Närsjukhuset - Fysisk struktur för patientfokuserad vård
Licentiatavhandling, 2012
Access to healthcare and medical treatment is essential in the society of today. Th e optimisation of
resources has a great impact on architectural design, the location of facilities and access to health services.
Lack of skilled staff in the healthcare sector will considerably aff ect the organisation and the design
of facilities.
Th e purpose of this thesis is to analyses the proper level of service that Integrated Care can be related to
the aim and cost for the society with easy access for patients to the healthcare facilities. It is important
to determining the location of new healthcare facilities and the opportunities for making use of existing
care facilities. Th e objective of my research is to explore the concepts of primary healthcare, horizontally
integrated care and local hospitals to determine what infl uence these concepts have on the development of
healthcare facilities. Th ere are a variety of interpretations of the meaning and content of these terms, and
that dissent impedes the communication among organizations, companies, and individuals.
As a fi rst step, I have gathered various interpretations of the concepts, analyzed them, and presented
the most widely accepted defi nitions, interpretations, and understandings based on the data collected.
Among those who use the terms, I have selected three areas of healthcare and interviewed representatives
of each about how their interpretation of the concepts infl uences their view of what kinds of
healthcare facilities are needed. From this material I have compiled a number of demands on the location
and design of facilities for primary healthcare. I have studied the consequences of placing these
demands on existing facilities at smaller hospitals in Sweden.
My work is based on the empirical data I have collected through a questionnaire, in-depth interviews,
the basis-of-design documents and programming issues provided for commissions to design several
Swedish local hospitals(community hospital), and a survey of literature in the fi eld. Presenting various
interpretations of the concepts can help people who work in diff erent organizations within the healthcare
industry to better understand one another. By showing examples of how various aspects are accounted
for diff erently in locating and designing facilities, we can improve the understanding of existing facilities’
serviceability as local hospitals. Th e operational demands that horizontally integrated care services
make on their facilities should be clarifi ed, and the pros and cons of existing facilities should be analyzed
and compared with the opportunities aff orded by new construction.
Primary care
primary care center
horizontally integrated care
healthcare facility
facility development
community-based healthcare
intermediate care
community hospital
local hospital
primary healthcare