The design of a perioperative facility can either contribute to operating room efficiency or challenge the cost-effective delivery of surgical care. A well-designed operating room suite requires emphasis on patient, material, and staffing flows as well as the integration of support resources. Operating room design and capacity requirements must consider future growth, market expansion and surgical discipline-specific facility requirements.

A well-designed perioperative facility can have many benefits for a hospital or ambulatory service center. A good perioperative facility design can minimize avoidable and expensive late stage facility construction costs, increase the efficiency for professionals, customers and materials, support the planned functions as intended, and improve patient safety and satisfaction. Some of the key elements of a well-designed perioperative facility include adequate preadmissions, preoperative processing, operating room support areas, equipment and supply storage for surgical suites, and postanesthesia care unit requirements for phase I and phase II recovery.

The design should also consider the differences in planning for these perioperative support areas in a large hospital venue versus an ambulatory surgery center venue. A well-designed perioperative facility can help an organization achieve its goals of delivering high-quality health care services in a cost-effective and timely manner.