Hospital of the Future. Megatrends, Driving Forces, Barriers to Implementation, Overarching Perspectives, Major Trends into the Future, Implications for TATRC And Specific Recommendations for Action

摘要

In the coming five to fifteen years we can expect that medicine will change dramatically such that it will become custom tailored also known as 'personalized medicine'; there will be greater emphasis on prevention; medicine's ability to repair, restore or replace organs, tissues and cells will markedly advance; medical information will finally become fully digitized with instant access, anytime and anyplace; healthcare quality and safety will improve dramatically; and, in a all likelihood, there will be realistic attempts to address the rapidly rising costs of medical care. These changes are being driven by advances in biomedical research such as the advent of the genomics era with targeted drugs, drug prescribing with assured efficacy and safety, disease prediction and disease prognostication and improved diagnostics; the developing understanding of stem cells; the improved understanding of immunology that is leading to the creation of vaccines for both infections and chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's and to methods for improved transplantation including xenotransplantation; and the advances arising from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with new drugs. Less appreciated are the advances in medicine that derive from engineering and computer science. These include vastly improved anatomic imaging and the beginnings of functional or molecular imaging; medical devices such as pacemakers, stents, bioengineered tissues and nanotechnology devices; improvements in the operating room such as new instruments but also the advent of simulation for training, practice and certification, the use of robots for surgery and surgical assistance, and new approaches such as natural orifice surgery.