Healthcare Design in the Post-Vaccine Era
Architect Ravideep Singh dwells on how healthcare design should adapt itself for a post-pandemic, post-vaccine scenario
Ravideep Singh
Ravideep Singh is the Associate Director at Creative Designer Architects, a
New Delhi-based architecture firm that has helmed notable projects of diverse typologies across Asia. An alumnus of the University of Illinois U.C, School of Architecture, he has earned a specialisation in ‘Healthcare Planning’ from Cornell University, NY. With a penchant for designing spaces that foster health and wellness, Singh has over four years of experience in healthcare design in India and the United States, working with internationally renowned practices like HDR, HKS and RSP Architects. At CDA, he has conceptualised several award-winning projects including AIIMS Guwahati and Pragma Medical Institute in Bathinda, amongst others.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the definition of normal for many of us. Hospitals around the world have crumbled under the weight of the viral disease. The uncertainty has altered the way we live, travel, work as well as our perceptions about health and safety. Technology has brought some efficiency and improvement in healthcare, and it’s time that designers relook at the design of these healthcare facilities. While some of these alterations may be temporary, a few fundamental changes in our approach to healthcare design will help sustain the pressures of future outbreaks.
The post-vaccine healthcare design strategy needs to broaden its horizon beyond hospitals to institute a healthier and more resilient population with better endurance against infections, ailments or future pandemics. During the design and planning phase of a healthcare ecosystem, designers, developers, policymakers and other stakeholders must consider two key principles—preventive health and wellness, and equity in care delivery.
To effectuate communal health and wellness, hospitals will need to focus on community integration and cultural penetration. Healthcare providers, policymakers and designers should collaborate to design communal spaces and programs that will encourage interaction and educate the community about their health and wellness, such as maintaining healthy diets, self-monitoring etc. The goal must be to bring about a cultural reform such that the implementation of wellness strategies becomes a norm rather than a mere frill. Building certifications such as WELL, FITWEL etc, should also be made statutory instead of optional.
A plausible solution to mitigate equity in healthcare is to have more public-private partnerships for broader and robust outreach. Leveraging public infrastructure and cutting-edge, data-driven operational strategies from the private sector will help curate an ecosystem that is far more intelligent and responsive than what we have today. Currently, the Indian healthcare system lacks data that is key for prediction and innovation in care delivery. Healthcare analytics and unified data on patients, once available, can enable healthcare providers and designers to understand the social determinants of health. This data will allow them to curate tailored and definite policies based on regions, age groups etc, which can focus on combating community-specific issues
effectively. For instance, the high morbidity from cancer found in some areas of Punjab is linked to certain carcinogens such as uranium present in drinking water that infiltrate through excessive use of pesticides. Studies involving data and healthcare analytics, if conducted in time, can enable appropriate policy reforms, interventions and programs for specific demographics, resulting in life-saving healthcare services.
From a healthcare design standpoint, architects and designers need to look beyond functionality. In a post-pandemic world, healthcare designers should set forth innovative solutions that seamlessly blend altruism with technology to create a robust ecosystem. The benefit of this is bifold. These solutions will render high-quality medical care to those in need and focus on patient safety, satisfaction and comfort at present. Additionally, it will streamline future care delivery by constantly collecting wand analysing patient data through tech-enabled infrastructure.
The future of healthcare is digital, period. To augment a seamless transition to digital and smart care delivery, healthcare designers should incorporate research in care delivery and equipment technology and analysis in the planning stages that will result in a flexible infrastructure. This is critical since diagnostic, surgical or therapeutic procedures