Healing-Oriented Patient-Centered Care in the Healthcare Environment

Contemporary medical practitioners increasingly recognize the critical impact of healing-environment design on patients’ recovery, positioning it as a pivotal consideration in healthcare facility planning. While existing research has predominantly focused on enhancing the functionality and efficiency of healthcare environments, it has often overlooked the significance of individual patient needs and their distinct experiences. This paper aims to utilize the principles of epidemiology and empirical analysis to explore the application and research trends of the patient-centered care (PCC) concept in healthcare facility design, to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and achieve customized healthcare environments. Based on bibliometric analysis and key literature review methods, this paper systematically examines and interprets the research development trends of PCC in healing environment design, integrating both macro and micro perspectives, and reveals how design factors in therapeutic environments support the realization of PCC principles, thereby improving patients’ rehabilitation experiences and health outcomes. The results indicate that current research on PCC is trending towards increasingly diversified integration via high-frequency keywords such as recovery, healing environment, and evidence-based design, highlighting the shift from functional optimization to emotional care, technological integration, and nature-based interactions in design. Notably, patient-centered care has become a consensus and core integrating concept in this field. This paper not only reveals the key role of healing environments in constructing PCC practice pathways but also provides theoretical support and strategic reference for the planning of healthcare spaces and the collaborative design of nursing processes, and demonstrates that healing environments have evolved from passive spaces into active rehabilitation mediums through interdisciplinary collaboration, thereby facilitating the implementation of the patient-centered healthcare philosophy.