Designing better healthcare environments: Interprofessional competencies in healthcare design

Abstract

There has been considerable interest in bridging educational programs in the United States across healthcare, architecture, industrial design, and human computing disciplines to design more effective and safer healthcare environments. New combinations of professionals including those outside the traditional healthcare disciplines are coming together to solve quality and safety problems and to re-envision the physical and social design of healthcare organizations. Little is known about the knowledge and skills essential to integrate these diverse perspectives and pose innovative solutions. A set of seven interprofessional competencies were identified through review of the literature, interviews of faculty and leaders in the field, and experience of the authors teaching interprofessional courses in healthcare design. The relevance and feasibility of these competencies were assessed through expert review by faculty and consultants and implementation in multiple courses.