Rising Healthcare Costs Raise the Bar on the Experiences We Expect
People Expect More Than Ever
With health spending in the U.S. at $10,224 per person and rising, we expect the best for our money. Mostly, figures like that lead to discussions about cost control and clinical care. But what does that mean to the people responsible for building and maintaining healthcare facilities that serve millions of Americans? I was fortunate to attend BOMA’s Healthcare & Medical Office Building event in Minneapolis last week, and want to share what I heard.
No surprise, it’s all about patient experience, better health outcomes and keeping pace with accelerating expectations and innovation. Three key take-aways from great speakers and key industry leaders include:
1. Tradition is Dead.
Traditional medical office buildings with a dead lobby and dozens of suites are going away. Medical practices expect an uplifted experience throughout their spaces—from the parking lot through the clinical experience.
But no one wants to discount medical office rental rates or renovate needlessly. Which means that property owners with older buildings need to get creative in upgrading their spaces to compete.
Not only is it a smart investment but there’s also evidence according to a study done by Douglass Becker of Cornell University that art, lighting and amenities in a building can change a patient’s perspective on the quality of care. In addition to that research, two respected industry speakers at the BOMA event—Dr. Zbrorowsky from HGA Architects and Dr. Hallber from the Minnesota Physicians Mill City Clinic—discussed how art and vibrant clinic experiences not only help patient outcomes, they can positively impact retention rates and mental health quality for the doctors and nurses.
Functional art and engaging spaces are the wave of the future. That’s why TouchSource recently partnered with TurningArt to deliver elegant, rotating artwork as a service to our digital displays. It’s part of a wave of affordable renovation though simple PropTech solutions. For more on driving better outcomes as part of modern healthcare experience, check out our piece on interactive digital wayfinding.
2. Public-Private and Healthcare/Retail/Hospitality partnerships are reshaping campuses.
Examples shared at the event including the Mayo Clinic, which is creating a new global biotech hub based on medical visitors—including luxury hotels, restaurants and retail to attract wealthy patients. Also, the Minnesota Vikings partnered with healthcare systems and the town of Eagan to create a new center of excellence for Orthopedics on the grounds of Northwest Airlines’ old headquarters. It’s designed to combine practice fields, world-class medical facilities, multi-family housing and hospitality.
With healthcare as the anchor, these public-private partnerships are creating new communities while raising the bar for healthcare innovation.
3. Innovation is happening faster and in unexpected ways for healthcare facility leaders.
For example, in funding projects, developers can tap into greater market liquidity from an expanded pool of sources through blockchain-enabled capital markets. In addition, funding structures designed to hold those funds have expanded beyond traditional REITs, Trusts and Holding Companies into new private equity joint venture vehicles.
Outside of financing, owners and operators are also excited about innovation that simplifies their operations, optimizes staff health and productivity, or reduces compliance concerns. Key technologies gaining mind and wallet share are interactive technology in healthcare and clinical settings, autonomous robots, digital information systems and advanced planning and rendering capabilities.
Bottom Line? Innovate or Become Irrelevant
The one trend that runs through these three take-aways? Technology. We’re well past the day and age where visitors, patients and medical professionals will embrace aging facilities, paper maps and unstaffed medical office buildings. With the amount we spend on healthcare and the visible pace of technology advancements, we all want the best services.
If those come without good packaging, we lose trust and confidence in the services delivered. So, it’s time to put a new face on your space without breaking the bank. We can help. Just give us a call.
