Each day, it seems some new healthcare or IT development is released, increasing the pace of integration of IT systems. Be it electronic health records, newer and faster diagnostic equipment, or changing in patient care and experience, all are increasingly reliant on the stability of its IT infrastructure.

But as designers can attest, healthcare design can be very complex, due to the number and variety of systems, operational spaces, and additional regulations specific to healthcare. Today's modern hospital includes areas analogous to residential, commercial, general office, industrial environment, all of which require not only the traditional phone and network connectivity, but additional systems such security and building support, data and record archive and retrieval, specialized communication (e.g., nurse call), all of which have additional security requirements governing access, encryption, and even physical location.

To aid today's designer, BICSI 004-2012, Information Technology Systems Design and Implementation Best Practices for Healthcare Institutions and Facilities, has been released to provide guidance on the issues specific to the healthcare environment. Written for the wide variety of facilities including hospitals, outpatient clinics and skilled nursing facilities, this standard covers not only common telecommunication and IT infrastructure concerns, but specific healthcare systems such as nurse call, interactive television/hospitality systems and connected medical imaging.