Creating a healing environment by design.

Abstract

This article focuses on offering a methodology that goes beyond creating a noninstitutional environment to one intended to assist in the development of a healing environment, one that influences patients' responses to the environment, and one that offers patients opportunities to cope. This article does not advocate a formula for design that, by its nature, would be antihetical to the dynamic proposed. Instead, this article suggests a methodology that allows and recommends flexibility in design. While the article discusses design issues for outpatient oncological centers and offers specific examples as demonstrations of implementation, the methodology is not limited to outpatient cancer care centers. Ambulatory care centers in general would benefit from application of these principles.