Patient Room 2020 Concept Debuts

NEW YORK — After six years of research and design development, New York-based NXT Health, a nonprofit organization dedicated to collaborative design innovation to improve the delivery of care, debuted Patient Room 2020 at the DuPont Corian Design Studio in New York. The room is an interactive health care living laboratory that responds to the needs of doctors, nurses, patients and their families.

NXT Health received contributions from more than 35 product and service partners to create the room to help solve today’s health care design challenges, such as managing infection control, the introduction of smart technologies, adjusting to emerging risk factors and payment reform.

“Hospitals have to do more with less, medical decisions require even more analysis, and we are more dependent on specialized technologies to most effectively treat patients and create an environment in which providers can thrive,” said Salley Whitman, executive director of NXT Health, in a press statement. “By streamlining complexities and leveraging evidence-based design and innovation tools, Patient Room 2020 is a catalyst for industry leaders concerned with solutions that save lives, time and money.”

The project uses developing technologies and integrates them with the surrounding architectural environment to build a futuristic room that could be possible to incorporate into hospital projects within the next 10 years. The 400-square-foot room addresses five key aspects of health care design:

• Patient Ribbon: Allows easy access to electrical, technology and gas components via a single, streamlined, patient-centered design that encompasses headwall to footwall.

• Patient Companion: Combines an over-bed table and a touch-screen tablet that can be used in a variety of health care settings.

• Open Bathroom: Features a sliding door system that can be adapted based on patient needs.

• Caregiver Station: Integrates hand-washing indicator lights, concealed accessories and RFID enclosure at the room’s entrance.

• Caregiver Hub: Consists of embedded technology, simulated UV light sanitation and wireless device charging stations that can be used as a deployable bedside work area.

By consolidating space, using advanced technologies and creating a brightly lit environment, the futuristic room design combines comfort and efficiency in a concept that can be used for a variety of patient needs in the near future.