Healthcare ecosystem: Designers need to set Innovative solutions

Healthcare ecosystem: Post-Vaccine Healthcare Design. Healthcare designers need to set forth Innovative solutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the definition of normal for most of us. Hospitals around the world have crumbled under the weight of the virus. The uncertainty has altered the way we live, travel, work and our perceptions about health and safety. Technology has changed care, efficiency and improvement in healthcare, and it’s time that designers relook at the design of these healthcare facilities. While some of these changes may be temporary, some fundamental changes in our approach to healthcare design will help sustain the pressures of future outbreaks.

The post-vaccine healthcare design strategy needs to broaden its horizon beyond hospitals to institute a healthier and more resilient population with better endurance against infections, ailments, or future pandemics. During the design and planning phase of a healthcare ecosystem, designers, developers, policymakers and other stakeholders must consider two key principles — preventive health and wellness and equity in care delivery.

To effectuate communal health and wellness, hospitals will need to focus on community integration and cultural penetration. Healthcare providers, policymakers and designers should collaborate to design communal spaces and programs that will encourage interaction and educate the community about their health and wellness, such as maintaining healthy diets, self-monitoring etc. The goal must be to bring about a cultural reform such that the implementation of wellness strategies becomes a norm rather than a mere frill. Building certifications such as WELL, FITWEL etc., should be made statutory instead of optional.

CDA_Aakash-Healthcare

A plausible solution to mitigate equity in healthcare is to have more public-private partnerships for broader and robust outreach. Leveraging public infrastructure and cutting-edge, data-driven operational strategies from the private sector will help curate an ecosystem that is far more intelligent and responsive than what we have today. Currently, the Indian healthcare system lacks data that is key for prediction and innovation in care delivery. Healthcare analytics and unified data on patients, once available, can enable healthcare providers and designers to understand the social determinants of health. This data will allow them to curate tailored and definite policies based on regions, age groups etc., that focus on combating community-specific issues effectively. For instance, the high morbidity of cancer found in some areas of Punjab is linked to certain carcinogens such as uranium present in drinking water, infiltrated through excessive use of pesticides. Studies involving data and healthcare analytics, if conducted in time, can enable appropriate policy reforms, interventions, and programs for specific demographics, resulting in life-saving healthcare services.

From a healthcare design standpoint, architects and designers need to look beyond functionality. In a post-pandemic world, healthcare designers need to set forth innovative solutions that seamlessly blend altruism with technology to create a robust ecosystem, the benefit of which is bifold. These solutions will render high-quality medical care to those in need and focus on patient safety, satisfaction, and comfort at present. Additionally, it will streamline future care delivery by constantly collecting and analysing patient data through tech-enabled infrastructure.

The future of healthcare is digital, period. To augment a seamless transition to digital and smart care delivery, healthcare designers should incorporate research in care delivery and equipment technology and analysis in the planning stages that will result in flexible infrastructure. This is critical since diagnostic, surgical, or therapeutic procedures are rapidly evolving with the changing technology and care delivery model. Healthcare designers need to work with providers to reconfigure infrastructural needs for the next 10-15 years to analyse and understand functions anticipated to go digital (phase wise) and develop alternate planning scenarios for repurposed hospital areas.

After the devastating effects of the second wave of COVID-19 in India, it is crucial to understand that the vaccine is not a milestone. Human health remains vulnerable to the perils of viral mutations. It has become more critical than ever for architecture and healthcare dialogue to evolve and adapt to these mutations and changes around us, aiming towards creating environments that score high on sterility, quality air, water, light, and overall health and wellbeing. Architects must also deploy short term and immediate strategies of flexibility and resilience simultaneously to combat unprecedented catastrophes and pandemics. Hospitals need to be designed to have a scalable surge capacity. Overall, planning is as critical as attention to detail. Additional medical gases and electrical outlets in ancillary or public areas planned for accommodating beds should be concealed. Strategically locating healthcare facilities around existing infrastructure would allow hospitals to expand capacity. In addition to the planning and segregation of infectious and non-infectious zones, the mechanical systems in healthcare building are critical and enable hospitals to ‘react’ with efficacy.

As architects at CDA, we understand the criticality of designing adaptable, sustainable, and responsive hospitals, focusing on patient care and experience. With a commitment to improving the healthcare scenario in India, we are optimistic that with architects working in partnership with doctors, researchers and tech giants, an evolved healthcare ecosystem awaits.

Ravideep Singh Associate Director Creative Design Architects

Ravideep Singh
Associate Director
Creative Design Architects

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