Four Decades of Intensive Care Unit Design Evolution and Thoughts for the Future

Neil A Halpern; Elizabeth Scruth; Michelle Rausen; Diana Anderson

doi:10.1016/j.ccc.2023.01.008

Four Decades of Intensive Care Unit Design Evolution and Thoughts for the Future

Crit Care Clin. 2023 Jul;39(3):577-602. doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2023.01.008. Epub 2023 Mar 27.

Authors

Neil A Halpern¹, Elizabeth Scruth², Michelle Rausen³, Diana Anderson⁴

Affiliations

¹ Critical Care Center, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, C-1179, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: halpernn@mskcc.org.
² Kaiser Permanente, NCAL Quality, Safety, Risk Department, 1950 Franklin Street, 14th Floor Quality Department, Oakland, CA 94612-1950, USA.
³ Respiratory Therapy, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, C-1176A, New York, NY 10065, USA.
⁴ VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S Huntington Avenue, Room 12C-34C, Boston, MA 02130, USA.

PMID: 37230557
DOI: 10.1016/j.ccc.2023.01.008

Abstract

Intensive care unit (ICU) design has changed since the mid-1980s. Targeting timing and incorporation of the dynamic and evolutionary processes inherent in ICU design is not possible nationally. ICU design will continue evolving to incorporate new concepts of best design evidence and practice, better understandings of the needs of patients, visitors and staff, unremitting advances in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, ICU technologies and informatics, and the ongoing search to best fit ICUs within greater hospital complexes. As the ideal ICU remains a moving target; the design process should include the ability for an ICU to evolve into the future.

Keywords: Critical care unit; Design; Evolution; Future-proofing; Informatics; Intensive care unit.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Critical Care*
Humans
Intensive Care Units*