The Hospital of the Future (2030)
By 2030, hospitals will shift from standalone treatment centres to digitally integrated care networks that prioritise prevention, decentralise routine care to homes and community facilities, and concentrate complex care in specialised hospitals. This transformation will be enabled by AI, telemedicine, interoperable patient data, and flexible hospital design to improve clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, and system resilience.
“50% share of global population without access to healthcare (2020)”
“9.9m shortage of physicians, nurses and midwives globally by 2030”
Context
As physical and virtual trends align with digital delivery and early prevention, there will be more change in hospitals by 2030 than has occurred in the last 30 years. As healthcare needs and systems around the world evolve, the role and design of hospitals are also changing to redefine the shape of the hospital as we know it. With a continually increasing and ageing patient population, tighter budgets, fewer doctors and higher patient expectations, many envisage that there could be significant challenges ahead. Equally, with more technology, better use of more data and some innovative new business models, there could also be some substantial opportunities to improve both the efficiency and the quality of delivering care.
This is an assessment of some of the associated shifts that may occur by 2030 and is designed to stimulate further debate. Insights have been gathered from over 40 expert workshops and additional discussions around the world with researchers, regulators, doctors, healthcare professionals (HCPs), providers and payers, as well as health system leaders and public health specialists. In some areas there is strong alignment of views, in others there is notable variation.
This article shares some of the pivotal emerging trends that may impact the future of hospital design globally. For context, we begin by outlining the macro healthcare shifts and then, in more detail, explore future hospital design trends. It is the start of further open dialogue over the next year which we hope will provide a useful additional lens on the important changes ahead. We thank all those who have already shared their personal outlooks as part of this project.
1: MACRO HEALTHCARE SHIFTS
From recent global feedback on a shared provocation, there is widespread agreement about the primary macro drivers for the future – technology development, the desire for more efficient, less-expensive systems as well as the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, most now consider that for much of the future innovation, alongside the US, Europe will increasingly be leading change – but not as much as Asia, and especially China which, for many focused on the advances in digital healthcare, is now very much in the driving seat.
