Benjamin Benschneider
There s ample evidence that the design of our healthcare spaces can help us heal but they mostly haven t. Instead, offices have been designed with a focus on staff efficiency hence the cluster of exam rooms that are almost impossible to exit and a cost-effective use of space. Now, the doctor s office with its confusing layout, harsh lighting, and disconcerting educational posters is about to get an overhaul, for a whole host of reasons.
First is the rising evidence in favor of so-called supportive design, as a technique to create healthcare environments that promote healing. For patients, supportive design can lower stress, blood pressure, and even pain; for caregivers it has been linked to reducing stress and lowering absenteeism. Designers and architects who adhere to supportive design use three main principles, all supported by research, to improve patient health.
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The clinics could also be used to administer coronavirus vaccinations, according to the architects.
The prefabricated units could be especially effective for accelerated vaccine roll-out, as it enables simultaneous distribution to every passenger in the car, said NBBJ partner Ryan Hullinger.
NBBJ has designed a concept for drive-through clinics at hospitals
The proposal, drawn up in response to the coronavirus pandemic, would see patients drive into special bays outside hospitals or in hospital parking garages.
There, they would interface with healthcare staff through an open car window or door. Covid has pushed us to think about breaking out of the boundaries of a traditional healthcare space and actually providing primary care in a totally unorthodox space like a car, said Hullinger.