Current trends in cancer center design.

I would like to summarize the most important issues that we discovered from the people we interviewed for our study. Patient environments are increasingly important. Patient control and patient amenity are paramount in treating cancer. High-tech equipment is going to be the driving force of the future. Telecommunication and electronic link-ups between facilities will be essential to share information. The use of imaging, and especially the MRIs, are going to increase, with some facilities running 24-hour shifts. Mobile service, such as a bus that goes on the road to take some of the more sophisticated treatment modalities out to rural areas, will increase. Designers may be planning interiors of mobile units in addition to chemotherapy departments. An exciting area where treating cancer is headed is in new facility types. There has already been an outgrowth from inpatient hospice units to separate hospice facilities. These are designed to help people make the transition into another lifestyle. But, in addition to hospices, wellness communities, like the one in Santa Monica, are being developed to provide all types of additional services required by the cancer patient. These services include items such as nutrition planning, consulting, self-help groups, and many other services that are growing out of the standard of care that regular hospital treatment provides. In designing cancer centers, there are many similarities to other healthcare environments, but there are unique characteristics that only occur with cancer patients. The main reason is that cancer is just a different kind of disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)