Insights & Solutions

Enactment of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is transforming just about every aspect of healthcare delivery in order to achieve the Triple Aim goals of better care, healthier people and communities and affordable care. One of the law’s most striking and fundamental changes is the shift in reimbursement practices – moving volume to value. This presentation provides an overview of the design team implications of the ACA, such as the Hospital Consumer Assessment of the Healthcare Providers and Systems survey and the Partnership for Patients program. Learn how architects, designers and facility managers can contribute to solutions that achieve these outcomes.

The waiting room continues to be a major problem area in terms of patient and family experience, as well as organizational efficiency. Healthcare organizations struggle to accommodate high patient volumes and a variety of acuity levels, while patients and families deal with a roller-coaster of emotions, long wait times, and lack of privacy. The majority of research on the topic of waiting room design is based in case studies, which provide little generalizable evidence for further application.

Three units were analyzed including Critical Care, Medical Oncology and Obstetrics in order to track clinical behaviors and to identify opportunities for improvement for the newly designed space. The travel study indicated for all units measured that the time spent on value added care, the time spent on direct care, and the aisle effectiveness all increased from current to future state workflow and generally outperformed the national benchmarks for their corresponding unit types. Additionally, review the process and results of the post-occupancy evaluation.

Healthcare reform has continually focused on several aspects of the patient experience. The patient experience domain (as measured through HCAHPS — the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) includes three metrics that are used to evaluate patient perceptions about communication: doctor-patient, nurse-patient, and communication surrounding medications.

This tool provides healthcare designers and professionals with ideas on how to address the issue of noise in facility design.

Learn about: the ways hospital planners worked within both architecture and urban planning parameters; a new facility that could serve various populations in a diverse cultural environment; and a hospital setting that could function as a self-sustaining community and enhance wellness.

Learn about: sustainable healthcare and what it means to Adelante, the organization's method to evaluate design and operational needs for their new flagship facility, and specific strategies implemented to improve patient and provider communication.