Designing the "hospital of the future".(NEWS FROM THE JOINT COMMISSION)(Report)

The Joint Commission has released a report that provides a roadmap to designing hospitals in the future. Titled "Guiding Principles for the Development of the Hospital of the Future," the latest in the "Healthcare at a Crossroads" series, the report offers the basic guidelines that must be followed for hospitals to meet future health care challenges. These challenges include quality and patient safety issues, an aging patient population, financial constraints and workforce issues.

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The report explains that in light of increasing health care costs and the complexity of today's hospitalized patients, hospitals must respond in new and innovative ways. The report was developed by a roundtable panel of health care executives and clinical leaders, as well as experts in technology, health care economics, hospital design and patient safety. This team assessed the effect of sociology and economic trends, technology, care environments, patient care values and staffing issues on future hospitals.

Mark Chassin, MD, president of the Joint Commission, said, "The importance of hospital-based care will not diminish in the future, but hospitals will have to meet the high expectations of the public and all stakeholders in an increasingly challenging environment." He continued by saying that hospitals should use this report to help them transition to meet future needs.

The report describes issues ranging from technology and personnel to patient relationships, and fiscal and architectural design. These are just a few ways hospitals can enhance health care for all patients.

The Five Principles

The report discusses these issues in terms of the following five principles: economic viability, technology adoption, patient-centered care, staffing and hospital design.