It is imperative to recognize some of the primary concerns and developments that will act as drivers of health and hospital planning and design worldwide.

Most architects overlook essential features such as environmental, physical, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing whilst designing hospital facilities.

Demographics and Configuration of patient care

Whilst designing a hospital, it is essential for a hospital architect to understand the patient demographics and the prevailing health issues. Hospital facility architects must also take cognizance of climate, culture, religion, traditions, local economics, level of education and health education and the difference between needs and wants. This further requires understanding of the nature of healthcare professionals that would be required and the type and level of services that the hospital will provide.

Accessibility

It is very essential for people to be able to access a hospital by most available forms of land transportation.

Quality of care

This is paramount for any healthcare delivery institute as it is an important differentiator of hospital services that attract patients. A good hospital architect would incorporate essential components in the design to ensure this.

Operating hospitals

Whilst competition between healthcare providers is meant to improve quality of care at competitive prices, in other cases partnership and cooperative mechanisms lead to cost containment. When designing a hospital it is necessary for a hospital architect to acknowledge the fact that the project costs over its life cycle is far greater than the original construction costs. Many a time, expensive hospitals have been built without paying adequate attention to the operating costs.

Building a home-like environment

This is a very essential health facility consideration as it enhances the healing/recovery process.

New avenues for healthcare delivery

Today the healthcare community is focusing on disease prevention and wellness. Undoubtedly both non-communicable diseases, as well as chronic diseases, contribute greatly to healthcare costs. With this in view healthcare providers are utilizing technology and going beyond the physical boundaries of their hospitals offering online consultations, remote monitoring of vital signs, access to online medical records, and community health screenings. Some hospitals also offer extended care to patients in their homes post-discharge fro their hospital under a 'home care' program.

Healthcare facility design outcomes

Measurable healthcare delivery efficiency and outcomes is most important for any hospital management.  Thus hospital design architects need to create facilities that facilitate this. Evidence-based design is thus of paramount importance to enable the determination of clinical outcomes, productivity, patient safety, and satisfaction amongst other parameters.

Utilisation of natural resources

The sustainable design greatly contributes to reducing an otherwise high-energy consumption pattern of the hospital facility and thereby also reduces the building’s life cycle costs. Relying on lean design, optimum operations, and standardized design would contribute adequately to the top and bottom line of any hospital.

Creating Centres of Excellence

It is seen the world over that centers of excellence for heart, cancer, etc. motivate patients to traverse geographic boundaries to receive health care in such facilities.

Medical tourism

The unbearably high costs of healthcare in the developed countries have led to the development of `medical tourism’ where patients from even distant places travel to another country for medical treatment that costs far less than in their own country. Hospital architects could add design concepts that would make such patients feel familiar with the environment.

Research in healthcare

There is a multitude of research activities going on in the healthcare field that will not only contribute greatly to better treatment but also better diagnosis. This will then demand newer and more efficient ways for a healthcare facility to be designed, built, managed, and operated.

In Conclusion

Architectural planning and design of applicable healthcare/hospital facilities requires a holistic yet focussed approach and proper understanding of population, healthcare demographics, quality, patient preferences, evidence-based outcomes, medical technology, available healthcare professionals, etc. to be able to give birth to a truly effective healthcare facility.

Dhanraj Chandriani
Managing Director
Technecon Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.