Over the course of 15 years or so, the design of healthcare facilities in the United States has undergone a sea of change. Once dominated by double-loaded corridors, drab colors and flat decor, healthcare has now embraced the concept of the “healing environment” and the concept that a more relaxing setting will aid in the healing process. With studies from groups like Planetree and The Center for Health Design leading the charge, healthcare buildings in the 21st Century have leaned heavily toward a hospitality-based rather an an institutional model.
Government involvement has also driven change; the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) forcefully changed the way healthcare facilities thought about the privacy of information found within their walls – written, spoken, visual, electronic, and beyond. More recently, the Affordable Care Act changed the playing field once again, insuring millions and shifting the responsibility of taking care of patients further onto the facilities than ever before, while at the same time encouraging wellness to keep people out of hospitals and clinics as much as possible.
When we speak of privacy in the modern healthcare environment, we typically think of information privacy – protecting medical data and files is mandated under HIPPA. But a patient’s physical privacy is equally, if not more important in the new modern healthcare world. Whether being examined, treated, or recovering in a healthcare facility, privacy is critical to a patient’s healing and emotional well-being.
The creation of privacy also comes with concerns regarding hygiene. Curtains and blinds are the most frequently found ways to creating visual barriers, but they may not meet desired guidelines for hygiene. Blinds and curtains gather dust and require frequent cleaning, making them less-than-ideal solution.
Physical privacy provides a sense of comfort and dignity when they are at their most vulnerable. With patient satisfaction impacting hospital’s bottom lines thanks to the new Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. Hospitals with low HCAHPS scores will see their reimbursement rates from the government lowered, putting the power in the patients’ hands like it never has been before. A number of questions on the HCAHPS survey can be negatively impacted by a lack of privacy, both visual and audible. Soon, those impacts will equate to lost dollars.
One of the tenets of this new evidence-based design model of modern healthcare design is a move toward private patient rooms; after all, how comfortable can one be with a complete stranger in the next bed? But what good are private patient rooms that still create a sense of being exposed? If a patient feels he or she is being watched or listened to, that sense of quiet comfort quickly turns to a feeling of being ill at ease.
It’s a delicate balance, and one that requires much thought; simply applying slapdash solutions likely won’t get the job done for patients or caregivers. Ultimately, healthcare designers need to create efficient, comfortable, safe and clean spaces. Establishing effective privacy solutions will play a large part in fulfilling those needs.
