The Shift to Private Rooms: How Healthcare Reform is Changing Hospital Design

Healthcare reform is changing hospital design as reimbursement moves from a fee-for-service system to a pay-for-performance model, guiding hospital leaders toward a patient-centered mindset when planning new or updated facilities, according to a Kaiser Health News report.

One of the major changes in hospital design is private patient rooms. Private rooms can increase patient satisfaction and reduce the risk of acquiring an infection by providing privacy and separation from other patients. In addition, operating private rooms costs less than rooms with multiple patients, according to the report.

The improved patient satisfaction and quality that private rooms offer can yield savings by avoiding financial penalties for low performance under healthcare reform.

Hospitals can also save money with private rooms by optimizing capacity; hospitals can assign any patient to a private room, whereas they have to consider factors such as gender and age when assigning patients to double rooms, according to the report.

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