Future-Proof Your Point of Care Ecosystem

By Kurt Forsthoefel
8/14/2019

In today’s value-based care environment, equipment and exam room layouts have evolved into strategic components of care delivery. Both are dependent on each other to help enhance the quality of care provided and outcomes realized. For that reason, equipment and layout should factor into any facility or exam room design discussions or considerations.

A patient-centered design approach views the exam room and equipment as part of the point of care ecosystem, helping patients, caregivers and their experiences remain top-of-mind during the design process.

Healthcare organizations are continually looking for new approaches, best practices and proven processes to improve the clinical space. These often become blueprints for existing and new facilities to ensure exam room efficiencies and the quality of care throughout the organization.

When assessing existing exam rooms or designing a standardized blueprint, there are a few key factors for healthcare professionals to consider to ensure an effective exam room design. These factors – patient satisfaction, ergonomics, vital signs acquisition, equipment and exam room configuration – play a crucial role in the clinical environment. Gaining a better understanding of them will help guide caregivers to uncover opportunities to improve efficiency and, ultimately, patient care.

Here are a few important questions you should ask at the start of any new ambulatory care design project:

• Are we holding cross-functional design planning sessions to identify what equipment we have, what do we need, how do we want our ecosystem to flow and how will our equipment and rooms be used?
• Are the proposed equipment and point of care space the right fit ergonomically for our patient population and staff?
• Are the proposed equipment and workflow specifically designed for our clinical space?
• How will the proposed equipment and workflow impact patient/ caregiver interactions; patient/ staff satisfaction; patient/caregiver safety and clinical outcomes?
• How will the proposed equipment and point of care space change/enhance/co-exist with our current workflows and configurations?

Today’s clinical spaces must help healthcare organizations meet the demand for high quality care while providing enough flexibility to meet challenges posed by new legislation, the push for evidence-based outcomes, changing patient demographics and the integration of new technologies. Having an effective exam room design is a vital part of reaching that goal.

Access the full checklist of questions to ensure your point of care ecosystem is future-ready.