By Lindsey Coulter
Artificial Intelligence continues to change the healthcare landscape, creating efficiencies in some areas, while highlighting inefficiencies in others. In addition to its applications to patient care, the technology is also shining a spotlight on how healthcare leaders and practitioners can better utilize their physical spaces. For example, thanks to imaging and diagnostic spaces becoming outdated or less necessary for healthcare facilities, these once-bustling spaces now create new spatial opportunities for healthcare facilities.
“AI, pattern recognition and genomics will mean that the large areas currently set aside for imaging and diagnostics may no longer be needed,” said Gary Hamilton growth leader at Introba, a Sidara company. “If we can determine the causes of a condition at pace, and assign treatment rapidly, the days of spending days on end trying to work out what is wrong with a patient may be over. This has significant repercussions on facility design and operation.”
Imaging and laboratory departments often comprise a significant portion of a hospital’s overall square footage. For a mid-sized hospital, these departments might collectively occupy up to 20 percent of the total hospital floor area. Hamilton explained that the large footprints of many traditional hospital buildings may need to adapt, and that new spaces for preventative care or community programs may take their place. To make this happen, providers need to not only adapt their strategy, but also their facility design as a building’s structure, systems, infrastructure and equipment will all need to be reassessed for what is to come.
Healthcare Construction and Operations spoke with Hamilton about how AI is helping healthcare clients to identify areas of opportunity within their physical spaces, and how clients can creatively repurpose these spaces to maximize value.
HCO: What other spaces are becoming increasingly underutilized in healthcare spaces as technology trends and patient needs evolve?
Hamilton: Rapid identification of a patient’s condition—either in person or via virtual consultation—will mean the images we all hold in our heads of long lines in hospital waiting areas may become a thing of the past.
Shrinking space dedicated to waiting rooms will present new opportunities and healthcare providers will be able to find new ways of using the space in a more flexible way. For example, in its place will be multifunctional diagnostic and treatment spaces that adapt and shift throughout a medical journey, supported by patient-centric, AR/VR technology to personalize the experience.
One thing is for certain, the footprint of tomorrow will be flexible, modular, and technologically enabled that shifts to accommodate a variety of needs, from initial consultations to complex treatments, ever transforming as the patient’s journey progresses.
HCO: What do healthcare facilities stand to lose by allowing space to go un-utilized or under-utilized?
Hamilton: As with many areas of our world that have been subject to technological disruption, there is the potential for unused space to sit vacant. Un- or under-utilized space sits on the company’s balance sheet, it consumes energy and requires ongoing maintenance.
Also, patients lose out when spaces are underutilized – both the ones being seen, and those waiting. Ensuring that spaces match needs and resources is all part of ensuring a high-quality care experience, for both patients and providers.
HCO: Is AI most applicable to renovations/expansions or is it equally valuable to new construction projects?
Hamilton: We need to think less about AI as a tool to create more of what we already have and instead see it as a partner to deliver better, more patient-centric and efficient care.
The next generation of hospitals – both new facilities and existing ones – will see every interaction, from admission to discharge and beyond, guided by the nuanced insights of artificial intelligence.
This is not just about efficiency. AI, when harnessed mindfully, will not only fully optimize hospital operations but also redefine patient care, making data-driven insights an essential cornerstone to designing and building modern healthcare facilities.
HCO: What are some emerging trends that you see requiring more physical space in healthcare settings?
Hamilton: With the onset of AI and technological driven care, there are multiple new spaces that hospitals will require if they are to take advantage of the opportunity it presents to them.
For example, in an AI-powered facility, the extensive requirement for data necessitates on-site centers with the power and capacity for high-speed networks. These data hubs are the backbone of the modern hospital – so much so that they will compete with MEP systems as the space king of healthcare infrastructure – enabling real-time data processing and updates that keep systems responsive and effective.
There’s also the command center – an increasing fixture of many hospitals as they embrace data and technology. This is a space that’s essential to the connectivity and seamless operation of a high-tech hospital system, one where specialized care is powered by VR/AR, surgeries can be performed remotely, and drones supplement support services.
HCO: How can AI integrations save clients money in terms of construction costs as well as operational/maintenance costs?
Hamilton: As AI becomes increasingly integrated into healthcare environments, construction projects — whether they be new facilities, renovations, or new specialized spaces like AI research labs — must be carefully managed to align with the technological demands of healthcare organizations. Just as AI is integrated into the processes within a facility so, too, can it assist in the construction, operation and upgrades of facilities.
One such example is AI-powered digital twins. These enable ongoing monitoring of facility performance, allow for the simulation of changes or upgrades in advance of any work taking place.
Whilst potentially costly up front, it is possible to realize the return on investment throughout the design, construction and operational stages, through various alternate tooling and management options.
If their implementation is to be successful, it is vital that healthcare organizations prioritize investments that achieve greatest ROI and apply robust budgetary control and effective project management.
