A report released from The Joint Commission offers guiding principles and actions for the hospital of the future to meet the daunting challenges of older and sicker patients, patient safety and quality of care, economics and the work force. As these challenges escalate, hospitals can lead the effort to meet these demands.

Health Care at the Crossroads: Guiding Principles for the Development of the Hospital of the Future contends that hospitals must respond in new ways as escalating health care costs are hitting record highs and the conditions and care needs of hospitalized patients are growing more complex. The report is the work of an expert panel comprising hospital executives and clinical leaders, as well as experts in technology, health care economics, hospital design and patient safety. The roundtable analyzed how socio-economic trends, technology, the physical environment of care, patient-centered care values and ongoing staffing challenges will impact the hospital of the future.

"The importance of hospital-based care will not diminish in the future, but hospitals will have to meet the high expectations of the public and all stakeholders in an increasingly challenging environment," says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H.., president, The Joint Commission. "As they have been in the past, hospitals must be equally transformative as the future unfolds. The Joint Commission urges hospitals and public policymakers to use the principles in this report to achieve that aim."

"The Joint Commission has brought together broad expertise in health care to point to directions for optimizing health care in hospitals. Hospitals have an enduring role in the delivery of health care and have provided major contributions to enhancing the treatment of disease," says Herbert Pardes, M.D., President and CEO, New York Presbyterian Hospital and New York Presbyterian Healthcare System and roundtable chair. "Looking forward, this white paper describes issues ranging from technology to personnel, patient relationships, and fiscal and architectural design among many other ways hospitals can enhance health care for all patients."

The report recommends action in five core areas:

Economic Viability
While some hospitals today enjoy healthy profit margins, many hospitals continue to be unprofitable. There is a growing gap between the have and have-not hospitals. An aging population and a continuing decline in employer-sponsored insurance means that hospitals can expect increases in publicly insured patients and uncompensated care. This is expected to create more competition for the fewer patients to whom costs may be shifted. For hospitals to be economically viable in the future, the following principles must be pursued by hospitals, health care stakeholders and policymakers:

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