Doug Johns, AIA Project Architect Don Zirkle, Assoc. AIA Director, Healthcare Facilities Research Earl Swensson Associates Nashville, Tennessee

Due to the rapid changes healthcare is undergoing, the nature of the facilities in which medical care is being delivered are changing. In response to the rapidly rising costs of healthcare in the 1980s, the current emphasis is on providing quality healthcare at the lowest possible cost. The increasing popularity of outpatient treatments and procedures is a direct response to the need to control the high cost of medical spending. In comparison to the costs associated with the traditional inpatient hospital, outpatient (ambulatory) clinics and hospitals are proving themselves to be a viable alternative. The nature of these new outpatient hospitals is quite different from the inpatient hospital.

The "bedless hospital" is emerging as a new medical facility type to fit the needs of the new environment. It can offer a variety of treatments and procedures to a wide segment of the population. Bedless hospitals are becoming more and more popular because they are being designed to be efficient, economical, and oriented to the needs of the consumer. In many ways, they may not even resemble a hospital.

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