Health Care

I found this interesting article on how the doctor’s office as we know it today will be changing in the future.

https://www.inc.com/kimberly-weisul/startups-rethinking-doctors-office-future.html

You will need to summarize the article and also if needed, research our Library’s LIRN Databases for more similar articles, no articles about different health care news.

Write a min 2-page report on the subject and use APA 7 Format. and also list all your references.

ANSWER

Supportive design in Healthcare Facilities

According to research, the design of a healthcare facility can be therapeutic and enhance healing in a patient. It is, however, unfortunate that when designing healthcare spaces, they mostly focus on staff efficiency and not the patients (Weisul, 2021). This is why most hospitals are designed so that exam rooms are clustered and space is utilized cist effectively. This is, however, about to change, and the doctor’s office will be lively and not as disconcerting as it is presently. There is a rise in evidence that the supportive design promotes healing. According to research, supportive design is good for patient care as it can lower stress, blood pressure and also reduce pain. It is also good for caregivers in the hospital as the caregivers will have a friendly environment hence lowering stress and reducing absenteeism.

Three main principles are applied by architects who create the supportive design to promote patient health and care. The first principle is known as positive distractions, whereby the design involves beautiful window views and art displays on the hospital walls that display nature and other positive things (Escobar, 2014). The second principle is social support which caters to the people who are not native English speakers and who might need information translated to them in a language they understand. This caters to the patients and the friends and families who accompany them for appointments. The third principle is control, whereby patients can choose where to sit and whether or not to lower the blinds (Weisul, 2021). They also need an environment where they can walk around without getting lost. Factors such as making the room warmer or cooler should be under the control of the patient.

Apart from the supportive design, there is also the home primary care model where caregivers collaborate with the patients to improve health outcomes. The home care program is efficient as it gives the patient the comfort of being home, and also, some facilities do not have space for the kind of care they can get from home. The primary home care design is also good because the patient is surrounded by the people they love, which positively improves their health. Designers are working towards developing the ideal doctor’s visit where the waiting rooms and the doctor’s office should be a space where people can unwind and not sit. The waiting rooms should be comfortable for patients and loved ones where they can wash hands and maybe have a coffee or tea as they wait for their turn to see the doctor.

Hospitals should also have plans that make sense. This is where patients do not get lost within the hospital. Hospitals should have distinctive signs on the rooms and the exits, and that way, patients have an easy time locating where they need to be. The hospitals should also be made a one-stop shopping where a person can see all the caregivers they need without visiting different healthcare facilities (Molzahn, 2013). Another feature suggested as an addition to the healthcare facilities is the addition of lactation rooms where mothers can breastfeed without getting their children exposed to the germs and diseases within the hospital vicinity. A supportive environment can increase the positive health outcomes in healthcare facilities, and therefore they should consider adopting the designs.

References

Escobar, C. (2014). Evidence-based healthcare design: A theoretical approach to a substance abuse treatment facility interior design. Michigan state university.

Molzahn, E. J. (2013). Revealing attributes of supportive healing environments in interior design: Staff perceptions in healthcare design (Doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University).

Weisul, K. (2021). Startups-rethinking-doctors-office. https://www.inc.com/kimberly-weisul/startups-rethinking-doctors-office-future.html