Top Five Healthcare Design Takeaways Of 2013

This year Healthcare Design introduced a new series called Take Five, inviting healthcare design professionals to voice their opinions and share what was on their minds and why.  Below is a recap of the top five issues that were brought up by industry leaders.

Contributors shared on a range of topics, from technology and Lean to healthcare reform and millennials. Their ideas provided a window into the healthcare industry and gave  insight and perspective on the issues facing the healthcare design world.

So before we bid this year adieu, let’s take a look at some of the issues 2013 brought to the table.  Click on each person’s name below to read their featured contribution.  I have posed a few questions myself at the end of the article.  Please feel free to comment and share.  Thank you and Happy New Year!!

1. Lean Design

Click the name to read what—Frank Zilm, University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design & Planning had to say about Lean Design

2. Combining Resourses

Research centers, wellness facilities, parks, roads, and even adjacent neighborhoods collaborating in  an effort to weave healthcare into the fabric of the community and put an emphasis on wellness to keep patients as healthy as possible.—Gary Vance, BSA LifeStructures

3. Patient safety

Designs that are  better, stronger, and produce quicker for a good price;”—Joe Sprague, HKS Inc.

4. Quick in, quick out

Home check-in, self-rooming, online medical records, and communication between physician and patients via email or telepresence are just a start.”—AECOM’s Sheila Cahnman, Christy Devens, and Mark Reckin

5. Making green dollars and sense

Green becomes less specifically environmental and more inclusively dollars and sense.—Walter Jones, Parkland Hospital

 

A host of new issues, challenges, and opportunities will take the stage in 2014 and I look forward to learning about them and seeing how our industry responds. What would you add to the list of top issues of 2013? And what’s on your radar screen as the new year begins? Share your thoughts below.