Location, Location, Location: The Impact on Patient Care

Researchers used tracking chips to investigate the way facility layout affects patient care

By Dan Hounsell


Location is important in real estate, but it’s critical — literally — when the topic is hospital interior design and the location of patient rooms.

Researchers used tracking chips in nurses' badges to investigate the way a facility's layout affected nurses' behavior and patient care, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. The study followed five months of interactions between 217 nurses and 30,000 patients in an undisclosed hospital's emergency department.

Among the findings is that nurses visited distant rooms less frequently but for longer periods of time. Also, patients whose rooms were farther from the nurses' station waited longer in between visits and were more likely to use their call buttons more often.



June 8, 2021


Topic Area: Interior Design


Recent Posts

Grounding Healthcare Spaces in Hospitality Principles

Thoughtful design can establish the calm of a spa and the restorative feeling of a resort in healthcare spaces, bringing benefits for patients and care providers.


UC Davis Health Selects Rudolph and Sletten for Central Utility Plant Expansion

Work is already underway with substantial completion anticipated in the fall of 2027.


Cape Cod Healthcare Opens Upper 2 Floors of Edwin Barbey Patient Care Pavilion

The first two floors opened for patients in May 2025 and house the Davenport-Mugar Cancer Center.


Building Sustainable Healthcare for an Aging Population

Traditional responses — building more primary and secondary care facilities — are no longer sustainable.


Froedtert ThedaCare Announces Opening of ThedaCare Medical Center-Oshkosh

The organization broke ground on the health campus in March 2024.


 
 


FREE Newsletter Signup Form

News & Updates | Webcast Alerts
Building Technologies | & More!

 
 
 


All fields are required. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.