spaces without research is about as sensible as trying to build a house without any tools. Truthfully, collecting data to understand the outcomes that design decisions will drive is as critical as any other step in the design process of successful healthcare facilities. As an industry, recognition of the value of research in design has not always been inher- ent. Over past decades, far too many hospitals and care centers were designed to be "new" or "updated" and not necessarily calibrated to best serve the needs of end users. Fortunately, those days are mostly in the rear view. Organizations like the Center for Health Design have made Evidence-Based Design a prior- ity, skill and curriculum. As the organization's website correctly notes, "A large and growing body of evidence attests to the fact that physical environment impacts patient stress, patient and staff safety, eff ectiveness and overall quality of care provided in hospitals and other healthcare settings. Basing healthcare facil- ity planning and design decisions on this evidence to achieve the best possible patient, staff and operational outcomes is what EBD is all about." Still, EBD is a broad topic and a tool that needs to be used with purpose and strategy. There's not necessarily a singular blueprint for how to conduct research in healthcare environments, what to collect or how to translate that into stronger decision-making. Like every tool, EBD needs to be properly leveraged to ensure the best results. Several health organizations on the leading edge of EBD can already point to success- ful spaces and outcomes for their patients. These examples highlight best practices others can learn from and implement in their own eff orts. Below are three key strategies to con- sider when integrating EBD into healthcare spaces: Don't ignore past weaknesses One of the mistakes organiza- tions can make when it comes to implementing EBD is not taking enough time to look backwards. The answers to why health fa- cilities are no longer best serving their users' needs to be identi- fi ed and analyzed before think- ing about the future. Moreover, when data reveals weaknesses, project leaders need to have the courage to recognize them, socialize them and build plans to address them. This path forward

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Medical Construction & Design - MAY-JUN 2017