Care Delivery of Today and Tomorrow

By Guy Fragala, PhD, PE, CSP, CSPHP
April 2, 2019

At a recent HIDA Executive Conference it was estimated that by 2024, U.S. outpatient visits will total 2.2 billion visits; this is more than double all visits in the rest of the healthcare continuum combined. As the delivery of care continues to evolve, it’s important for caregivers and their health systems to keep in mind the need for continuous improvement, changing care practices and new technologies. Now more than ever, we must be forward thinking when planning for care delivery centers of today and tomorrow.

A recent study at a Department of Veterans Affairs facility illustrates this importance with its demonstration of a thorough, strategic exam room design. Primary care providers experienced significantly less mental workload and greater situation awareness when using the new exam room design. Further, providers rated the new exam room layout significantly higher in terms of being integrated with their clinical workflow and spent significantly more time in screen-sharing activities with patients. A more thoughtful design of the exam room layout with respect to placement and physical design of the computing set-up may reduce provider cognitive effort and enhance aspects of patient centeredness by viewing the computer and EMR it displays as an important aspect of the provider and patient interaction.

As we look to the future, there is much to consider in the way of facility design, workflow access, comfort, the flow of information and the caregiver-patient relationship. At the core of the Midmark mission is a new way of thinking about caregiver-patient interaction and the delivery of efficient patient care. Midmark is redefining the future of the clinical space, providing the tools to rethink and redefine workflow.