As the calendar turns and the year (and the decade!) changes again, many of us resort to the time-honored tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. Of course, if you’re like me, these resolutions usually make it about a month or so before they’re forgotten about and/or broken on purpose, but that doesn’t stop us from doing it again the next year anyway.

My own personal resolutions are fairly simple: get more exercise, eat better, spend more time with my wife and family, and of course do a better job of delivering my editorial to our hard-working production staff on time (unfortunately, I’ve already broken that last one….)

But what about the healthcare design industry as a whole? What might we collectively resolve to do differently in 2010 to improve the field?

One thing that I would love to see is more post-occupancy evaluations. Now, I know these are out there and being done already; but we seldom, if ever, get approached to run stories on them or find anyone willing to report on results. I’ve always put it down to the publicity machines not wanting to look backward, but rather always moving on to the next big new project; it’s also worth considering that the results of some POEs might not be exactly flattering. However, there is much to be learned in trial and error, especially that latter part. I for one would welcome anyone brave enough to tell the story of how they fixed things that on first pass seemed like a good idea, but turned out to be a slightly imperfect fit. I think our audience would like to see these sorts of stories, too.

What about the looming specter of healthcare reform? Might we resolve to get that right this year, to turn it into a positive rather than a doom-and-gloom shadow over the industry?

I’d love to hear what you think the industry as a whole should resolve to change in 2010, from the big-picture items down to your personal pet peeves. Feel free to drop me a line at thutlock@vendomegrp.com and let me know your ideas. HD

Todd Hutlock, Editor-in-Chief Healthcare Design 2010 January;10(1):8