Healthy Outlook Blog

Evoking a Hollywood movie set, Kaiser Permanente’s Garfield Innovation Center uses actors to play the role of patients in scripted scenes that simulate the clinical experience, all while video cameras document the process. According to Fast Company, the Garfield Center is using creative and comprehensive experimentation in hopes of creating “a patient-friendly blueprint for the future of health care.”

By testing out designs and ideas in a mock clinical environment, the Garfield Center can help ensure that their clinics meet patient needs, both in theory and practice. And since hospitals are built to last decades, it’s logical to make large-scale prototypes before implementing the design.

Prototyping also allows healthcare planners to explore all options, from the pragmatic to the unconventional. Through trial and error, they can figure out the best design solutions for constructing the most effective patient-centered clinic.

And perhaps, over time, the hospital will conjure a different image.