New Medical Office Design for Obama Care

The future of doctor’s offices is here now. New methods of patient care and treatment will be needed in the next decade. With the President Obama lead changes to the health care industry the need for additional care professionals will be paramount.

Doctors, hospitals and insurance companies will need to change how business is conducted. Fortunately there have been advances in technology that may assist in this process. These potentials may change the design of medical facilities.

Doctors will need to see more patients and will need to reduce fees. This is possible in changes to their methods of patient care. The new doctor’s facility will need to incorporate alternate forms of diagnostic analysis. GE Imagination refers to the “Digital Hospital”. They are proposing internet based medical records that are available to the patient “Online”. There are digital hand held devices that can scan a single drop of blood within 90 seconds and not require lab work to be performed. This work can be entered in the patient database immediately directly from the scan devices. Temperature and blood pressure can be entered immediately to the patient database. All physicians may access a patient’s database for coordination among professionals. Pharmacies can provide information and drug interaction results in the patient file.

Pre-visit or waiting room diagnostics can be made available through internet based systems. The patient can access a database analysis through the internet where a medical technician can either assist or the patient can enter information prior to seeing the physician. Waiting rooms can allow the patient to enter information at the doctor’s health internet café. Medical Health technicians can assist those who are not able to enter data themselves. Prior to the doctor seeing the patient all data and analysis are performed and suggested treatment analysis is shown to the health professional. In some cases nurses may perform minor patient care rather than the doctor needing to see the patient. The analysis may include suggested drugs for patient as well. The doctor can also see from the database other previous medical history. The computer can provide continual analysis of medical history and current conditions. Special scans and MRI work can be kept and reviewed by doctors on the database.

Hospitals are now providing in room patient computer charting and information, this can be interactive with the main patient database.

Specialized patient education can be made available through streaming video instructions that are specific to the patient’s condition.

As doctors face a declining billing rate they will need to re-invent their methods of patient care and the facilities they work in.

Gary Heathcote, AIA, NCARB
gary@heathcote.net