October 15, 2001—Superior Consultant Company, a provider of IT consulting, outsourcing, and management consulting services to the healthcare industry, has announced the launch of ChiPlan.net, a Web-enabled facility planning tool for the healthcare industry. ChiPlan presents facilities planning guidelines that reflect the dynamic healthcare environment. First published in 1995 by Chi Systems as ChiPlan: A Space Planning Guide for Healthcare Facilities, this planning tool is now a standard reference book in the industry, according to Superior, and was awarded an Outstanding Research Award from the American Institute of Architects.
The newly updated, Web-based version of ChiPlan offers planning methodologies, industry benchmarks, case studies, and planning tips derived from decades of consulting to healthcare organizations throughout North America.
ChiPlan organizes clinical services and support functions into 15 specific facilities components that reflect new operational models resulting from pressures to improve quality, reduce costs, and incorporate the rapid growth in IT. ChiPlan includes changing monthly features such as Ask the Expert, Rule-of-Thumb, and Case Study, as well as an ongoing series on the Digital Hospital. Each section includes a descriptive narrative, which features information on future trends, major planning issues, space planning approaches, design considerations, and common planning pitfalls. Also included in each section is a space-planning template, which can be used to develop a room-specific space program in net square feet, with spaces generally organized by functional category of space.
