In an article on The New York Times website, a resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital says he is struck daily by how much better hospitals could be designed.
The evidence suggests we’ve been building healthcare facilities all wrong — and that the deficiencies aren’t simply unaesthetic or inconvenient. All those design flaws may be killing us, he wrote.
For instance, research suggests that private rooms can reduce the risk of both airborne infections and those transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces.
Also, a number of design factors can contribute to dangerous patient falls: poorly lit areas, slippery floors or toilets that are too high or too low.
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