time , you may have had certain tests done to you that were unnecessary or may even be in a procedure that is not ideal because doctors didn ’ t have your information . Electronic records allow your information to be accessed the moment you enter a facility .
JK : When you check into a hospital , whether through the ER or admitting , you sign a release form for your patient records and they ask you from what facility it ’ s from . Once you sign it , the new facility will have access to all your records .
Electronic health records accessed through IP networks have made patient care more personalized and effective at any location . How has technology design impacted the patient care experience itself ? Has it given patients more control ? JK : Newer technology systems in medical facilities allow the patient to be involved in their care . They know well in advance what their next procedure will be by looking at their patient dashboard . All the details of their care are on that dashboard and both doctors and patients can see relevant information like history , procedures , prescriptions , referrals and so on . Before the electronic dashboard , all that stuff had to be found separately in paper records .
MF : The other push has been to bring patient care outside of the hospital and into homes and smartphones . Caregivers are pushing data out to patients because it speeds up care . Patients can see test results and then call or video conference their doctor without having to travel or deal with hospital wait times . That ’ s allowing doctors to interact with more patients , doing more with the limited hours they have on any given day .
How has healthcare MEP design enhanced the care experience ? MF : MEP is getting increasingly patient-centric . Previously , MEP designers wanted to create spaces that were within a boundary of conditions . They made assumptions about what a patient room should be , what temperature , what level of humidity , light levels and so on . Now , through patient telemetry and patient biometric data , facilities can cater to individual patient needs , in a specific room and even at a specific moment . Yet
MEP designers are still trying to make systems that are as efficient as possible . Healthcare has a reputation as energy intensive but that ’ s only because facilities need to comply with certain standards . Energy costs are still money out of the owner ’ s pockets and there ’ s always a drive to spend less money on energy . But there ’ s also a drive to increase patient comfort because that gives them an edge over competitors .
JK : Facilities would try to make the temperature as comfortable as possible for as many people as possible . But you still had people in perimeter areas that were
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either too hot or too cold . Now , facility operators can focus on individual patient rooms , through enhanced sensors , and localize settings .
MF : All the new utilities that we bring into the spaces are highly filtered and monitored . Facilities have purified water at any time they need it , they have filtered oxygen and gas available for patients who are vulnerable and susceptible to diseases . MEP designers take a lot of steps to make sure that the utilities provided at facilities are of the highest quality .
What are some design trends , either MEP or Technology , that come to mind for the future of healthcare facilities ? MF : One of the big things that comes to mind is IoT ( Internet of Things ). As more appliances and pieces of equipment feature continuous internet connectivity , facilities staff will have to analyze that data and figure out how much of it can be used . Barriers between data collections systems will break down as system data is shared across other systems . A room ’ s occupancy
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