Ambulatory Care and Community Health
B.0155
HPU 155 Ambulatory Care and Community Health describes the operational, functional and design requirements for ambulatory care and community health services that may be delivered as part of a healthcare campus or as a stand-alone facility in the community. The information included in this HPU was previously provided through two separate documents, HPU 155 Ambulatory Care and HPU 255 Community Health. These two documents were merged given both HPUs are focussed on same day, non-admitted patient services and the core planning requirements include a mix of multifunctional, flexible use consult, interview, treatment and meeting rooms.
An updated revision of HPU 155 Ambulatory Care and Community Health (Revision 7, September 2020) has been uploaded. The revised version has been informed by an extensive consultation process with clinical and technical experts.
Key changes to the document include:
- emphasis on the growth of virtual models of care / telehealth services and key considerations relating to this;
- ICT planning to consider the establishment of self-registration, queueing and/or wayfinding systems;
- updates to information relating to the management of patients with high care needs in outpatient areas e.g. those from residential care facilities or another health facility;
- updates to information relating to patients with behaviours of concern;
- description of ‘Hospital in the Home’ (HITH) services;
- information relating to pharmacotherapy (opioid treatment) clinics;
- specific design considerations relating to chemotherapy services;
- updates to sections on nurse call and medical gas requirements;
- updated SOA structure to provide recommended areas for two scenarios based on common sized units:
- inclusion of the ‘Consult Room – Universal Access’ and the optional ‘Interview Room – Mental Health’.
