February 21, 2005

Hospital Safety and Comfort

Glenn Reynolds' wife is doing well in the hospital. That's good news. She's also antsy which is good news too.

Glenn wondered why more thought hasn't been put into making hospitals more comfortable. For a long time people accepted thousands of deaths a year due to "preventable medical errors." A hospital being built near me is trying to fix that by designing each patient room with the exact same layout. That way doctors and nurses know where everything is in each room. That sounds good and may save lives. But hopefully doctors and designers will really look at making hospitals more soothing and relaxing for patients and their families. Let's start sending hospital administrators copies of Virginia Postrel's The Substance of Style.

"A Blueprint for Patient Safety"