By Ashley Dias

The healthcare industry is constantly developing innovative solutions that provide the best experience for patients and healthcare professionals. As a result, technology is becoming more critical within hospitals. 

With cutting-edge programming and technological advances, the paradigm of traditional healthcare is changing, and the conventional standards of healthcare design are changing with it. Facility designers are working to optimize inpatient, outpatient and at-home services by integrating digital technologies. 

Among the technological systems facility managers and designers can expect to shape the future of healthcare within the next 25 years are the integration of augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and virtual beds. 

AR and the patient experience 

The next decade will bring an increase in wearable technology, which will improve wayfinding and patient safety in facilities. Upon entering a healthcare space, AR programming will identify patients and direct them to their treatment areas. 

Hospital wristbands eventually will no longer exist, and interfacing digital devices for sign-in will be limited because clinicians will be able to identify and log in patients through their AR view. Also, patient registrars will not be required anymore. Instead, greeters will meet patients as they enter the building, creating a personalized experience. 

AR also will improve procedural treatments by giving clinicians data without requiring them to look away from the patient. This advance will enable clinicians to maintain visual focus on the procedure rather than on data from ancillary screens. Providing clinicians with heads-up information is particularly beneficial for surgeons because it gives them the freedom to use both hands during procedures. Paired with a head-mounted camera, AR technology also can support training efforts by enabling other doctors to observe the surgery and offer advice. 

Emergency departments of the future also might offer a biorepair unit for biointegrated devices, which are another form of wearable technology that measures physical, chemical and environmental changes in a patient’s overall health. As patients’ physiology extends to include applied technology, these integrated devices will need maintenance and mending. 

AI and the role of clinicians 

AI already is reshaping healthcare. AI can be used to analyze large sets of data and identify patterns that are often undetectable by humans. It also can improve pattern understanding, diagnosis accuracy and speed, treatment planning and clerical functions. 

This technology will eliminate the need for doctors to memorize copious amounts of information, reducing the amount of human work needed for medical and administrative processes. As a result, clinicians' roles will become more high-touch, relationship-driven, and focused on the patient experience. 

VR and patient comfort 

Over the next few years, devices that support VR will replace televisions in hospital rooms. The implementation of VR in healthcare will provide many benefits, including improving patient comfort, control and social support. Patients previously unable to leave their beds will be able to simulate doing so via immersive, multisensory virtual experiences. 

Adding wearable technology will reduce patient stress, provide entertainment, and combat loneliness. Patients also will be able to visit with loved ones via VR platforms, reducing the risk of contagion while providing a welcomed diversion. 

Because the nature of VR technology allows for remote and collaborative learning in real time, patients will be able to connect with physicians and learn about their conditions, and doctors also will be able to connect and support other specialists and nurses. 

Virtual beds and hospital at home 

For patients who require less-acute care or minimal assistance, check-ins to monitor progress often take place at the patient’s home. This concept is not new, but through access to AR, AI and VR technologies, the idea of hospital at home will become more feasible and seamless for the patient. 

Patients will connect through these technologies, and mobile care teams will deploy with the required equipment. This type of care will be the most beneficial for patients who need rehabilitation post-surgery, since traveling back and forth to a provider's office might be difficult. 

Technology will continue to underlie most aspects of hospital care and design. The integration of AR, AI and VR technologies and virtual beds will help doctors and nurses provide quality patient care. 

These technologies also will improve training tactics and efficiency of care, and they will refine clinical outcomes. The new systems also will reduce human error, enhance the overall operation and flow of hospitals, and provide added patient comfort and personalization. These changes are only the start to technology advances to come for healthcare. 

Ashley Dias is associate principal for health with Perkins&Will in Dallas.