Human-centered Design In Hospital Environments: Improving Patient Experience & Employee Wellbeing

Healthcare institutions have grown leaps and bounds over the last few years, especially since the advent of digitization. While new software tools and modern equipment have made things easier for patients, doctors, and a range of healthcare workers, the need for human-centered design in hospitals remains.

Human-centered design is often at the core of a fully-functioning healthcare institution. It ensures convenience, safety, and efficiency of the employees while offering the best possible care to the patients. From spatial design and implementation of the right tech to designing the right policies and regulations, a human-centered design in hospitals is comprehensive.

Such designs are in the interest of both the healthcare workers and the patients. Before understanding how it benefits both these parties, let us quickly understand what human-centered design is.

What Is A Human-Centered Design In Healthcare?

It is common to assume that human-centered design is limited to the architectural design of a healthcare institution. However, this is not the case. In the context of healthcare, a human-centered design refers to a set of design principles that focus on identifying and solving problems faced by healthcare workers and patients. It includes every touchpoint a patient goes through, from the moment they book an appointment until they are discharged from the hospital.

A human-centered design also ensures that all healthcare workers stay engaged and give their best while offering medical care to their patients. It improves on-premise workflows and enhances hospital administration without putting an excessive burden on any healthcare professional.

Let us dive a little deeper into the human-centered design in hospitals by understanding how it benefits patients and healthcare workers.

How Does A Human-Centered Design Improve Patient Experiences?

A human-centric design is always a patient-centric hospital design. It is created keeping the convenience and well-being of every patient in mind. Hospital management often redesigns clinical systems to improve a patient’s journey from start to finish.

Here are a few important ways in which a human-centered design improves patient experiences:

Seamless Appointment Booking

For the longest time, patients have faced issues scheduling appointments with healthcare professionals. From waiting in a line at a hospital to not being able to find the right slot, bookings have always been quite messy when it comes to the healthcare sector.

A human-centered design ensures seamless appointment booking through online applications and websites. Hospitals are increasingly working on their IT infrastructures to ensure hassle-free booking and tracking of appointments. This reduces the wait time for patients and prevents them from waiting for an eternity after reaching the hospital.

Must Read: The Role Of ICU Nurses: Providing Caring Attention In Critical Situations

Virtual Inpatient Care

Human-centered design also includes offering virtual patient care. Telehealth in inpatient settings has come quite far in 2024. While being treated at a hospital, a patient can receive virtual and remote care from the right professionals. This gives patients a blend of on-premise and virtual care. Moreover, such designs allow healthcare institutions to stay in touch with their patients throughout their recovery journeys.

Virtual inpatient care includes remote consultations, virtual rounding sessions, real-time tracking of patient vitals, and much more. Healthcare workers are often busy all the time and cannot tend to every patient beyond a certain point. Virtual inpatient care fills these gaps to give patients a seamless experience.

Focus On Emotional Well-being

An efficient human-centered design in hospitals focuses on a patient’s physical and emotional well-being. Being admitted to a hospital, especially in the case of a serious and/or chronic condition can take a toll on a patient’s mental health. Hospitals are increasingly working on offering counseling sessions and keeping track of every patient’s emotional health until they recover.

Patient Education

Patients and their loved ones are often curious about knowing everything about the issue at hand. Human-centered designs tackle this issue by keeping everyone informed about the complications. Thanks to technological advancements, hospitals can now send all relevant details about a patient’s health and information about their health issues to them and their loved ones virtually to clear all their doubts.

How Does A Human-Centered Design Improve Employee Well-being?

Let us now have a look at how a human-centered design in hospitals has a positive influence on healthcare workers:

Optimized Layouts

Healthcare workers are always on the move. Most of them cannot afford to delay their care as they tend to multiple patients. A human-centered design includes optimized layouts to help these workers in their tasks. It reduces unnecessary movements and prevents fatigue. For example, an act as simple as placing frequently used supplies in easily accessible areas can improve healthcare workers’ efficiency.

Integration Of Modern Technology

Integrating modern technology in day-to-day activities reduces the burden on the shoulders of healthcare professionals. From automating bookings to maintaining electronic health records, suitable tech integrations make things easier for healthcare workers. Gone are the days when the nursing staff at hospitals would run around with a pile of files in their hands. The use of electronic health records also centralizes information and enhances coordination between different departments.

Infection Control

Looking at the damage caused by the two COVID waves, hospitals have started incorporating thorough infection control in their human-centered designs. Healthcare workers are always at risk of getting infected while tending to a plethora of patients every day. Human-centric designs ensure easy-to-clean surfaces, sanitization facilities, and all the necessary measures that keep healthcare workers safe from infections. Effective infection control also helps patients keep infections at bay.

Must Read: Surgical Site Infections: Prevention Strategies And Treatment Options

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