Immersive Virtual Reality and Telemedicine is already in use by several Healthcare Institutions, but Architects and Designers, Governing Bodies, and Regulations may not be all in sync with the evolution of treatment methods.
Some States and Countries are more prepared than others. However, we are still designing centralized Clinics and Hospitals for physical interaction with minimal modifications to adapt to the new reality. Realistically we have not even been in a position to explore bold moves since governing, and regulatory agencies are still enforcing building codes and regulations written years ago.
Primary Care is starting to transition into Telemedicine, and as a standard to initial examination it incorporates Mental Health evaluation, which itself must increase detection of illness and demand on the treatment. Integration of robotics on a more mainstream level may streamline remote testing and treatment even more.
If assumptions and predictions are correct, we should expect a more disseminated model of care, where micro touchdown testing stations can be automated or equipped with telehealth capability. As a result, it is more likely that large clinical hubs could decrease in size, but micro-units may become integrated into a different typology of buildings or in urban and rural settings.
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