Hospital of The Future

H EALTH C ARE AT THE C ROSSROADS :
Guiding Principles for the

Development of the Hospital
of the Future
With support from Aramark

© Copyright 2008 by The Joint Commission.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.
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H EALTH C ARE AT THE C ROSSROADS :
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF THE HOSPITAL
OF THE FUTURE
G UIDING P RINCIPLES FOR THE D EVELOPMENT OF THE H OSPITAL OF THE F UTURE
Joint Commission Public Policy Initiative
This white paper emanates from The Joint Commission’s Public Policy
Initiative. Launched in 2001, this initiative seeks to address broad issues
relating to the provision of safe, high-quality health care and, indeed, the
health of the American people. These are issues that demand the attention
and engagement of multiple publics if successful resolution is to be
achieved.
For each of the identified public policy issues that it has addressed, The Joint
Commission already has relevant state-of-the-art standards in place.
However, simple application of these standards, and other one-dimensional
efforts, will leave this country far short of its health care goals and objec-
tives. Thus, this paper does not describe new Joint Commission require-
ments for health care organizations, nor even suggest that new requirements
will be forthcoming in the future.
Rather, The Joint Commission has devised a public policy action plan that
involves the gathering of information and multiple perspectives on the issue;
formulation of comprehensive solutions; and assignment of accountabilities
for these solutions. The execution of this plan includes the convening of
roundtable discussions and national symposia, the issuance of this white
paper, and active pursuit of the suggested recommendations.
4
Table of Contents
Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part I. Economic Implications for the Hospital of the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The High Cost of Doing Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
More Red Than Rosy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Beyond Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Home Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Part II. Technology for the Provision of Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
More Than the Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Mighty I.T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Buy or Beware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Part III. Achievement of Patient-Centered Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Main Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Nothing Without Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Custom and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Serving the Underserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
On The Rise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Patient-Centered Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Part IV. The Staffing Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Wide and Deep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
A Global Predicament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Stops and Starts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
High Touch, High Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A Changing of the Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Team-Based Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Part V. Design of the Physical Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Safe by Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Flat World Phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Standardized Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Place of Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Being Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
End Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Preamble
The concept of the hospital has evolved over the cen- inpatient care at the expense of community-oriented
turies. In his history of the U.S. hospital system, care.7 An understanding of the patient’s social and
Charles Rosenberg writes that in the 18th century, the family environment, these critics contended, was neces-
last place any respectable person would want to find sary to fully understand the cause of illness and to pre-
themselves was in an “almshouse” – the predecessor to scribe its remedy.8 The overarching sentiment of the
the hospital.1 Almshouses housed the indigent, time was that medicine had to be brought out of the
orphaned, mildly criminal, and the sick for whom there hospital, into the community, and into the home to the
was no other place to go. Overcrowded, chaotic, extent possible.9
filthy and teeming with those considered to be
depraved, almshouses provided unwelcome company A century later, contemporary hospitals find themselves
for respectable citizens who were alone, ill and down with similar challenges as well as opportunities. Long
on their luck. For this reason, Benjamin Franklin since their origination, hospitals today are leaders in
agreed to cofound the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1752, the development and delivery of care to patients.
the nation’s first hospital, to replace almshouses in Indeed, hospitals are the stewards of health profes-
2
serving the “poor and deserved.” sional education and are actively engaged in promoting
better health in their communities. Hospitals, which
For the next hundred years, even as hospitals became pool health care talent from across all professional
closely aligned with medical education, they continued disciplines, are significant progenitors of major clinical
to mainly serve the poor and those desperately ill who innovations that save the lives of so many. While there
could not avoid what was widely considered to be is much variation in the size and scope of hospitals, all
3
“medical experimentation” conducted in hospitals. It hospitals have the opportunity to lead in the improve-
was not until after the Civil War – when military med- ment of health care delivery so that the right care is
ical care sped advances in clinical techniques as well as delivered in the right place at the right time for every
methods for safely treating patients in high volume -- patient.
that hospitals began to resemble modern-day
hospitals.4 The call for hospitals from a century ago echoes today.
The rise in the number of patients who are aged and
By the late 19th century, hospitals were becoming part those who are chronically ill, challenge hospitals to
of the fabric of their communities and sources of civic extend the parameters of hospital-based care from
5
pride. Hospitals were large institutional buildings by inside the medical center, to the community and into
this time, which helped to foster the growing percep- the home.
tion that hospitals were cold and impersonal places to
receive care. Indeed, during the Progressive Era (1890-
1920), critics warned that hospitals had “an increasing
concern with acute ailments and a parallel neglect of
the aged, of chronic illness, of the convalescent, of the
simply routine.” 6 They warned of a socially insensi-
tive and economically dysfunctional obsession with
6
Introduction
Human lives weigh in the balance every day in hospi- try, the local hospital is the largest employer and most
tals. For hospital patients and their families, the hospi- valuable economic asset.
tal experience is often a central point in their life –
where their child was born, their beloved died, where Consumer attitude toward hospitals waxes and wanes,
they received life-saving treatment, rejuvenating therapy seemingly with some dependence on hospital news
or care to overcome an episode of illness. The hospi- that makes headlines,11 such as traumatic medical
tal is the setting of oft-told tales among friends and errors, rampant hospital-acquired infection, and
family through the generations. It is no wonder that unscrupulous billing practices. There is no doubt that
hospitals are often used to depict human drama – and hospitals face greater scrutiny over the issues that can
even comedy -- for popular consumption across the erode public trust. In order to secure the public’s trust,
panorama of entertainment media. hospitals will need to become highly reliable -- ensur-
ing patients’ safety, providing clinically effective care,
In reality, hospitals are the setting where cutting-edge and embodying the ethical ideal that has long been the
medical advances relieve suffering, and bring healing expectation of the public.
and even new life for those whom, even a few short
years ago, there would be little hope. Featherweight Hospitals will have to meet the high expectations of
babies, born eight weeks prematurely can now survive the public and all stakeholders in an increasingly chal-
and even thrive. Minimally invasive surgeries allow lenging environment. There are many issues with
patients to heal quickly with less risk of complication, which hospitals must now contend. These include
and speed their journey home. The evolving science escalating health care costs that are no longer publicly
of organ transplantation brings a second shot at life for – or politically – tenable, changing trends in reimburse-
an increasing number of people whose lives would ment for services, demands for transparency of cost
otherwise be foreshortened. and quality data, and workforce shortages. At the same
time, the conditions and care needs of hospitalized
In addition to their impact on human life, hospitals are patients are more complex. The rise in patients with
a major driver of the U.S. economy. The hospital chronic illness, older age adults, and medical interven-
industry is the second largest private-sector employer in tions and therapies, are already influencing hospitals
the U.S. and contributes nearly $2 trillion of economic today and that influence will deepen well into the
10
activity. In many small communities across the coun- future.
The rise in patients with chronic illness, older age adults, and medical interventions
and therapies, are already influencing hospitals today and that influence will
deepen well into the future.
7
7
The importance of hospital-based care will not dimin- This white paper represents the culmination of the
ish in the future. However, changes in the social and Roundtable’s discussions. The proposed principles for
economic environments in which hospitals operate, as guiding future hospital development are summarized
well as medical and technological progress require hos- below.
pitals to be equally transformative as the future unfolds.
Principles to Support Economic Viability:
There has been a hospital building boom underway –
• Encourage the alignment of hospital meas-
fueled by increasing demand for health care services
urement and payment systems to meet qual-
and increasingly obsolete hospital plants. Though
ity and efficiency-related goals
economic conditions are expected to slow its pace, the
• Apply process improvement tools to
continuing investment in hospital construction offers
improve efficiency and reduce costs
the opportunity to remake the hospital -- its design,
• Pursue coverage options to ensure patient
culture and practices – to better meet the needs of
access to, and affordability of, health care
patients and families and the aspirations of those that
services
provide their care. But, unless there are principles to
• Address the disequilibrium between the bur-
guide the development of the hospital of the future,
dens of general acute hospitals and specialty
hospitals may simply freeze into place the status quo
hospitals in fulfilling the social mission for
of today.
health care delivery
In order to identify these principles, The Joint

Commission appointed an expert Roundtable panel
Principles to Guide Technology Adoption:
comprising hospital administrative and clinical leaders,
as well as experts in technology, health care econom- • Establish the business case and sustainable
ics, hospital design and patient safety. The Roundtable funding sources to support the widespread
was charged to evaluate the current health care envi- adoption of health information technology
ronment and identify the elements of the future hospi- • Redesign business and care processes in tan-
tal that will position it to play an appropriate role or dem with health information technology to
roles in meeting the needs of patients and publics. ensure benefit accrual
Among specific issues that were addressed by the • Use digital technology to support patient-
Roundtable were socio-economic trends, technology, centered hospital care and extend that care
the physical environment of care, patient-centered care beyond the hospital walls
values, ongoing staffing challenges, and the global con- • Establish reliable authorities to provide tech-
fluence of these issues and their impact on the hospital nology assessment and investment guidance
of the future. for hospitals
• Adopt technologies that are labor-saving and
integrative across the hospital
8
Principles to Guide Achievement of Patient- • Educate health professionals to deliver team-

Centered Care: based care and promote teamwork in the
hospital environment
• Make adoption of patient-centered care val-
• Develop the competence of health profes-
ues a priority for improving patient safety
sionals to care for geriatric patients
and patient and staff satisfaction
• Incorporate patient-centered care principles
into the activities of hospital oversight bod-
Principles to Guide Design:
ies and transparency initiatives
• Address barriers to patient and family • Incorporate evidence-based design princi-
engagement, such as low health literacy and ples that improve patient safety, including
personal and cultural preferences single rooms, decentralized nursing stations
• Eliminate disparities in the quality of care and noise-reducing materials, in hospital
for minorities, the poor, the aged and the construction
mentally ill • Address high-level priorities, such as infec-
• Improve the quality of care for the chroni- tion control and emergency preparedness,
cally ill through adoption of care models in hospital design and construction
that encourage coordinated, multi-discipli- • Include clinicians, other staff, patients and
nary care families in the design process to maximize
• Use robust process improvement tools to opportunities to improve staff work flow
improve quality and safety, and support and patient safety, and create patient-cen-
achievement of patient-centered care tered environments
• Design flexibility into the building to allow
for better adaption to the rapid cycle of
Principles to Address the Staffing Challenge: innovation in medicine and technology
• Incorporate “green” principles in hospital
• Address the maldistribution of health care
design and construction
workers across the globe by instilling fair
migration and compensation policies for
affected countries
• Expand health professional education and
training capacity to accommodate the grow-
ing demand for health care workers
• Create work place cultures that can attract
and retain health care workers
• Support the development of health profes-
sional knowledge and skills required to care
for patients in an increasingly complex
environment
9
9
I. Economic Implications for the Hospital

of the Future
The High Cost of Doing Business
In 2007, the national expenditure on health care insurance. Overall, 2.4 million fewer people have
was over $2.2 trillion, or $7,500 per U.S. resident.12 private health insurance, a drop of six percent.
Health care spending accounts for 16.2 percent of Year to year more people are uninsured. Today,
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). More than one- that figure stands at approximately 47 million
third of national health spending is for hospital people.
care, compared to approximately 20 percent for
physician services and 10 percent for pharmaceuti- Meanwhile, public health insurance programs are
cals.13 While health care costs are rising globally, in experiencing the squeeze of the current economic
no country are costs rising at the high rate of those scenario. High health care costs, a poorly perform-
of the U.S. Overall, U.S. per capita health care ing U.S. economy, diminished tax revenue, a
spending is more than 50 percent higher than any booming Medicare-eligible generation, as well as
other country.14 Among the most significant rea- growing ranks of uninsured are factors in the
sons for this contrast are higher income and higher expected insolvency of the Medicare program by
medical prices in the U.S.15 Indeed, the U.S. pays 2019.19
More Red Than Rosy

much higher prices for pharmaceuticals, hospital
stays and physician visits.16 For its level of invest-
ment, the U.S. does not receive a more favorable While many hospitals are today enjoying relative
rate of return as far as higher quality care, patient prosperity – in one survey, hospital systems report-
satisfaction or population health status compared to ed an increase in patient revenues of nearly 8.5
other industrialized nations.17 percent in 2007 from the previous year 20 -- the con-
ditions upon which these gains are made are
Higher health care costs that are borne by health expected to dramatically change in the coming
care purchasers, payers, and consumers are becom- years. And, while some hospitals experience
ing untenable. As a result, health care purchasers healthy profit margins, an uncomfortable number
are focusing on health benefit cost containment of hospitals continue to be unprofitable. There is a
strategies, mainly by shifting more of the cost bur- growing gap between have and have-not hospitals
den to employees. Job-based health insurance pre- that may very well widen as the future unfolds.
miums rose 10-times faster than incomes from 2001
to 2005, according to a report from the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.18 The amount employ-
ees paid for family coverage rose 30 percent, while
their incomes rose by three percent. Fewer pri-
vate-sector businesses offer coverage (-30,000) and
as a result, 4.1 million fewer employees are
working in private-sector jobs that offer health
10
Hospitals are not invulnerable to current economic employer-sponsored insurance and unabated
conditions. While health care has long been growth in the numbers of uninsured, hospitals can
thought to be “recession-proof” because of an end- expect more Medicaid patients and uncompensated
less supply of sick patients and reliance on govern- care. In essence, there will be more competition
ment payment, health care organizations are as vul- for the fewer patients to whom costs may be
nerable to the tightened credit market as any indus- shifted.
try. According to a report in Modern Healthcare,
even before the economy started to falter this year, There is another wrinkle in the cross-subsidy fabric.
hospital and health system bond rating downgrades In order to address escalating health care costs,
were on the upswing, while upgrades were on the stakeholders are demanding transparency of the
downswing. In fact, about 50 percent of short- costs and quality of care. For its part, the federal
term, acute-care hospitals are either insolvent or government has been taking steps to encourage
near insolvency, according to a recent report from price and quality transparency as one way to spur
Alvarez & Marshal Healthcare Industry Group.21 competition and encourage value-based health care
Financial issues are mainly arising from the instabil- purchasing decisions. An August 2006 Executive
ity of funding sources, including government subsi- Order requires federal agencies that administer or
dies and charitable contributions.22 Moreover, hos- sponsor health programs to make information
pital capital expenses are underfunded by up to available to consumers on the quality and costs of
$20 billion.23 services provided by doctors and hospitals. The
Executive Order also requires agencies and their
By and large, many hospitals are able to achieve a contractors to promote the use of interoperable
positive bottom-line through cost-shifting – subsi- health care information technology products so that
dizing services that do not cover costs with more data can easily be shared. The Order further
favorable remunerative services. For treating requires federal agencies to offer health insurance
Medicare patients, hospitals receive $.91 of every programs that reward consumers who choose
dollar expended; for Medicaid patients they receive health care providers based on value and quality.
$.86 per dollar.24 Uncompensated care accounts for
approximately six percent of hospital costs on aver-
age – in 2006 that amounted to $30 billion.25 Yet,
from private payers, hospitals receive $1.22 for
every dollar spent.26 Hospitals depend on having
robust numbers of privately insured patients in
order to be able to treat the under- and uninsured
and still remain in the black.
This scenario will be increasingly difficult to sus-

tain. With the demographic trend pointing to a
growing elderly population, hospitals can expect to
have more Medicare patients. Absent any major
health reform, with the continuing decline in
11
11
Based on the Executive Order, the Health and ness in the first place. This could be an important
Human Services Secretary launched the Value- leveler since surgery and procedure-related treat-
Driven Health Care Initiative, the agenda for which ment has long been known to attract a higher
includes four “cornerstones” – transparency of qual- financial reward than providing medical care, and
ity information, transparency of pricing information, has therefore created its own set of incentives.
promotion of health information technology adop- This action, though, will not require specialty hos-
tion, and creation of incentive mechanisms to pro- pitals to share in providing care that is solely for
mote quality and efficiency. the public good. Further, it will lower the reim-
bursement rate that all hospitals receive for per-
Transparency of pricing will likely foster what is forming these same services and further erode
now absent in health care – a price-sensitive con- future hospital revenue that provides coverage for
sumer. While it is unclear how hospital pricing – mission-related services.
and all of its irrational complexity – will be translat-
ed for consumer understanding, the net effect may In the meantime, hospitals are readying for “no pay
be a flattening of health care pricing, and dimin- for preventable events.” As of October 2008,
ished opportunity for cross-subsidization to cover Medicare no longer reimburses hospitals for a
money-losing procedures and patients. growing list of hospital-acquired conditions, such as
surgical-site infection and pressure ulcers, as part of
Transparency in both price and quality may, how- its Value-Based Purchasing Initiative. Private-sector
ever, boost the market position of specialty hospi- payers are quickly following suit.
tals. Specialty hospitals act as “focused factories,”
serving a subset of patients to perform specific pro- CMS is also looking at ways to equalize payment
cedures, such as cardiac care and orthopedic sur- by using hospital costs rather than charges to set
gery. As such, they focus on delivering well-pay- rates. It recently began adjusting payment to better
ing services to an insured pool of patients. With- recognize severity of illness and the cost of treating
out departments such as emergency, trauma and Medicare patients by increasing payments for some
intensive care, specialty hospitals are free of the services and decreasing payments for others. Fiscal
regulatory and social obligations that general hospi- pressures will also keep the pressure on future
tals are held to. And, with high margins, focused Medicare and Medicaid provider reimbursements,
expertise and high volume, specialty hospitals can and it is expected that CMS will continue to seek
be very competitive on price and quality. more avenues to not pay for “preventable condi-
tions” that occur in health care organizations.
The market and financial advantages of specialty
hospitals have not gone unnoticed, and even
spurred a moratorium on any new development for
awhile. Now that the moratorium has been lifted,
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) has
proposed correcting inequalities by lowering the
reimbursement rate for the diagnostic-related group
(DRG) codes that attracted specialty hospital busi-
12
Beyond Borders
High health care costs and inadequate access to patients for the cost of acute care received outside
specialized care are fueling fast growth in medical of their country of origin on a case-by-case basis.
tourism. Would-be patients in developed countries For some European countries, shortening waiting
are traveling thousands of miles – most often to lists may mean exporting patients to elsewhere in
India and Thailand -- to receive high-quality care at the EU, or it may mean importing health care serv-
dramatically lower costs and with no wait. Medical ices to bolster the volume of services provided and
tourism is now a multi-billion-dollar industry. In quicken turnaround times.
years past, a medical tourist was someone seeking
services that were not covered by health plans, The phenomenon of the medical tourist seeking
such as cosmetic surgery. Today, a medical tourist complex and necessary care for their well-being
is as likely to be seeking full or partial joint outside of their own “health jurisdiction” raises
replacement, cardiac surgery or even stem cell important concerns for the hospital of the future.
therapy. Typically, U.S. citizens that have gone On one hand, such medical tourism may represent
abroad have either been uninsured or under- an elaboration of an individual’s right to choose.
insured and therefore, price-sensitive to the cost of But, it may also exemplify the failure of a society to
their needed surgeries. The profile of the U.S. fulfill its social contract with its citizens.
medical tourist is changing, however, as self-
insured employers and third-party payers are A global health care marketplace is an increasing
beginning to add coverage for treatment received competitive threat for U.S. hospitals. A new study
abroad as a means to lower their own costs. from Deloitte finds that the number of patients
leaving the U.S. for medical treatment is growing at
Rather than wait months or years for an elective a faster rate than the number coming for treatment.
surgery, patients in some European countries are The study projects that U.S. health care providers
crossing borders for more immediate care. As a will lose nearly $16 billion in revenue this year to
result, some European Union (EU) countries, such outbound medical travel.27 That figure is expected
as the United Kingdom (UK), are reimbursing to grow to $68 billion by 2010, a 325 percent rise.28
Hospitals depend on having robust numbers of privately insured patients in order to

be able to treat the under- and uninsured and still remain in the black.
This scenario will be increasingly difficult to sustain.
13
13
Hospitals are “flattening” for a variety of reasons in The national focus on health care cost containment
addition to globe-trekking patients. The outsourc- strategies and increasingly unstable sources of
ing of services to offshore entities, such as for radi- funding are providing strong influence on hospitals
ology, is another way in which hospitals are to drive out waste and inefficiencies. Hospitals are
becoming more global and horizontally configured. increasingly relying on quality improvement tools
But, there are domestic factors that are influencing such as Lean and Six Sigma to create efficient,
the flattening of hospitals, as well. Specialty hospi- high-quality care processes. In addition to
tals “disaggregate” hospital services that were once improved patient safety and higher quality, many
integral to the hospital. In response, hospitals are organizations are experiencing cost savings through
striking up partnerships with physicians in these these efforts. For whom these costs are saved
ventures so that they can retain some share of the remains an issue. Many of the savings, such as
market. those derived from processes that reduce utilization
of higher cost services, accrue to health care payers
The Home Team and are revenue losers for hospitals. A realigned
Despite the impact of globalization and “disaggre- and rational payment structure that provides incen-
gation,” hospitals have a mission to fulfill to society. tives for waste reduction must accompany efforts
No new specialty hospitals or offshore services are aimed at creating an efficient – and equally effec-
being developed to serve the poor, elderly and tive – hospital industry.
under- or uninsured. With the coming squeeze on
health care pricing and increased competition, hos- New payment schemes, such as pay-for-perform-
pitals will need to adapt. They will have to learn ance, are providing hospitals with incentive to
to do more with less by squeezing out inefficien- focus on specific priorities and maximize quality
cies in care delivery. Without the prospect of related to the various measures these programs
higher reimbursement rates, hospitals will have to track. These programs will increasingly focus on
reduce their costs in order to achieve equilibrium creating efficiencies in care delivery. But, more
in the ratio of payments received to costs alignment of economic incentives with quality goals
expended. – such as improved care for the chronically ill -- is
needed. The key challenge for the hospital of the
There are some seemingly irrational health care future is to be able to fulfill its social mission in an
expenditures, that on the surface, cry out for a environment of constrained federal payment while
more efficient approach. End-of-life care is an oft- also investing in new technologies and capital
mentioned example. In the U.S., highest per capita improvements.
health care expenditure occurs in the last months
of life. Several other countries perform markedly
better by this measure and spend less on care at
the end of life. However, “to do as they do” is not
as easy as it seems. Differences in social norms,
laws, regulations and litigation trends are among
the reasons why there are no easy answers to this
complex problem.
14
Principles to Support the Economic Viability of

the Hospital of the Future:
• Encourage the alignment of hospital meas-

urement and payment systems to meet
quality and efficiency-related goals
• Apply process improvement tools to
improve efficiency and reduce costs
• Pursue coverage options to ensure patient
access to, and affordability of, health care
services
• Address the disequilibrium between the bur-
dens of general acute hospitals and specialty
hospitals in fulfilling the social mission for
health care delivery
For More Information on Hospital Economics:
• American Hospital Association,

www.aha.org
• Health Care Financial Management
Association, www.hcfma.org
• Center for Studying Health System Change,
www.hschange.org
15
15
II. Technology for the Provision of Care

More Than the Building
“…no matter what your profession – doctor, lawyer, monitoring technologies enable disease manage-
architect, accountant -- …you better be good at the ment questions and objective data – for instance,
touchy-feely service stuff, because anything that can
be digitized can be outsourced to either the smartest blood glucose levels of a diabetic patient – to be
or the cheapest producer, or both... ‘Everyone has to uploaded to their Electronic Health Record (EHR)
focus on what exactly is their value-add.’” daily. Care coordinators, who are usually nurses
-- from The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman and social workers, use these data to prioritize who
among their patients needs active care manage-
With digital technology, radiologists in Bangalore, ment. CCHT enables a single care coordinator to
India do not have to come to the U.S. to practice, support a caseload of between 120 and 150
U.S. radiology films can go to them. Even more patients depending on case mix. In selected
profoundly, digital technology is changing the locus patients, videoconferencing capabilities even allow
of care delivery and allowing for more care -- care for virtual physician office visits in the home, which
that may fall under the umbrella of the hospital -- is especially beneficial for patients living in remote
to occur outside of the hospital’s walls. areas.
In the U.S., the Department of Veterans’ Affairs This application of technology is not intended to
(VA) is on the cutting edge of using digital technol- replace the high-touch aspect of care delivery.
ogy to better meet the needs of a growing number Because of the heavy emphasis on disease man-
of military veterans, both those who are reaching agement and vital sign monitoring, CCHT helps to
their senior years and those newly returned from reduce disease complications, and allows patients
current conflicts. The VA’s national Care and caregivers to recognize sooner when a doctor’s
Coordination Home Telehealth (CCHT) Program visit or a hospital admission may be necessary.
was first implemented in 2004 to bring about a Currently, the CCHT program supports the care of
transition of institutionally based care and chronic 33,883 patients in their own homes. Outcomes
care management from hospitals and clinics to data from a cohort of 17,025 patients showed a 20
patients’ own homes when indicated and appropri- percent reduction in hospital admissions and a 25
ate. Telehealth applications combined with disease percent reduction in hospital bed days of care.29
management methods and a comprehensive elec-
tronic health record (EHR) support VA care coordi-
nators to remotely monitor patients and thereby
enhance and extend care and management.
The emphasis of CCHT is on patient self-manage-

ment and providing a program of care, rather than
the traditional episodic approach to care. Remote
16
The efficiencies and quality improvements gained patient located in a vastly different place than
through the VA’s CCHT program are helping the VA where its facility is located.
to serve more patients and change the location of
care in accordance with patient preferences. As an integrated, single-payer system, standardiza-
Veteran patients receiving CCHT care have a mean tion and innovation is perhaps easier to achieve in
satisfaction score of 86 percent.30 CCHT is part of the VA system than in hospitals and other health
a larger transition in the location of care for care providers that operate in a more fragmented
patients that is making care more accessible and environment. Implementation of new models of
convenient for veteran patients. In 1995, the VA care like the CCHT involve changes in clinical prac-
system had 50,000 hospital beds; today it has tice, technology infrastructure and business
18,000 with the addition of over 1,000 sites of care processes. Given the underlying need to care for
in local communities that provide primary and greater numbers of patients with chronic disease,
ambulatory care. In the intervening period, the VA telehealth and remote patient monitoring could
has become markedly more efficient with a rela- have the same evolutionary impact outside of the
tively modest increase in clinical staffing, but a dra- VA as it has had within.
Mighty I.T.
matic rise in the number of patients served –
increasing from 2.5 million to 5 million in the same
time frame. Like its counterparts in the non-federal At the core of the VA’s Care Coordination Program
health system, the VA has to do more with less. is a comprehensive electronic health record system
that is in standard use across VA health delivery
The migration of care from the hospital bed and sites, including remotely delivered care in the
physician office to the home that is allowed home. In fact, the VA has the largest enterprise-
through technology invites the redefinition of the wide health information system in the U.S. Outside
hospital. Rather than being defined by its number of the VA, only approximately 11 percent of non-
of beds, the “value-add” of the hospital of the federal hospitals31 and 12 percent of physician
future may be its intellectual property. A hospital practices 32 have implemented comprehensive
will be able to lend its expertise to the care of a electronic health records.
Rather than being defined by its number of beds, the “value-add” of the hospital
of the future may be its intellectual property.
17
17
Many other countries, including the United For its part in advancing the adoption of electronic
Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Australia and health records, the federal government created the
Canada have moved ahead of the U.S. in deploying Office of the National Coordinator for Health
health information technology. In fact, the U.S. Information Technology (ONC) within the
lags a dozen years behind other industrialized Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
countries in health information technology (HIT) ONC’s primary purpose is to coordinate the devel-
adoption.33 opment of standards that will allow for interoper-
ability between systems, and a national health
In all of the countries that have implemented information network through which health informa-
national HIT programs, the costs have been paid tion can be exchanged.38 In 2005, HHS created the
by the government and health insurers, and not by American Health Information Community (AHIC).
the health care providers.34 These countries have This federal advisory committee includes represen-
viewed their investment in HIT as a public good, tatives from both the private and public sectors and
the benefits of which – reduced costs and is charged to provide recommendations to HHS on
improved quality -- will mainly accrue to health making health records digital and interoperable, as
care payers and patients.35 Implementation chal- well as capable of protecting the privacy of patient
lenges in these countries are also far easier to over- information. HHS is now in the process of transi-
come given their relatively simple payer structures tioning the AHIC to a successor organization under
and centralized decision-making capacity as com- funding to the Brookings Institution and LMI
pared to the U.S. With fewer payers – and in some Consulting. It is envisioned that the AHIC-2 will
cases, such as in the U.K., centralized vendor selec- not start from whole cloth, but will learn from and
tion -- the ability to standardize nomenclature and enhance the work of the existing AHIC’s efforts to
build an interoperable platform is made easier. promote electronic interchange of information.
AHIC-2 is expected to be even more inclusive than
In the U.S., attempts by payers, coalitions and over- AHIC and may also involve some regional loci for
sight bodies to influence the rate of adoption of its work.
HIT have had mixed results. Following the IOM’s
release of To Err is Human in 1999, the Leapfrog
Group – a consortium of large employers – estab-
lished its first “leaps” in patient safety for hospitals
serving their employees to meet. Among this first
set of standards was the requirement that hospitals
implement computerized physician order entry
(CPOE) systems. Although this requirement came
in 2000, still only about five percent of all U.S. hos-
pitals have a CPOE system.36 Clearly, this leap has
fallen short. Leapfrog attributes this to the sheer
cost of implementing CPOE and resistance by
physicians.37
18
In the meantime, HHS has launched demonstration Issues of interoperability remain generally unsolved
projects through which it provides financial incen- as of today. While health care policymakers and
tives for health care practitioners to use HIT. The standards bodies hammer out solutions for achiev-
Medicare Care Management Demonstration, in part, ing interoperability of systems that will allow for
provides additional payment to physicians who use data sharing between separate entities, many health
an EHR certified by the Certification Commission care providers see this as a reason to wait to invest
for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) to in HIT. Unsolved issues around data privacy and
electronically submit performance data on 26 meas- fear of system obsolescence further fuel their hesi-
ures. The most recent demonstration project tancy. In the meantime, lack of interoperability
allows CMS to make bonus payments to small between HIT systems and medical devices that
physician practices that use a certified EHR for clin- have an HIT component – such as hospital beds
ical documentation and e-prescribing. Payments that take readings of vital signs but do not integrate
are determined based on the practices’ perform- with the EHR – slow the workflow of care
ance on specific quality measures. providers. Indeed, nurses are often the “integra-
tors” of patient information between HIT systems.
It may be that many hospitals still need to be con- As new technologies are added to the workplace, it
vinced of the value of HIT. While there is a strong is essential that they be labor-saving in order to
evidence base supporting claims that such HIT sys- conserve already stretched professional resources.
tems yield significant benefit for the safety and
quality of health care, there has been insufficient Buy or Beware
research conducted to support the return on invest- With a well-funded biotechnology industry, new
ment from HIT.39 And, the level of required invest- technologies are constantly being created with the
ment can be substantial. Initial implementation hope of creating a new disease market or need.
costs may range from several hundred thousand This constant barrage of technology purchasing
dollars for initial implementation in a physician decisions may be difficult to navigate since any
office to millions in a community hospital to tens of new purchase creates an opportunity to increase
millions of dollars in an academic medical center. costs – and waste -- in the system. Adding certain
Annual maintenance of the systems can cost tens of new technologies into the health care work place
thousands to several million dollars. can be very disruptive to work flow and exacerbate
inefficiencies. Technologies that are not integrative
Many are also wary of the work flow disruptions with other technologies add very little value to the
that a full-scale IT implementation can cause. patient’s care and the health care worker’s practice.
Enhancing work flow and care process redesign
needs to be part and parcel of the implementation
plan. Failure to do so can serve to codify already
broken or defective care processes. Involving clini-
cal staff who will be using the technology – at the
patient’s bedside, in the office, pharmacy, lab and
home – in its development and providing follow-
on training are key to its success.
19
19
With a plethora of cutting-edge information and Principles to Guide Technology Adoption for
clinical technology purchasing decisions to be the Hospital of the Future:
made under a tight budget, health care profession-
• Establish the business case and sustainable
als could use an objective authority to help guide
funding sources to support the widespread
their value-based investments.
adoption of health information technology
• Redesign business and care processes in tan-
From 1974-1995, the Congressional Office of
dem with health information technology to
Technology Assessment (OTA) provided Congress
ensure benefit accrual
with objective analysis of contemporary issues
• Use digital technology to support patient-
involving science and technology. OTA reports
centered hospital care and extend that care
were highly authoritative and well respected.40
beyond the hospital walls
Similar functions in other countries were even
• Establish reliable authorities to provide tech-
modeled after the OTA.41 But, these reports were
nology assessment and investment guidance
sometimes unpopular, especially when their con-
for hospitals
clusions ran counter to the interests of affected
• Adopt technologies that are labor-saving and
industries. The OTA lost its funding in 1995.
integrative across the hospital
The loss of the OTA has left a void. In 2004, a

new bill to re-establish some of the capabilities of
For More Information on Hospital-related
the OTA was defeated; however, many feel that
Technology:
Congress would benefit from expert analyses of
many of the complex scientific and technological • Office of the National Coordinator for
issues that are often a source of debate. Health Information Technology,
www.hhs.gov/healthit/onc/mission
Though there are private-sector sources for infor- • American Medical Informatics Association,
mation to support technology decision-making, the www.amia.org
OTA served as a public source for much-needed • Health Information Management Systems
information. Society, www.himss.org
• Health Technology Center,
www.healthtechcenter.org
20
III. Achievement of Patient-Centered Care

The Main Point
At Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, family members When it comes to their health, patients often do
are included in patient rounds in the pediatric not act alone on their own behalf, but their health
intensive care unit and the hospital encourages care decisions are intertwined with those closest to
family-centered rounds on all of its clinical units.42 them – their family members or others to whom
MCG Health System in Augusta, Georgia relies on they are emotionally tied. Family, then, is the third
its Patient and Family Advisory Council to inform part of the triumvirate in the health care partner-
the physical design of its care environments and ship.
even its compliance with Joint Commission
National Patient Safety Goals.43 Across its various The Institute for Family-Centered Care defines the
advisory councils, the University of Washington core concepts of patient-centered care as:45
Medical Center recruits patient and family member 1. Dignity and Respect – Health care practitioners
volunteers to interview and select residency candi- listen to and honor patient and family perspec-
dates, and to develop patient educations materials tives and choices. Patient and family knowledge,
and other supportive programs for patients and values, beliefs and cultural backgrounds are
family members.44 incorporated into the planning and delivery of
care.
As a result of revelations concerning patient safety, 2. Information Sharing – Health care practition-
hospitals have had to look inward at practices, ers communicate and share complete and unbi-
policies and even the cultures and attitudes that are ased information with patients and families in
prevalent in their delivery settings. In so doing, ways that are affirming and useful. Patients and
there is now renewed emphasis and acceptance families receive timely, complete, and accurate
that it is the patient who is at the center of care. information in order to effectively participate in
Not only is the patient the main point, but the care and decision-making.
patient has the greatest stake in their care and as
such, should be respected as an equal partner in
their care. The elevation of the patient to partner
is not a ceremonial title bestowed for a “feel good”
moment, but has significant implications for the
quality and safety of patient care.
The elevation of the patient to partner is not a ceremonial title bestowed for a “feel
good” moment, but has significant implications for the quality and safety of patient care.
21
21
3. Participation – Patients and families are Another study of patients hospitalized for acute
encouraged and supported in participating in myocardial infarction found that patients who rated
care and decision-making at the level they hospitals poorly on Picker Institute measures of
choose. patient-centered care had poorer health outcomes
4. Collaboration – Patients and families are also than those who experienced more patient-centered
included on an institution-wide basis. Health care.48
care leaders collaborate with patients and fami-
lies in policy and program development, imple- The experiences of MCG Health System in Augusta,
mentation, and evaluation; in health care facility Georgia attests to the prospects for patient-centered
design; and in professional education, as well as care in improving quality and safety. In 2003, the
in the delivery of care. health system redesigned its intensive care unit for
neuroscience patients to allow patients’ families to
Another resource for patient-centered care guid- stay with them at all times.49 The observances of
ance is Planetree. Planetree is a non-profit organi- family members were valued by the unit’s clinical
zation that provides education and information to staff. Owing to these insights and improved com-
health care organizations to facilitate the delivery of munications, medication errors in the unit
patient-centered care. Planetree’s Patient-Centered decreased 62 percent, length of stay decreased 50
Care Designation Program recognizes hospitals that percent, and the staff vacancy rate fell from 7.5 per-
meet its criteria for patient-centered care. These cent to zero.50 Patient satisfaction ratings increased
criteria have been compiled based upon the expe- from the tenth percentile to the 95th.51 In the words
riences of hospitals who have achieved patient-cen- of an MCG staff member, the families “helped us
tered care, as well as the feedback of patients. The help their loved ones.” 52
criteria are used to measure organizations’ struc-
tures and functions that support patient-centered
care concepts; human interactions; patient educa-
tion and community access to information; family
involvement; nutrition; the architecture and interior
design of the healing environment; art programs;
spirituality and diversity; integrative therapies; com-
munity health; and measurement.46
Nothing Without Me
Engaging patients in their care has real implications
for the quality and safety of patient care. A large
study of adult patients with chronic or serious con-
ditions who were engaged in a collaborative care
model had better control of their blood pressure,
blood glucose levels, and serum cholesterol than
patients who had less confidence either in their
doctors or their ability to care for themselves.47
22
Engagement of patients and families empowers being similarly engaged.54 The World Health
patients to participate in care decisions, provide Organization (WHO) has also made patient and
self-care, and protect themselves from potential family engagement in patient safety improvement a
harm. In fact, The Joint Commission’s National major priority of its World Alliance for Patient
Patient Safety Goal 13 specifically requires health Safety, launched in 2004.55
care organization staff to encourage patients’ active
involvement in their care as a patient safety Patients and families are also driving momentum.
strategy. Goal 13 further requires staff to identify Several patient advocacy organizations, such as
ways in which the patient and his or her family can Partnerships for Patient Safety (p4ps) and PULSE
report concerns about safety and encourage them are organized around the goal of advancing
to do so. The rationale for this goal states that patient-centered care and improving patient safety.
“communication with the patient and family about
all aspects of care, treatment, and services is an Social momentum for patient-centered care is also
important characteristic of a culture of safety. When likely to increase with the growth of consumer-
the patient knows what to expect, he or she is directed health plans and health savings accounts
more aware of possible errors and choices. The (HSAs). Such health plans increase the health care
patient can also be an important source of informa- consumers’ responsibility for making value-based
tion about potential adverse events and hazardous health care purchasing decisions.
conditions.” The aspect of patient empowerment
within patient-centered care has led to the notion Technology is another momentum-building factor.
of “nothing about me, without me.” The advent of personal health records (PHRs) will
provide patients with “point and click” access to
Momentum their own health records as well as enhanced com-
In addition to Joint Commission standards and munications capabilities with their care providers.
safety goals, other organizational and professional Technology that is allowing patients to receive
accrediting bodies increasingly emphasize the higher levels of care in their homes underscores
importance of engaging patients in the delivery of the need for a patient-centered approach to care,
care. In the U.S., the inclusion of information per- especially as their role as “partner” in care delivery
taining to patients’ perspectives of care on the CMS becomes a 24/7 endeavor. These patients and fam-
Web site, Hospital Compare, provides a powerful ilies need personalized education and training, as
incentive for hospitals to better meet the expecta- well as a professional support system so that the
tions of patients. The survey – called H-CAHPS – transition to home-based care is safe and effective
addresses issues such as the quality of nurse and for all involved.
physician communications with patients, discharge
instructions, and medication education. In the
international arena, the U.K. National Health
Service (NHS) is requiring its hospitals and primary
care clinics to engage patients and family in quality
improvement efforts.53 Across Canada, patients are
23
23
Custom and Culture

While momentum is certainly building and the con- For the hospital of the future, care must be increas-
cept of patient-centered care is widely embraced, ingly customized to the personal expectations, cul-
much is still getting lost in the execution. There tural beliefs and traditions, and language needs of
are barriers, not the least of which is the height- the patient. In eliciting patients’ needs and expec-
ened need for patient education when practitioners tations of their care, hospitals may need to perform
seemingly have less time to spend with patients – an intake interview that covers these topics at the
ala the 10-minute office visit. There are also issues time of admission.
of health literacy – in the U.S. alone, nearly half the
population lacks the skills necessary to obtain, Instilling patient-centered care is not just about
process, and understand basic health information changing policies and practices; it is about chang-
and services needed to make appropriate health ing culture, which is never easily done. For staff to
decisions.56 be empathetic to patients, the hospital must also
have an empathetic culture for staff. Staff members
The focus in patient-centered care on transparency need to be supported through systems that protect
can make hospital risk managers uneasy. Yet, sev- them from harm – and from doing harm. In the
eral studies have revealed that what patients really absence of such cultures and work environments,
want – open disclosure, communications and col- staff members may become overburdened and
laboration – nurtures, rather than harms, patient increasingly demoralized. To achieve a culture that
and caregiver relationships.57 is patient-centered and supportive of staff, hospital
leadership and staff must share common beliefs
It is also important to underscore what patient-cen- and values. Coming to these common beliefs and
tered care is not. In some countries, the term is a values may be the hardest part of achieving cultural
euphemism for a lower tier of care, where the de change.
Serving the Underserved

facto caregiver is the family – not in partnership
with practitioners – but on their own. There are
other cultural differences to patient-centered care. In the U.S., there are specific populations who are
In Thai culture, the family will stay at the patient’s the least likely to receive patient-centered care. For
bedside round-the-clock and help with feeding and minority groups and the poor, disparities in health
personal support. But, neither a Thai patient nor care quality and access persist. The 2007 National
family member will generally participate in deci- Healthcare Disparities Report issued by the Agency
sion-making -- that is the province of the physician, for Healthcare Research and Quality reveals that,
whose level of education is held in high esteem. overall, disparities have not been reduced despite
In any country, it is also important to recognize the growing body of evidence of their existence,
that not every patient wants to be a partner in their though there have been small gains.58 Positive
care, nor do they wish their family to be. The level examples include the adequacy of hemodialysis for
of partnership may vary – some patients may wish Black and for White patients, and the hospital
to be 50/50 partners, others may wish for much admission rate among Hispanics and the poor and
less. their White, affluent counterparts for perforated
appendix.59
24
These small gains are offset by the persistence of year. In a 2007 AHA survey, 42 percent of hospi-
wide disparities in health care quality that have tals reported an increase in boarding behavioral
resulted in disproportionate numbers of minorities health patients in the emergency department.67
and poor who have AIDS, lower immunization
rates, and lack access to prenatal care, among other The boarding of psychiatric patients brings its own
examples of unequal treatment.60 particular strain and costs. Crowded emergency
departments, with staff and resources stretched
Sometimes it is the provenance of their illness that thin, cannot provide the intense care and monitor-
creates disparate access to quality health care for ing psychiatric patients in crisis need, which is best
patients. Mentally ill patients are perhaps the most provided in an appropriate setting and by specially
underserved patient population today. A report trained health care workers.
On The Rise
from a special commission to President Bush claims
that half of Americans who need mental health
care are not getting it, even if they have sought it.61 Today, half of all hospitalized patients have one or
Mainly due to a payment system that does not sup- more chronic condition, such as diabetes, heart dis-
port the provision of psychiatric care, many hospi- ease and asthma. The prevalence of chronic illness
tal-based and free-standing psychiatric services is expected to steadily increase. By 2030, it is esti-
have closed or reduced their number of beds.62 In mated that 171 million people will have at least
fact, from 1995 to 1999, the number of psychiatric one chronic illness.68 By this same year, older
beds in this country shrunk by 38 percent.63 All the adults will account for more than 20 percent of the
while, demand for inpatient psychiatric care has population.69 While older adults are expected to
climbed,64 leaving the mentally ill often with live longer, this will not be without personal health
nowhere else to turn but to the hospital emergency challenges. More than 75 percent of adults over
department for care. In fact, emergency depart- age 65 suffer from at least one chronic condition,
ments across the country report an influx of men- and many have multiple conditions.70 Among cur-
tally ill patients coming through their doors.65 rent Medicare beneficiaries, 20 percent have five or
With so few alternatives to place these patients in a more chronic conditions.71
psychiatric bed, the emergency department often
holds these patients for hours, even days.66
Though the roots of the problem began more than
a decade ago, it is a problem that worsens year to
For the hospital of the future, providing patient-centered care means better meeting the
needs of all of its patients, including the underserved, the aged and the chronically ill
who will fill its beds in greater numbers.
25
25
Aging is not the only factor driving the burgeoning Patient-Centered Transformation
ranks of the chronically ill. Owing to its significant- To increase their reliability in delivering patient-
ly higher rates of obesity and smoking, the U.S. has centered care, hospitals can turn to the process
a significantly higher rate of associated diseases – improvement tools -- such as Six Sigma and Lean,
such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease – among others -- that have proved effective for
than European countries.72 According to the transforming other industries. A glimpse of that
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), transformation can be seen at hospitals like Virginia
80 percent of diabetes, heart disease and stroke Mason Medical Center in Seattle, which has applied
could be eliminated through reductions in smoking these tools to improve the quality of care for
and obesity.73 patients with low back pain and other conditions,
increase adherence to evidence-based care, and
There is widespread recognition that care for the decrease costs.80 In ThedaCare hospitals in south-
chronically ill in the U.S. is falling short. An oft- ern Wisconsin, application of these methods to
cited report from RAND indicates that the chroni- general medical units has allowed the hospitals to
cally ill receive approximately half of recommend- reduce medication errors, the average amount of
ed care.74 At the root of this issue is the predomi- time these patients are hospitalized, and the fees
nant organization of the health delivery and pay- charged for certain procedures.81 New York-
ment system to support the diagnosis and treatment Presbyterian Hospital used these tools to reduce
of acute, or episodic, conditions.75 Patients with average length of stay for patients undergoing car-
chronic illness, especially those with multiple con- diac and orthopedic procedures, reduce medication
ditions, often receive care from multiple providers errors and patient falls, and increase patient satis-
and take many medications.76 Because this care is faction rates.82
uncoordinated, patients may experience duplicative
services and testing, avoidable hospitalization, and
adverse drug events.77 As a result, care is often
fragmented, ineffective and costly for people with
chronic diseases.78 Optimal care for people with
chronic diseases involves coordinated, continuous
treatment by a multidisciplinary team of health care
professionals.79 These patients need education and
tools to support self-management, and connections
to community resources for their social, mental
health and home health needs.
For the hospital of the future, providing patient-

centered care means better meeting the needs of
all of its patients, including the underserved, the
aged and the chronically ill who will fill its beds in
greater numbers.
26
Principles to Guide Achievement of Patient-

Centered Care in the Hospital of the Future:
• Make adoption of patient-centered care val-

ues a priority for improving patient safety
and patient and staff satisfaction
• Incorporate patient-centered care princi-
ples into the activities of hospital oversight
bodies and transparency initiatives
• Address barriers to patient and family
engagement, such as low health literacy
and personal and cultural preferences
• Eliminate disparities in the quality of care
for minorities, the poor, the aged and the
mentally ill
• Improve the quality of care for the chroni-
cally ill through adoption of care models
that encourage coordinated, multi-discipli-
nary care
• Use robust process improvement tools to
improve quality and safety, and support
achievement of patient-centered care
For More Information on Patient-Centered

Care:
• The Institute for Family-Centered Care,
www.familycenteredcare.org
• Planetree, www.planetree.com
• Partnership for Patient Safety (p4ps),
www.p4ps.org
• PULSE, www.pulseamerica.org
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement,
www.ihi.org
27
27
IV. The Staffing Challenge

Wide and Deep
Hospitals rank second as a source of private-sector relat-ed mortality, failure to rescue, and higher risk
jobs nationwide.83 In urban areas, hospitals are of complications, among other negative patient out-
among the top ten employers, and are often the comes.92 In addition, beds that are not staffed can-
largest employer in rural areas.84 Health care, not be filled by patients, undermining the admis-
broadly, contributed more jobs to the economy sions process, especially admissions from the emer-
than any other industry in the last several years.85
gency department (ED). Nearly half of all hospital
Still, the demand for certain health professionals
emergency departments report being at or over
outstrips supply.
capacity, and the majority of urban hospitals expe-
rience time on diversion – when they are closed to
Workforce shortages have persistently plagued hos-
pitals over the last several years. In 2007, as well incoming ambulances.93 The primary reason for
as in previous years, it has ranked in the top five going on diversion is a lack of staffed critical care
issues confronting hospital CEOs according to a beds.94 Staffing shortages, overall, are among the
poll conducted by the American College of top five conditions that lead to ambulance
Healthcare Executives. Staffing problems are wide- diversion.95
spread across health care professions. Therapists –
physical, occupational and speech – are in espe- In addition to ED overcrowding and diversion,
cially short supply and increasingly difficult to about half of hospitals report that staffing shortages
recruit from year to year.86 Vacancy rates for these contribute to decreased staff satisfaction.96
positions exceeded 11 percent by year-end 2006.87 Decreased patient satisfaction, reduced numbers of
Registered nurses, pharmacists, nursing assistants, staffed beds, increased length of stay, increased
licensed practical nurses, and laboratory and imag- wait times for surgery, as well as cancelled surger-
ing technicians all have vacancy rates in the range ies also follow in the wake of staffing shortages.97
of six percent for technicians to eight percent for
RNs.88 There is also growing national concern over Low staff satisfaction is a persistent problem for
shortages of physicians – already a problem in sev- many hospitals. Hospital-based nurses, for
eral states – that is expected to worsen as demand instance, have job dissatisfaction rates that are three
outstrips supply. By 2020, the U.S. may be short to four times higher than the average U.S. worker.98
85,000 physicians.89 It is not just the frontline clini- Low dissatisfaction rates among nurses is not an
cians that are difficult to hire and retain. Hospital American phenomenon, but occurs in other coun-
executive positions have high turnover. As many as tries where it has been studied, such as Canada,
half of nurse executives,90 and 14 to 18 percent of England and Scotland.99 Yet, the sentiment is not
chief executive officers,91 will leave their jobs in a universal.
year.
Nurses employed in facilities that have been award-
Pervasive staffing problems challenge the ability of ed Magnet Recognition® from the American Nurses
the hospital to perform its most fundamental func- Credentialing Center (ANCC) report being more sat-
tions. Studies show that there is an association isfied with their work. In addition to higher staff
between registered nurse staffing and hospital- satisfaction, Magnet status strengthens nursing
recruitment and retention efforts.100
28
Independent studies show that patients in Magnet The practice of health care worker importation and
hospitals have shorter lengths of stay, lower mortali- exportation is, of course, unsustainable. But, it begs
ty rates and higher satisfaction, and benefit from a the question: Who will staff the hospital of the
richer staff mix.101 future?
A Global Predicament Stops and Starts

As perhaps the most in-demand health care resource In the U.S., a poor economy is driving people back
across the globe, plenty of nurses are being “in- to work and providing some optimism for a more
sourced” into other countries. The U.S. has long robust nursing workforce. New research finds that
depended on migrating nurses to fill its growing gap after a net loss of more than 10,500 nurses in 2004
between nurse supply and demand. This practice and 2005, health care gained roughly 18,700 nurses
also occurs in other highly developed countries, at in 2006.108 In 2007, the industry added 84,200 nurs-
the expense of the less developed, where many es despite a drop in real wages.109 Current projec-
migrating nurses originate. tions for the shortage of nurses in the U.S. puts the
number at 340,000 by 2020, which is significantly
Nurses are not the only migrating health care fewer than previous projections of 760,000.110
worker. Physicians, pharmacists and lab technicians
are on the move as well. The WHO reports that the An important distinction of the evolving shortage is
situation of migrating workers is most desperate in that the nurses who have stepped forward to help
poor countries and continents. Africa, for instance, fill the gap are markedly older – in their late twen-
holds 11 percent of the world’s population, but it ties and early thirties – whereas the number of new
hosts 25 percent of the disease burden, and yet, it entries in their early to mid-twenties is at the lowest
employs three percent of all health care workers.102 level in 40 years.111 As the average age of the
Twenty-five percent of African-trained doctors work nurse moves upward, there are implications for
in wealthy Organisation for Economic Co-operation hospital design and ergonomics that are needed to
and Development (OECD) countries.103 In Ghana, support the health and longevity of the nurse on the
40 physicians graduated in 2004 from the govern- job.
ment-financed medical education system, but only
two remained in the country.104 The others left for During the first year on the job, the average volun-
either the U.S. or U.K. to practice.105 The shortage tary turnover rate of new hospital nurses is 27 per-
of health care workers is exacerbating the devasta- cent.112 This likely reflects the combination of inad-
tion wrought by the AIDS crisis in Africa.106 equate educational preparation of the nurse for the
realities of practice, as well as longstanding work
According to the WHO, because of the shortage of environment issues that have contributed to low
health care workers at least 1.3 billion people satisfaction rates of hospital-employed nurses.113
around the world have no access to basic health Among these issues are long shifts and persistent
care services.107 In response, the WHO is pressing fatigue; lack of leadership that empowers nursing
countries across the globe to address the ethical and staff; unavailability of supportive technologies; and
financial impacts of worker migration, as well as lack of innovation in redesigning and improving the
efforts to retain workers within their country of role and workflow of the nurse.
origin.
29
29
A recent time and motion study to determine how Administration (FDA) has approved more than
medical-surgical nurses spend their time found that 500,000 new medical devices. At the same time,
nearly three-quarters of nurses’ time was spent on ever-increasing developments in pharmaceuticals,
documentation, medication administration and care biologics and genomics are expanding the knowl-
coordination, but only one-fifth of their time was edge demands of practitioners. While many
spent on direct patient care.114 Further, nurses advances in technology help to improve patient
walked between one mile and five miles every shift outcomes, the sheer volume of technologies and
in an effort to “hunt and gather” needed supplies the attendant knowledge required has made health
or information.115 The inordinate amount of time care delivery vastly more complex. Additionally,
spent on documentation – almost one-third of all of new technologies often provide new, sometimes
their time – points to the need to examine the role unforeseen, opportunities for error.
of the nurse and its inherent processes. Few nurs-
es would cite “paperwork,” as necessary as it is, as The impact of this developing complexity weighs
the reason they chose nursing as their profession. heavily on the hospital-based clinician. One way
in which the nursing profession has responded is
A major bottleneck in efforts to add new nurses to by the creation of the Clinical Nurse Leader™ role.
the workforce remains a lack of capacity at the The American Association of Colleges of Nursing
educational level. According to data from the (AACN) has developed this new nursing role to
American Association of Colleges of Nursing better prepare nurses for clinical leadership in all
(AACN), enrollment in entry-level baccalaureate health care settings. These masters’-prepared
nursing programs increased by almost five percent nurses are expected to be direct caregivers, manag-
from 2006 to 2007. While this increase represents a ing the care of patients within clinical microsys-
positive enrollment trend over the past several tems. The Clinical Nurse Leader™ certification
years, more than 30,000 qualified applicants were process ensures that these nurses bring evidence-
denied entry into baccalaureate nursing programs based practices to care settings and are able to
in 2007 due primarily to an intensifying shortage of apply quality improvement principles to the meas-
nurse faculty. The gap between supply and urement, assessment and improvement of patient-
demand in the nursing workforce will be difficult care outcomes. According to the AACN, currently
to fill without resolution of the crisis in nursing about 60 colleges and universities offer the master’s
education capacity. degree program that prepares the Clinical Nurse
Leader.™
High Touch, High Tech
As patients’ needs and health care delivery become
ever-more complex, it is difficult for clinicians to
keep pace. Hospitalized patients have higher acu-
ity and are more likely to have comorbidities, while
hospital stays have shortened. Average length-of-
stay for hospitalized patients has declined by 25
percent since the 1980s.
Since the late 1990s, the Food and Drug
30
Scientific progress, such as new developments in in a greater reliance on trained and certified phar-
biologics, genomics, robotic preparation and auto- macy technicians, who assist with the preparation
mated distribution, is affecting the level of techno- and delivery of medications.119
A Changing of the Guard

logic expertise that the hospital pharmacist must
have. In fact, the profession raised the entry-level
degree for a pharmacist to a doctorate (Pharm.D) A changing of the guard has been occurring in
to ensure a better-prepared pharmacist workforce. hospitals over the last several years, a change that
Many pharmacists who practice in hospitals also is likely to become the standard in hospitals of the
complete residency training.116 The downside of future. Hospitalists – physicians who practice pri-
this higher standard is that it created a roadblock marily hospital-base care – have been increasingly
for the entry of new pharmacy students. Indeed, staffing U.S. hospitals. It is estimated that by 2010,
hospitals surveyed by the AHA reported an eight 30,000 hospitalists will be staffing U.S. hospitals.120
percent vacancy rate for pharmacists at the end of As hospitalists are gaining prevalence, the concept
2006.117 is also expanding from general practice and inter-
nal medicine to include medical and surgical
The role of the hospital pharmacist is expected to specialists.
change as well. Always a valued member of the
health care team, the role of the pharmacist is The recent growth of the hospitalist movement in
likely to become more visible in patient-centered the U.S. can be attributed to a number of factors.
care delivery as a way to combat the high volume Fewer office-based primary care physicians choose
of medication errors that occur in the hospital to provide hospital-based care. Work hours for res-
setting. As hospital pharmacists become more idents, who have traditionally provided 24/7 hospi-
involved in direct patient care, there is a requisite tal care, have been reduced in recent years. Hosp-
need to accommodate new learning in the educa- italists fill these gaps by providing acute care
tion and training of pharmacy students. There are expertise to patients throughout their hospital stay.
concerns that hospitals and health systems may not A recent study in the New England Journal of
have the capacity to accommodate the growing Medicine found that patients cared for by hospital-
numbers of pharmacy students who will require ists have average lengths of stay in the hospital and
this experiential education.118 The involvement of associated costs that are slightly reduced.121
pharmacists in direct patient care has also resulted
As patients’ needs and health care delivery become ever-more complex, it is difficult for
clinicians to keep pace. Hospitalized patients have higher acuity and are more likely to
have comorbidities, while hospital stays have shortened.
31
31
Team-Based Care
With staffing shortages still looming in the hospital As the number of older adults and patients with
of the future, hospitals may need to accomplish one more chronic illness rises, so too, must the
more with fewer health professionals. Well func- competencies of those who provide their care.
tioning teams can get more done than any one Hospitals play a key role in fostering the compe-
individual. Teamwork also has a significantly posi- tence of all health care workers in caring for geri-
tive impact on the safety of health care delivery.122 atric patients.127 Hospitals must also increase the
Studies show that well functioning teams make recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and
fewer mistakes than do individuals.123 caregivers.128
Acquisition of team skills does not occur by hap- Team-based care models may be expanded and
penstance. Health professionals must be educated bolstered by the potential payment model
and trained to value and demonstrate desired team advocated by the Medicare Payment Advisory
behaviors. To that end, knowledge of teamwork Commission (MedPAC). MedPAC recommends a
components and the competencies required to bundled Medicare payment approach, under which
effectively participate as team members should be physicians and hospitals receive a fixed payment
introduced early in health care professional educa- for a select set of episodes of care. An episode is
tion and fostered throughout professional training defined as the hospital stay plus 30 days after
and continuing education. Further, teamwork discharge.129 Today, physicians and hospitals are
skills, knowledge and performance should be paid separately under different payment schemes
incorporated into the oversight and assessment of by CMS for hospital-based care. A bundled
health professionals and organizations in order to approach, it is believed, will reduce variation
ensure and sustain its widespread adoption. Both in costs and quality and encourage joint
classroom and simulator-based methodologies can accountability. This concept will be tested by
be used for team training. CMS beginning in January 2009 with its Acute Care
Episode (ACE) demonstration, which will offer
In addition to team skills, members of the care-giv- bundled payment for 28 cardiac and nine orthope-
ing team must have the requisite knowledge and dic inpatient surgical services in four states.130
skills to effectively care for older adults and the Among the many expectations for bundled pay-
chronically ill. Today, older adults account for 35 ment is that it will influence physicians and hospi-
percent of all hospital stays, 26 percent of all physi- tals to closely integrate their services, which will be
cian visits, and 34 percent of all prescriptions.124 necessary in order to accept bundled payments.
Yet, less than one percent of registered nurses and
pharmacists are certified in geriatrics.125 While
more than 7,000 physicians are currently certified in
geriatrics, the need is much greater. By 2030, it is
estimated that 36,000 geriatricians will be needed to
care for the burgeoning population of older
adults.126
32
Principles to Address the Staffing Challenge of

the Hospital of the Future:
• Address the maldistribution of health care

workers across the globe by instilling fair
migration and compensation policies for
affected countries
• Expand health professional education and
training capacity to accommodate the grow-
ing demand for health care workers
• Create work place cultures that can attract
and retain health care workers
• Support the development of health profes-
sional knowledge and skills required to care
for patients in an increasingly complex
environment
• Educate health professionals to deliver team-
based care and promote teamwork in the
hospital environment
• Develop the competence of health profes-
sionals to care for geriatric patients
For More Information on Hospital Staffing:
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Institute

for Healthcare Improvement, Transforming
Care at the Bedside, www.rwjf.org/appli-
cations/solicited/npo.jsp?FUND_ID=54244
• American Hospital Association, In Our
Hands, www.aha.org/aha/resource-cen-
ter/Statistics-and-Studies/ioh.html
• Institute of Medicine, Retooling for an Aging
America: Building the Health Care
Workforce, www.nap.edu/catalog/12089
• American Nurses Credentialing Center,
Magnet Recognition Program,
www.nursecredentialing.org/Magnet
33
33
V. Design of the Physical Environment

Safe by Design
Though the recent economic downturn and a tight- transfers, among them – can be mitigated through
ened credit market has slowed hospital construc- evidence-based design. Better lighting and reduced
tion in the U.S., there has been a remarkable hospi- noise levels can help avoid distractions that often
tal building boom underway fueled by increasing lead to caregiver errors in the medication process.
demand for health care services and increasingly Decentralized nursing stations allow nurses to bet-
obsolete hospital plants. In 2007, $35.4 billion in ter see and hear the patients under their care and
health care construction projects were completed, observe changes in skin color and breathing, as
more than a $10 billion increase from the previous well as to prevent falls that occur when a patient is
year.131 Projections foresee the health care industry unobserved. Rooms that are designed for the
among the only bright points for construction in patient bed and bathroom entrance to be seen
the next couple of years.132 This investment offers from the hallway also enhance observation. Multi-
the opportunity to remake the hospital -- its design, acuity beds that reduce the number of transfers, or
culture and practices – to better meet the needs of “hand-offs,” of patients from one unit to another, in
patients and families and the aspirations of those turn, reduce the opportunity for errors to occur.
that provide their care.
The regulatory infrastructure can stifle design inno-
Building more of the same will freeze into place vations meant to reduce the risk of patient injury.
persistent problems with which hospitals must Though multi-acuity beds that allow a patient to
already contend -- such as unsafe care, hospital- remain in the same bed while their care level is
acquired infection, and worker fatigue – that other- stepped down from critical care to medical-surgical
wise could be mitigated through the application of nursing may make sense, in some states they do
evidence-based design. Several hundred studies not meet state licensure stipulations regarding
have revealed hospital design characteristics that patient bed designations and thereby are disquali-
work for improving patient safety and health care fied for reimbursement.
outcomes, and providing a supportive environment
for hospital staff.133 Single-patient rooms may have the single most
important impact on patient safety. In addition to
Yet, most new hospitals are not being built “safe by enhancing patient privacy, allowing for confidential
design.” New hospitals will increasingly care for discussions and accommodating family members,
more elderly patients. And, as more care moves single rooms help protect patients’ health.
out to ambulatory and home settings, hospitalized
patients will be the sickest and most vulnerable.
More than ever, hospitals will need to be designed
to safely accommodate these fragile patients.
Prominent threats to patient safety – medication

errors, patient falls, and errors made during patient
34
Spread of infection is a daily risk in every of hospi- when some 80 percent of the raw materials that go
tal. When patients are isolated from one another, into pharmaceutical drugs sold in America come
there are fewer chances for microbes to be spread. from overseas suppliers, and when the rubber that
In addition to patient-to-patient spread, caregiver- keeps surgical masks tight on your face comes
to-patient spread is common. Well-placed sinks through a just-in-time supply chain that starts in
and alcohol gel dispensers can prompt caregivers Indonesia or Africa, stretches through Europe, and
to wash their hands, which is an essential part of then skips over to America – our ability to cope
any infection control program. Single rooms fur- with any pandemic would be sharply reduced.”134
ther improve the rate of hand-washing when cross-
ing the barriers between patient rooms prompts Thanks to the ubiquity of airline travel, an infec-
caregivers to wash their hands. Whereas, in a dou- tious disease can move quickly in a flat world.
ble patient room, the transition from one patient to Once SARS appeared in rural China, it spread to
the next is quick and barrier-free; too little time to five countries within 24 hours.135 In a matter of
stop and think about hand-washing. Single rooms months, it had spread to 30 countries on six conti-
also allow for better air quality management and nents.136 With the SARS epidemic, hospitals that
can be more thoroughly decontaminated between were sought for care became the vectors for SARS
occupancies. transmission. Open bay intensive care units (ICUs),
Flat World Phenomena

public waiting areas, and emergency departments
all became central stations for contracting SARS.
Infection control, always a high priority for any Tuberculosis has also been known to be similarly
hospital, becomes paramount in the face of a spread.137
potential global epidemic. Emergency prepared-
ness is a key priority to be addressed in the design The good news is that hospitals can be designed to
of the hospital of the future. mitigate these risks. The transformation of the
physical environment of care must also take into
In today’s ever-flattening world, individuals are consideration future needs such as achieving surge
more globalized – they travel more, both virtually capacity in response to disaster.
and in person. The supply chain is also more
globalized and could easily be disrupted by a glob-
al epidemic: “…when the world is flattening –
The lengthy cycle of design and construction is often overtaken by the rapid cycle of
innovation in medicine and technology. As a result, some buildings are partially obsolete
when they open, and nearly every health care structure will be obsolete in some way
before it has completed its useful life.
35
35
Standardized Flexibility
Standardization reduces complexity, which is of loose-fit is to design with larger spaces that
important when flexibility is needed, as is the case can be used for more than the minimum func-
for increasing surge capacity. Importantly, stan- tion originally proposed, and to arrange them in
dardization is a key strategy in human factors departments or groupings that allow for future
design as a means to reduce the risk of error and adjustments.
improve quality.138 Human factors design focuses • Adaptable flexibility: Spaces can be designed
on improving the human-system interface by to adapt to multiple uses. An example is a
designing better systems and processes. For hospi- patient room that can be adapted for the pur-
tals, standardization of patient rooms, treatment pose of simple procedures such as a line inser-
rooms, equipment and care processes,139 reduces tion. The different function can be accommodat-
reliance on short-term memory.140 In room design, ed by simply adapting the space because it has
standardizing details such as the location of bed been planned to serve a range of possibilities.
controls, light switches, and even, which cupboards • Convertible flexibility: Another type of flexibili-
store latex gloves, for instance, are important con- ty is when, with relatively low effort, time,
siderations for optimizing the human-system inter- and/or cost, a space can be converted to anoth-
face.141 er use. Examples of this type of flexibility
include a storage space with a knockout panel
The lengthy cycle of design and construction is in the slab to allow for a future elevator, or a
often overtaken by the rapid cycle of innovation in patient room with plumbing, gasses, and electri-
medicine and technology. As a result, some build- cal systems in the wall for future conversion to
ings are partially obsolete when they open, and critical care.
nearly every health care structure will be obsolete • Robust utilities: In order to offer flexibility in
in some way before it has completed its useful life. design, the utility and communication infrastruc-
Design for flexibility is a way to reduce the incon- ture of a health care facility should be capable of
venience and cost of these inevitable disruptions.142 expansion and upgrade. Availability of utility and
• Master planning strategies: Every design network capacity simplifies and dramatically
should have planned zones for future growth. reduces the cost of future projects.
These can appear as a dotted line on the site • Plug-and-play infrastructure: Just as all the
plan, or may be developed as constructed but utilities of the city are uninterrupted when one
unoccupied shell space, or as structural capacity property undergoes a construction or demolition
to allow for future vertical additions to a project, a hospital should be designed so that
building. the utility and primary horizontal and vertical cir-
• Loose-fit design: Many designs make an effort culation infrastructure remains in service while
to design precisely to the absolute minimum departments, wings, or entire buildings are
square footage justified by the program of space added or removed.
requirements, yet such designs are the first to
reveal difficulties when new programs appear, or
existing programs grow or shrink. The concept
36
Place of Work
In addition to protecting patients, hospital design is embraces patient and staff safety, and collegial
integral to protecting hospital workers and enhanc- health care delivery.
ing the work they do.
Being Green
About one-third of a nurse’s time on shift is spent Global climate change and harm wrought from
walking.143 Not only is this time spent walking chemical contamination are no longer speculative.
between the centralized nursing station and patient In congruence with their mission, hospitals in the
rooms, but on hunting and gathering various sup- future must be healthy places to be in and live
plies. Decentralizing nursing stations and supplies – near.
bringing both closer to the patients – would reduce
wasted time and fatigue. Other physical stressors In 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency
include noise, that when reduced, as previously (EPA) declared medical waste incineration to be the
mentioned, results in less fatigue and reduced risk greatest source of dioxin contamination in the
of error. A great deal of heavy lifting, turning, and atmosphere.145 At that time, there were 5,000 med-
transporting patients goes on in hospitals that could ical waste incinerators. Today there are fewer than
be alleviated by proper hoists and other ergonomic 100 still in operation. That momentum needs to
technologies. continue and be broadened to include the elimina-
tion of toxic materials used inside the hospital.
Involving staff in the design process is essential for
creating a physical environment that improves The chemical compound polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
work flow. In the future, the application of design is ubiquitous in the hospital environment. It is
improvements to time-consuming nursing tasks, used in I.V. and blood bags, plastic tubing and an
such as medication administration and documenta- array of other medical supplies.146 When PVC-
tion, may yield new gains in efficiency. As phar- based products, such as nasogastric tubes, are used
macists increasingly counsel patients on drugs and invasively, they can leach toxic chemicals that enter
therapeutic regimens, the physical environment of the body. One of these chemicals has proven to
the pharmacy must be made to accommodate these be a reproductive toxicant, which led the National
confidential discussions. New design concepts Toxicology Program to declare that infants in hos-
have been shown to give hospital clinical staff pitals are at risk from this chemical.
more time to spend with patients, while also allow-
ing the hospital to expand its capacity to treat PVC, which is also commonly used in hospital
patients. building materials, emits toxins into the air, putting
patients and staff at risk. Interior exposure to PVC
Designing a hospital with safety in mind helps to has been definitively linked to asthma.147 With the
create a safety culture. Involving patients and fami- prevalence of PVC exposure, as well as exposure
lies, in addition to staff, in the design of the physi- to other noxious chemicals such as cleaning agents
cal environment also helps to assure the patient- and pesticides, it is no wonder that poor air quality
centeredness of the organizational culture.144 The is the most frequent cause of work-related asthma
culture of the workplace can be transformed by the in health care workers.148
physical demonstration that the organization
37
37
Hospitals are huge consumers of energy – natural undermine health. Large health care systems, such
gas and electricity -- second only to the food-serv- as Kaiser Permanente and Catholic Healthcare
ice industry in energy consumption.149 The costs of West, have led the way in implementing policies
such energy consumption will increasingly com- that require healthy food choices for patients and
prise an unaffordable portion of the hospital budg- also support sustainable farming practices – food
et. These costs plus growing concern over global production that is local, humane and environmen-
warming are influencing hospitals to use cleaner, tally protective.152
more efficient sources of energy and to reduce
their global footprint. Accordingly, hospitals will
need to use fewer resources and produce less
waste.
One hundred U.S. hospitals are finding it easier to

be green by piloting the Green Guide for Health
Care (GGHC), standards modeled on those of the
U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED), in their con-
struction projects.150 The GGHC standards actually
exceed LEED standards and align environmental
health considerations with health system priorities.
The GGHC has received strong endorsement –
Kaiser Permanente has committed to using it for
building projects across its system, and the City of
Boston is recommending it to city hospitals that are
embarking on expansion plans.151
A healthy hospital environment also extends to the

food that is served in that environment. Food that
is served in hospitals should promote and not
Designing a hospital with safety in mind helps to create a safety culture. Involving
patients and families, in addition to staff, in the design of the physical environment also
helps to assure the patient-centeredness of the organizational culture.
38
Principles to Guide the Design of the Hospital

of the Future:
• Incorporate evidence-based design princi-

ples that improve patient safety, including
single rooms, decentralized nursing stations
and noise-reducing materials, in hospital
construction
• Address high-level priorities, such as infec-
tion control and emergency preparedness,
in hospital design and construction
• Include clinicians, other staff, patients and
families in the design process to maximize
opportunities to improve staff work flow
and patient safety, and create patient-cen-
tered environments
• Design flexibility into the building to allow
for better adaption to the rapid cycle of
innovation in medicine and technology
• Incorporate “green” principles in hospital
design and construction
For More Information on Hospital Design and

Safety:
• The Center for Health Design,

www.healthdesign.org
• John Reiling, Safe by Design: Designing
Safety in Health Care Facilities, Processes,
and Culture, published by Joint Commission
Resources, and available through
www.jcrinc.com
• Health Care Without Harm,
www.noharm.org
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED), U.S. Green Building Council,
www.usgbc.org
39
39
Conclusion
A century ago, people advocated for hospitals to be That said, the physical design of the hospital has
less institutional and impersonal in their approach significant implications for the ability of the hospital
to patient care. They worried about neglect of the to meet its goals for care that is safe, patient-cen-
aged and the chronically ill. The vision was tered, clinically effective and collaboratively deliv-
expressed for a system of care, led by hospitals, ered. It also represents the physical manifestation
which encompassed patients’ family and social of the hospital’s commitment to environmental
needs. People foresaw the need for hospital care health and sustainability.
to migrate from within the hospital’s four walls, out
into the community, even into the home. There are factors that will be -- to lesser and greater
extents -- out of the hospital’s control as the future
Everything old is new again. The increasing preva- unfolds. Fair and rational payment strategies that
lence of chronic illness among patients served by align with national quality goals can be advocated
hospitals and an aging population should compel for, but they cannot be assured. In the meantime,
hospitals to pursue models of care that would best hospitals must do their part to reduce error and
meet the needs of patients across the care waste, and increase efficiencies as a means of
continuum, wherever those services are delivered. improving safety and containing costs. The princi-
In this, hospitals are ideally positioned to lead ples put forth here are meant to guide the hospitals
efforts to create a true “system” of care delivery. to be better prepared to accomplish what is being
asked of them.
In hospitals that embrace the concepts of patient-
centered care and support the development of their
workforce, no one should be neglected. The appli-
cation of digital technologies is already extending
the reach of hospital care into the community and
into the home. The hospital of the future may one
day be defined by its intellectual property, rather
than its physical facility.
...hospitals are ideally positioned to lead efforts to create a true

“system” of care delivery.
40
Acknowledgements
The Joint Commission sincerely thanks the Roundtable members for providing
their time and expertise in the development of this report.
Peter B. Angood, M.D., The Joint Commission Stephan L. Kamholz, M.D., North Shore University
Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Wade Aubry, M.D., Health Technology Center
Linda Kenney, Medically Induced Trauma Support
James Jerome Augustine, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., Emory Services
University
Otmar Kloiber, M.D., World Medical Association,
James R. Castle, The Ohio Hospital Association Inc.
James B. Conway, Institute for Healthcare Claudio Luiz Lottenberg, M.D., Hospital Israelita
Improvement Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Mark Covall, National Association of Psychiatric Philip D. Lumb., M.B., B.S., F.C.C.M., University of
Health Systems Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Adam Darkins, M.D., M.P.H., F.R.C.S., Veterans Henri Manasse, Jr., Ph.D., Sc.D., American Society
Administration of Health-System Pharmacists
Robert Dickler, Association of American Medical David Marx, M.D., University Hospital, Prague,
Colleges Czech Republic
Rita Munley Gallagher, Ph.D., R.N., American Lawrence McAndrews, National Association of
Nurses Association Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions
Lillee Gelinas, R.N., M.S.N., VHA, Inc. Kathleen McCann, R.N., D.N.Sc., National
Association of Psychiatric Health Systems
John Glaser, Ph.D., Partners Healthcare, Inc.
Peter McKeown, M.D., VA Medical Center,
William A. Hazel, M.D., American Medical Department of Surgery
Association
Gary Mecklenburg, Northwestern Memorial
Ann Hendrich, R.N., M.S.N., F.A.A.N., Ascension HealthCare
Health
Tommy Mullins, Boone Memorial Hospital
A.J.M. Hoek, International Pharmaceutical
Federation Dennis O’Leary, M.D., The Joint Commission
Russell Holman, M.D., F.A.C.P., Society of Hospital

Medicine
Howard Isenstein, Federation of American Hospitals

(formerly)
41 41
Judith Oulton, International Council of Nurses
Herbert Pardes, M.D., New York-Presbyterian

Hospital
Kenneth Raske, Greater New York Hospital

Association
John G. Reiling, Ph.D., Safe by Design
Uwe Reinhardt, Ph.D., Princeton University,

Woodrow Wilson School
William Robertson, Adventist HealthCare, Inc.
David Shactman, Brandeis University
Curtis Schroeder, Bumrungrad Hospital
Steven Sharfstein, M.D., Sheppard Pratt Health

System
Per Gunnar Svensson, International Hospital

Federation
Ronald Tankersley, D.D.S., American Dental

Association
Roger S. Ulrich, Ph.D., Texas A & M University,

College of Architecture
Bruce C. Vladeck, Ph.D., Ernst & Young
Laurence Wellikson, M.D., Society of Hospital

Medicine
William Zellmer, M.P.H., American Society of

Health-System Pharmacists
Craig Zimring, Ph.D., Georgia Institute of

Technology
42 42
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tions, Telemedicine and e-Health, in press
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Anderson, Gerard F., Frogner, Bianca K., et al, “Health care spending and use of information technology in OECD
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health care system: A roadmap for the future,” June 2006
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2003: 10
43 43
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67
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68
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disease care,” Research Brief No. 6, Center for Studying Health System Change, June 2008
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Institute of Medicine, Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce, 2008
72 -73
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U.S.-European health care spending gap,” Health Affairs, October 2, 2007
74
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America,” RAND Research Brief, RB-9053-2 (2006)
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Tynan and Draper
80
Robert Mecklenburg speaking at the Joint Commission conference, Overuse, Underuse, Misuse: Reducing Waste and
Improving Efficiency in Health Carey, March 27-28, 2008, Chicago
81
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tice,” Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, October 2005, 31:10
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85
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86-88
89
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Affairs, May/June 2001
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and non-Magnet hospitals. Journal of Nursing Administration, 37(4), April 2007
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in the U.S.: Short-Run Swings on Top of Long-Terms Trends,” Nursing Economic$; March/April 2007
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Affairs, May/June 2001
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45 45
11/08

Hospital of The Future

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What is the purpose of the white paper?

What is the purpose of the white paper?

What economic challenges does it discuss hospitals may face in the future?

What economic challenges does it discuss hospitals may face in the future?

H EALTH C ARE AT THE C ROSSROADS :

Guiding Principles for the

With support from Aramark

Request for permission to reprint: 630-792-5631.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE

Joint Commission Public Policy Initiative

In order to identify these principles, The Joint

Principles to Guide Achievement of Patient- • Educate health professionals to deliver team-

I. Economic Implications for the Hospital

More Red Than Rosy

This scenario will be increasingly difficult to sus-

Hospitals depend on having robust numbers of privately insured patients in order to

Principles to Support the Economic Viability of

• Encourage the alignment of hospital meas-

For More Information on Hospital Economics:

• American Hospital Association,

II. Technology for the Provision of Care

The emphasis of CCHT is on patient self-manage-

The loss of the OTA has left a void. In 2004, a

III. Achievement of Patient-Centered Care

Custom and Culture

Serving the Underserved

For the hospital of the future, providing patient-

Principles to Guide Achievement of Patient-

• Make adoption of patient-centered care val-

For More Information on Patient-Centered

IV. The Staffing Challenge

A Global Predicament Stops and Starts

A Changing of the Guard

Principles to Address the Staffing Challenge of

• Address the maldistribution of health care

For More Information on Hospital Staffing:

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Institute

V. Design of the Physical Environment

Prominent threats to patient safety – medication

Flat World Phenomena

One hundred U.S. hospitals are finding it easier to

A healthy hospital environment also extends to the

Principles to Guide the Design of the Hospital

• Incorporate evidence-based design princi-

For More Information on Hospital Design and

• The Center for Health Design,

...hospitals are ideally positioned to lead efforts to create a true

Russell Holman, M.D., F.A.C.P., Society of Hospital

Howard Isenstein, Federation of American Hospitals

Judith Oulton, International Council of Nurses

Herbert Pardes, M.D., New York-Presbyterian

Kenneth Raske, Greater New York Hospital

John G. Reiling, Ph.D., Safe by Design

Uwe Reinhardt, Ph.D., Princeton University,

William Robertson, Adventist HealthCare, Inc.

David Shactman, Brandeis University

Curtis Schroeder, Bumrungrad Hospital

Steven Sharfstein, M.D., Sheppard Pratt Health

Per Gunnar Svensson, International Hospital