A patient’s perception of the overall healthcare experience is closely tied to the quality of care received, cleanliness, safety, and communication. The physical environment is becoming more and more important to this overall experience. The delivery of facilities services must evolve to keep pace with patients’ expectations. It’s especially important since people often have a choice of where they go for their healthcare.
Healthcare organizations’ needs are continuously changing and have conflicting priorities. The need to balance patient care, prevent infections, provide a secure environment, maintain safety, and manage patient satisfaction is no small task. Combine this with the fact that most healthcare facilities are doing all of it with limited resources and budget dollars, and it’s clear to see that workplace service providers need to evolve to better meet facility managers’ needs.
Three of the largest areas impacting patient satisfaction scores as shown by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey are: (1) design, (2) construction trends, and (3) the creation of flexible healthcare environments.
Data shows that improving the hospital’s design and construction build process greatly impacts the patient and care provider experience. Moreover, healthcare facilities need to take into account their entire facility lifecycle and plan for how that will need to adapt and change over time. It's not just about the building structure itself. There are many ways to improve the patient experience without building for the flexibility of moving walls or embedding technology. Take for instance Flex Gas. It allows for flexible tubes to be used for medical gases so that the patient can be moved around, rather than the walls.
Other data points have been shown to positively impact patients, including:
- Better patient recovery times
- Lower pain perception
- More positive disposition
- Lower stress levels
- A greater ability to focus for visitors and practitioners
- Decreased turnover of healthcare providers
There's never been a better time to build better, and provide a better experience. Click below to read the entire findings in our healthcare white paper.
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