A review of literature pinpoints the need for hospital re-design to optimize the care patients receive
Orange County, CA - February 25th 2017 - Hospitals, by definition, are institutions that provide medical and surgical treatment alongside nursing care for the sick or injured. While meant to be a place of comfort for patients, a dissection of research is quickly piling up the obstacles of inoperative design responsible for lengthened patient hospital stay.
A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uncovered that approximately 1 in every 25 inpatients in U.S. hospitals has at least one health care–associated infection (HAI) on any given day. This translates to approximately 1.7 million HAIs occurring in U.S. hospitals each year. This results in the deaths of 99,000 patients and an estimated $20 billion in healthcare costs.
A proven method of overcoming these types of infections, and other medical hurdles, is the utilization of private rooms. Several studies have suggested that these rooms cut down risks of airborne infections and surface contaminants of the room. A study from two Canadian hospitals, one transitioning to private rooms and one maintaining their 2-6 bed rooms as a control, showed the transition cut down bacterial infections by more than 50% and patient stays were reduced by 10%.
Another large problem hospitals face with non-private rooms is the patient experience. HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a federal law requiring anyone who handles patient information to protect their privacy. When routine, but personal questions are raised in shared rooms, patients can become uncomfortable and withhold information from physicians so roommates don’t overhear. Several studies have found that most physicians are guilty of breaching confidentiality due to such situations. The rooms also create more noise and traffic that is above recommended hospital guidelines.
More research on hospital design hints that exposure to nature rather than sterile environments can lead to a faster recovery with less chances of readmission. One of the most highly regarded and cited publications on hospital design found that patients with access to windows facing trees received lower intakes of pain medications and had an overall shorter stay than those whose room faced a brick wall. Research further suggests the simple act of watching a nature video raises pain tolerance and the positive emotions experienced lower heart rate and blood pressure.
“Hospitals can be dangerous and unpleasant,” said Dr. Roger Ulrich, author of the study on window access and professor of architecture at the Center for Healthcare Building Research at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. “But there’s a lot we can do to keep patients safe and help them recover.”
Wide reports of research discuss the need to change how care is delivered, however this change cannot occur until the environment of care evolves. Hospital wards have come a long way from large wards crowded with patients, but the time for change has come again to ensure that each patient receives optimum care.
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A review of literature pinpoints the need for hospital re-design to optimize the care patients receive Orange County, CA – February 25th 2017 – Hospitals, by definition, are institutions that provide medical and surgical treatment alongside nursing care for the sick or injured. While meant to be a place of comfort for patients, a dissection of […]