CME Insider's Blog Posts

In a Richmond, VA. hospital, tetraplegics in the ICU who are unable to move by themselves are communicating and staying connected to the outside world, by controlling an overhead laptop’s cursor using their eye instead of a mouse.

Elsewhere, a new mother is opening up a web portal on a tablet to watch her newborn via live video feed from the NICU. And in San Francisco, pediatric patients are finding their hospitalizations a little less scary and confusing, thanks to tablets loaded with education and entertainment apps that they can easily access from their beds. 

Many advances in patient care have come about through the introduction of innovative and sophisticated medical equipment. With that advance is the need for additional or unique space to accommodate this equipment. For this reason, it's crucial that these medical equipment needs are properly considered when planning a new medical facility, in order to provide adequate space.

Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, more health care facilities have embraced value-based health care. The focus on cutting costs, increasing patient satisfaction, improving medical outcomes and reducing re-admittance rates has revolutionized the industry, and has facilities focused on quality care and the patient. Many hospitals, clinics, and outpatient facilities are taking on renovation projects, repurposing existing spaces and replacing outdated equipment to accommodate this new value-based health care model.

Although capital equipment procurement is a critical aspect of new construction, this function often falls into no-man's land. Clients believe it's the responsibility of the architectural and design team, while A&D teams consider this the client's prerogative. What usually happens is that equipment vendors pick up the slack.

Building a healthcare facility takes time and money. But careful planning by the right team with the right tools can provide savings to both.

As medical technology grows more complex, so does the planning and building of a medical facility. That's why persons involved in medical facility and equipment planning can benefit from the building information modeling (BIM) program.

The emergence of new technology means hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities face the continuous challenge of upgrading to keep their facilities in top form to provide current state-of-the-art care. When considering new technology, medical personnel quickly grasp the benefits and how it can be used to improve patient outcomes.

However, the specifications, sourcing and installation of this equipment presents a number of unique challenges that may be outside the scope and experience of clinically focused healthcare personnel.

As indicated in a healthcare design article, when planning a new medical facility, it's important that equipment planning is considered at an early stage. This is necessary so that the planner can work together with the architect, interior designer and space planner to ensure that the right equipment is specified and adequate space is provided for the equipment, the medical staff who will operate the equipment and the patients who will be at the center of it all.

The PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center serves the local community of Ketchikan, AK as well as the many tourists and visitors to the remote island of Revillagigedo in Southern Alaska. To meet growing demand, the city agreed to fund a $62 million project to add a new wing and improve treatment facilities. This entailed adding 70,000 square feet of space and installing over 2,000 items of new medical equipment. Despite a four-week construction delay, healthcare facility logistics specialists at CME were able to condense their installation schedule and ensure the hospital opened on time in June 2016.

Over the past few years, medical facilities have moved towards making equipment purchasing decisions based on a value-based system. This means that the top criteria for purchasing new equipment are quality of care, best outcomes and improved patient satisfaction for the lowest total cost of ownership.

Along with these new criteria, space has also become a premium. Now, practically every medical facility is trying to improve patient flow within the small spaces they are working in.