Balancing Support for Staff and Patient Centeredness Through the Design of Immediate and Relational Space: A Case Study of Ambulatory Care Center Layouts

Purpose: This descriptive case study of ambulatory care center typologies builds a layout-based approach to patient-centered care and care team work using theory and methods from space syntax and a recently developed approach to floorplan analysis focused on visibility. Background: Calibrating support for care team work and patient centeredness is a persistent dilemma in ambulatory care settings. Method: A review of literature and floorplan layout analysis are used. Results: The center-stage layout more strongly integrates staff and patients, while the onstage–offstage layout provides greater privacy to the care team. The integration values for exam rooms in each layout were roughly equivalent. Analysis of variations on each floor plan demonstrates ways relatively small variations can modulate visibility conditions without altering integration patterns. Conclusion: Decoupling design of immediate visual properties and relational layout properties can act as a strategy to address competing demands.