Guidelines for intensive care unit design. Guidelines/Practice Parameters Committee of the American College of Critical Care Medicine, Society of Critical Care Medicine

To develop guidelines that can serve as a reference for healthcare institutions wishing to design a new intensive care unit (ICU) or modify an existing ICU.

Medical, nursing, and architectural/design literatures from 1975 to the present related to ICU structure and function; current regulatory standards; consensus opinion of physicians, nurses, and architects with expertise in the ICU environment.

Preference was given to regulatory standards and outcomes-based studies. If none was found, studies showing trends or preferences were combined with consensus opinion to derive models combining cost-efficiency and function.

ICU design should reflect a multidisciplinary team approach by physician, nursing, administrative, and technical personnel. An optimum ICU design is described herein. Acceptable variations are indicated and essential aspects are emphasized.

Published by Critical care medicine, 1995. The guideline itself is at the source linked here.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7874913/