Executive forum: design for therapeutic outcomes

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Design
• Patient-Centered Care
• Therapeutic Environments

Background:

• Designing for therapeutic outcomes necessitates understanding patient functional requirements influenced by illness or disability.
• Effective healthcare facility design must actively support care and treatment processes to achieve specific patient outcomes.

Framework:

• Integrate patient functional needs and care process support as core principles for therapeutic design.
• Emphasize a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating insights from healthcare professionals into the design process.

Implementation:

• Include nurses and physicians on design teams for both new facilities and renovations.
• Leverage the expertise of clinicians to articulate treatment goals and identify daily operational needs.
• Recognize that clinical input complements design professionals' skills, particularly in defining requisites for specific patient groups.

Implications:

• Prioritizing therapeutic outcomes guides the creation of functional and effective healthcare spaces.
• Collaboration between design professionals and clinicians is essential for optimizing patient care through built environment design.
• Balancing cost considerations with user needs is vital for achieving truly functional therapeutic designs.