The Future of Healthcare Facilities: How Technology and Medical Advances May Shape Hospitals of the Future

Abstract

In this review article, we aim to depict how healthcare facilities may look in the near future from an architectural design point of view. For this purpose, we review newly introduced technology and medical advances in the field of healthcare, such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotic surgery, 3D printing, and information technology (IT), and suggest how those advances may affect the architectural design of future healthcare facilities. In future hospitals, less space will be required; there will be no need for waiting areas. Most care will be given far from the hospital. Every human might have a computer chip attached to his body, with all his medical data ready and monitored by AI. In the future, all processes may be done by robots and AI, from reception to detection (radiology, scans, etc.). Nearly all surgery will be done by robots, so the architectural design of operation departments will need to be changed accordingly. AI is faster and better in disease detection than man; thus, there will be no need for laboratories or detection departments as we know them now. 3D printers are able to print almost everything from medical equipment to parts of the human body; thus, space will be needed for scanning and 3D printing in future hospitals. 3D printers might change the pharmaceutical industries, and drugs will be produced for any human individually.

The Hype and Disruptive Technologies of Industry 4.0 in Major Industrial Sectors: A State of the Art

“…DDPPPT: gene therapy, diagnosis, cancer treatments [503][504][505][506] Surgery [505] PDDD: drug delivery, drug coating and encapsulation [503] 10. Robotic TMR: Tele-healthcare [507] Surgery [508][509][510][511] Monitoring: care and wellness [511] DDPPPT: diagnosis and rehabilitation [508,511] MERT: training [511] 11. Simulation HFMPO: Operation process improvement and optimization, resource planning, emergency room efficiency improvement [512][513][514][515][516][517] MERT: clinical or midwifery education and training, clinical The intricacy of the disruptive and transformative powers of industry 4.0 including the process of globalization of the world economy is a prerequisite for the successful operation and disruption of logistics which is well-known today as logistics 4.0 [534,535].…”

A Importância da Inteligência Emocional para a Prática Médica do Internista no Futuro

“…A evolução tecnológica a que estamos a assistir vai implicar, no futuro próximo, mudanças a nível do sistema de saúde e dos hospitais, 1 com previsível impacto na sua forma de organização (física, de processos, de recursos humanos) e foco prioritário na ambulatorização de cuidados. 1,2 Avanços na inteligência artificial e machine learning, robótica, impressão 3-D, tecnologias de informação e genómica irão ser responsáveis pela melhoria da nossa capacidade de prevenir, diagnosticar e tratar doenças. [2][3][4] Paralelamente à revolução tecnológica, o envelhecimento progressivo da população mundial, que se assume como um fenómeno de proporções particularmente preocupantes em Portugal, 5 terá inevitáveis repercussões no sistema de saúde e na forma como teremos de nos adaptar para prestar cuidados.…”

“…1,2 Avanços na inteligência artificial e machine learning, robótica, impressão 3-D, tecnologias de informação e genómica irão ser responsáveis pela melhoria da nossa capacidade de prevenir, diagnosticar e tratar doenças. [2][3][4] Paralelamente à revolução tecnológica, o envelhecimento progressivo da população mundial, que se assume como um fenómeno de proporções particularmente preocupantes em Portugal, 5 terá inevitáveis repercussões no sistema de saúde e na forma como teremos de nos adaptar para prestar cuidados. 6 O doente do futuro será mais complexo e com necessidades crescentes de cuidados de saúde.…”

Rethinking Modern Hospital Architecture Through COVID-19

“…In McKinsey's report titled "Hospital Care in 2030",(24) there is even discussion of iPhones conducting blood tests at home, and the elimination of outpatient waiting rooms entirely. Recent advancements in telemedical technology has made possible not merely remote consultation, but remote diagnosis and posttreatment follow-ups (25). As such, patients of the future may not often visit the hospital, but rather do so remotely or via smaller institutions across cities (24).…”