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Excerpt from article:
"To stay competitive, today’s healthcare facilities must find
new ways to streamline operations, cut costs, expand capacity,
and improve overall quality of care. Making changes to clinical
laboratories can offer a relatively easy and cost-effective
means for facilities to reach these goals. New planning
methodologies and automated analyzer systems are drastically
improving lab capacity and accuracy, and can give both
hospital-associated and independent clinical laboratories an
enormous competitive edge. Improvements in technology and
organization must be accompanied by the necessary design
considerations, however, to receive the greatest return on the
investment.
Hospitals are moving away from departmentally dedicated lab
spaces, which are suboptimal in terms of adaptability and
resource usage, towards more flexible open-lab designs.
Consolidating all lab testing services within one space promotes
equipment sharing and staff collaboration. Open floor plans are
also the best at accommodating the addition of large new
analyzers. To further maximize flexibility, engineering systems
for these spaces must allow for hassle-free connection and
disconnection of electricity, water, vacuum, and data lines...”
"Clinical Lab Design Trends"
©William N. Bernstein, LEED®AP, AIA, and Manu Venkat,
Hospital Newspaper |
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