Massive transitions in space-planning, design and functionality coming to a health facility near you
On Tuesday, January 30 in Miami, Adrenaline’s President, Sean Keathley, and Chief Experience Officer, Gina Bleedorn, participated in an expert panel at Revista’s Medical Real Estate Investment Forum. The forum focuses on sharing resources and the latest data for those involved in the medical real estate industry. Gina and Sean sat on the panel “Rise of the Ambulatory Strategy: Transitioning Inpatient Census to Outpatient Volumes” about the forces of change impacting medical real estate investment and how healthcare is shifting from traditional care-delivery to more innovative patient-centric formats.
Like financial before it, the healthcare industry in the U.S. is on the leading-edge of disruption. We are beginning to see many large-scale health systems recognize the need for smaller-scale operations to serve their patients right in their own neighborhoods. As we discussed in Healthcare Next, consumers are demanding more convenience and customization in their healthcare delivery. Whether it’s pop-up clinics, tele-health visits or remote scheduling, patients want healthcare that is conscious of their lifestyle needs. Just as in banking, consumers have come to expect immediacy and responsiveness.
Those demands are impacting the physical spaces in which care takes place. So ripe is the industry for change, Sean says the medical real estate market is about to experience a massive transition. “From a real estate and reach perspective, we’re seeing investment into smaller footprints. Healthcare is getting closer to the patient and the small format ambulatory options are cost-effective. Insurance companies and patients both love them. So, what real estate investors are assessing is the need for land or buildings for these new opportunities. Conversely, there may be extra space back at the main hospital with healthcare being outsourced into the market. That creates prospects for new uses of old spaces.”
Sean says that if healthcare providers don’t take it upon themselves to shift, people from outside the industry will come in as disrupters. It’s actually already happening with last week’s announcement that Amazon, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase are partnering to bring innovation and a different monetary model for employee health insurance. Sean says, “I think you’re going to have people come from outside of the industry to lead some of these institutions, or at least be the experience officer to push people forward. There are a lot of areas to address – from investment to infrastructure – and there are no easy answers. But it’s crucial to begin asking the right questions.”
For more information about designing and deploying consumer-centric healthcare spaces, contact us info@adrenalinex.com.
