Guide to Hospital Design: Embrace Digital Transformation

Read on to discover how these trends will impact healthcare design. We’ll also discuss how you can use Rockfon® MediCare® products to create harmonious and healthy spaces for doctor-patient interactions.

The Emerging Trend of Virtual Care

Following the global pandemic of 2020–21, the healthcare industry has been forced to address how they interact with patients. These interactions, once almost exclusively face-to-face, now embrace digital-first healthcare solutions including telehealth, telemedicine, and telemonitoring.

In this model, healthcare is delivered through digital communications platforms, which allow doctors to talk with their patients remotely. A range of digital communications solutions have been introduced to help facilitate virtual care, incorporating artificial intelligence and cybersecurity measures.

These tools allow for consultations and patient monitoring to take place virtually. The creation of exciting new smart hospitals helps improve the patient experience. This is an integral aspect of how virtual care will evolve in the future.

This includes creating outpatient settings for a range of health services, including:

• Vaccinations
• Physicals
• Imaging
• Consultations with specialists
• Lab work and diagnostics
• Minor procedures and emergencies

Medical practitioners are rethinking how they design their interior spaces to meet the requirements of this emerging trend. This means creating spaces that enhance human interaction over digital communication systems by fostering innovative environments. Sustainable interior design materials that embody health, safety, and well-being provide the essential building blocks for these spaces.

The Advantages of Telehealth

The use of technology to deliver healthcare brings a number of advantages. It can reduce costs and help care for patients with mobility limitations through convenience. It can also give people who live in rural areas consistent access to healthcare support they might otherwise miss out on.

Other advantages include:

1. Studies have shown that telemonitoring and at-home care can reduce the amount of time patients spend in hospitals. This is particularly helpful for patients with chronic illnesses^[1];
2. Doctors are reporting that telemedicine practises are improving patient attendance^[2];
3. A reduction in exposure to other people with illnesses means patients won’t get sick as a result of visiting their doctors;
4. Patients can get the consultation they need without having to make arrangements for their children.

Let’s examine some of the key factors that are driving the telehealth market’s growth. We’ll also consider the general trends for hospital buildings to keep in mind when designing interiors for virtual care.

How the Telehealth Market Is Growing: Key Facts and Statistics

The telehealth market is expanding as never before, and the pace of growth looks set to continue indefinitely. The advent of the launch of 5G is connecting the world, with the demand for telehealth growing in tandem.

This growth is reflected in a series of statistics, including:

Telehealth investment drove digital health investment^[3] in 2021 to $15 billion;

Expectations for the UK telehealth market to rise at a 10.4% CAGR^[4] between 2022 and 2027;

• Global market size predictions increase from $90.74 billion in 2021 to $636.38 billion in 2028^[5] in the period, 2021-2028;
• The National Health Service (NHS) will receive £6.6 billion from 2020 to 2024^[6]. Part of this money is set aside for telehealth services^[6];
• The US Department of Health and Human Services is investing $20 million^[7] to expand and strengthen telehealth in rural America;
• The proliferation of telehealth services in non-Western nations^[8] and an upsurge in telehealth start-ups point to widespread investment.

These statistics point to both a competitive market and great potential for innovation. At the same time, the commercialisation of the healthcare system is empowering patients to share their input. The result is a humanisation of patient-provider interactions that embraces the digital landscape.

These trends also indicate a new approach to hospital interior design to accommodate healthy doctor-patient relationships in virtual care. By incorporating the six key elements of design, interior designers can help create an environment where well-being is optimised.

Let’s take a look at how these elements interact and what Rockfon products can do to help achieve the desired effect.

3. Furniture and Equipment Needs

The choice of furniture and equipment for virtual care spaces can also have an impact on how effective communication is. If doctors are planning on spending time each day on virtual calls, a sit-stand desk can prevent back pain.

Doctors no longer require permanent desks, instead needing spaces that are easily reconfigured. A digital-first hospital is optimal when flexible furniture is used to help facilitate this environmental versatility. Rockfon® Canva™ is a smart approach to building adaptable places that feel good. You may pick any colour, either from our Colours of Wellbeing palette or modify it to suit a specific mood or visual identity.

The product's modular shape and detachable canvases also allow you to change the look by simply ordering a new canvas. You also have the flexibility to choose where to place the acoustic panels. They can be mounted on the ceiling or attached to the wall.

Using dual monitors will help doctors talk with patients while having any relevant notes or medical records at hand. Good quality webcams and microphones should also be used for crisp and clear images and audio. The positioning of the camera is also important and should avoid as many visual distractions around the doctor as possible.

Transforming Hospital Interior Design for Telehealth

Telehealth, telemedicine, and other forms of virtual care have become increasingly prevalent in the healthcare industry. Therefore, interior designers must change how they design hospital spaces to set the right tone for doctor-patient virtual care.

This means using building materials that combine hygiene and cleanliness with optimal lighting and acoustics. Rockfon has decades of experience crafting the best components for hybrid environments, so doctors and patients can converse digitally.

Sources

1. _{McElroy, Jane A., Tamara M. Day, and Mirna Becevic. 2020. “The Influence of Telehealth for Better Health across Communities.” Preventing Chronic Disease 17 (64). https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.200254.}
2. _{Lloyd, Stacy. n.d. “A Review of Telehealth Trends: Informing the Future of Virtual Care.” https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/2021-02/emerging-topics-webinar-telehealth-slides.pdf.}
3. _{“Digital Health Dollars Hit $15B High Driven by Telehealth Investment in 2021.” n.d. FierceHealthcare. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/digital-health/telehealth-funding-soars-to-4-2b-record-shattering-2021.}
4. _{ltd, Market Data Forecast. n.d. “UK Telehealth Market Size, Growth Analysis Report | 2021 to 2026.” Market Data Forecast. https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/uk-telehealth-market.}
5. _{“Telehealth Market Size, Share, Trends - Industry Report 2026.” 2019. Fortunebusinessinsights.com. 2019. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/telehealth-market-101065.}
6. _{“IBISWorld - Industry Market Research, Reports, and Statistics.” n.d. Www.ibisworld.com. https://www.ibisworld.com/united-kingdom/market-research-reports/telehealth-services-industry/.}
7. _{Walker, Mark. 2021. “Biden Administration Seeks to Expand Telehealth in Rural America.” The New York Times, September 19, 2021, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/19/us/politics/telehealth-rural-america.html.}
8. _{“Tech: The Future of Telehealth Start-Ups in the Post-Pandemic Era.” n.d. MSN. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.msn.com/en-my/money/topstories/tech-the-future-of-telehealth-start-ups-in-the-post-pandemic-era/ar-AAYu3k9.}