Joint Commission Publishes Report on "Hospital of the Future"

On November 20, 2008, the Joint Commission issued a report titled Health Care at the Crossroads: guiding Principles for the Development of the Hospital of the Future". The report is the work of an expert panel consisting of hospital executives, clinical leaders, and experts in the fields of technology, patient safety, hospital design and health care economics.

The report focuses on the following five areas:

1. Economic viability - e.g., increasing efficiency and addressing need for health care for all individuals
2. Technology adoption - e.g., focusing on decreasing labor and supporting patient centered care beyond the hospital
3. Patient-centered care - e.g., eliminating disparities among classes and addressing barriers to family and patient engagement such as language barriers
4. Staffing - e.g., overcoming shortage
5. Hospital design - e.g., environmentally friendly and reduce infection risks

To read the Joint Commission's press release, please click here. To read the full report, click here.