CREJ - Healthcare Properties - June 2016
Finding quality health care has not always been convenient for the patient. Routine appointments frequently were scheduled months in advance (by phone after navigating multitudes of options). Often the only appointment times available were during work or school hours. The doctor’s office typically was on a crowded hospital campus or in an outdated medical office building, not necessarily close to home. Additionally, more often than not, the clinical space felt sterile, cold and impersonal. Not an experience to look forward to! Over the last few years, changes in health care regulations and consumer expectations have created an evolution in the delivery of health care, which is also impacting health care real estate. Consumers, now faced with higher insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, are doing more research in determining where their health care dollars will be spent. Health systems and private practices, responding to competitive forces and consumer demands, are moving quickly to improve the patient experience by offering online scheduling and medical record access, longer hours, including evenings and weekends, shorter wait times, and greater responsiveness and overall communication. In an environment of escalating competition between hospital systems, increased cost transparency and consumer awareness, the fight to win and keep customers has reached unprecedented levels. Health care system and medical practice branding now rivals the hypercompetitive retail world with signage and media exposure, both traditional and social, critical for brand awareness and loyalty. Medical facilities of all types are now being located closer to the consumers, with increased awareness of accessibility and visibility, often integrated in retail centers. In fact, many primary care services are now integrated and offered in other retail environments like grocery and drug stores. Primary care is not the only service moving closer to the consumer. Specialty facilities, including standalone emergency departments, urgent care centers and ambulatory surgery centers, are springing up in populated suburbs around the Front Range and in major cities across the country. Highly specialized centers focused on orthopedic, cardiovascular, gastroenterology, urology, neurology and pain management services, to name a few, are now prevalent and highly visible. Additionally, other facilities in the continuum of care, like those focused on rehabilitation and wellness, are showing up in close proximity to practices that provide synergistic services, resulting in a more user-friendly patient flow. Today’s patients, preferring not to drive all over town to see different specialists, expect to find multiple services in the same location, or at least within convenient proximity. Not only is health care becoming more convenient, accessible and close to home, but also the look and feel of the facilities is changing rapidly. New spaces are created to be warm and inviting, incorporating elements of the retail and hospitality industries with patient experience in mind. Building common areas are being designed with elements of coffee shops and hotel lobbies, resulting in a more comfortable environment for patients and families to spend time. Utilizing comfortable furniture, elegant artwork and soothing colors and finishes, modern health care spaces could easily be mistaken for more upscale settings. The final frontier in the evolution of providing health care services to consumers demanding instant gratification is the integration of technology. New technology in remote personal health monitoring is changing the doctor/patient relationship, and physicians now have immediate access to vital stats to help diagnose and prevent conditions, often before they occur. Doctors can now communicate with patients via video, smart phone, email and text, significant progress from the days where an appointment in their office was the only opportunity to speak directly with the provider. The evolution has begun and the shift to patient-focused health care will continue as consumers demand more value for their dollars and health systems and practices escalate their fierce competition to add and retain patients loyal to them.