Recently, healthcare experts conducted a survey predicting the most influential healthcare construction trends for 2015. Among the top leaders are ambulatory surgical centers (ASC’s), medical offices, and other outpatient clinics.
Healthcare construction trends survey
The survey on medical office and hospital construction included over 3,000 hospitals in cooperation with Health Facilities Management (HFM) and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering of the American Hospital Association. Of that number, 16 percent participated. Study participants included general hospitals and surgery centers (63%), health systems (12%), and academic medical centers (7%). The purpose of the survey was to answer some pressing questions about the state of affairs in healthcare in relation to Medicare reimbursement, healthcare reform, rising costs, and the trend towards more patient-centric hospital settings.- What is the most suitable, lowest-cost setting for patients receiving care?
- How can we avoid lengthy inpatient hospital stays?
- How can existing hospitals comply with the changing health delivery models without overspending?
- Are more healthcare providers choosing to merge with other medical facilities, instead of constructing new medical establishments?
- How can ASC’s optimize building spaces, and which renovations are most in demand?
- More hospitals and medical facilities are electing to repurpose existing spaces to improve work flow and productivity. How will this impact medical construction?
Key points to consider
The general shift in construction will lean towards building more comfortable, localized patient spaces for recovery, medical treatments, and small surgical procedures. This is great news if you operate an ambulatory services center or other outpatient clinic. With minimal remodeling, you can repurpose old patient and medical staff areas into a more efficient layout that improves productivity. For older buildings, you may have to renovate electrical, heating, or security control systems in order to comply with government guidelines. Here is the 2015 forecast:Consolidation
Healthcare consolidation and mergers account for a 62% increase in facility renovation and a 55% increase in relocations for the next two years. The impact on repurposing of medical facilities is at 50%, while new medical construction projects are 43% more likely to occur because of this trend. Repurposing Of all the hospitals surveyed, 68% plan to repurpose medical areas for increased efficiency, while 32% have made no plans for improving work flow. Top repurposing construction projects include outpatient facilities (34%), medical office spaces (31%), and hospital campuses (17%). For inpatient areas, most repurposing projects will go towards ambulatory care, administrative sections, and observation units. To improve workflow, most hospitals will focus on the following projects:- Point-of-care services in the patient rooms
- Expansion of diagnostic and treatment areas
- Designated traffic areas for patients, staff, and hazardous materials
- Rededication of point of service departments
- Relocation of independent non-urgent medical spaces to lower-traffic sectors
- Incorporation of at-home monitoring and e-doctor services
Healthcare reform
New reimbursement models have changed the way hospitals will choose to spend their budget. About 25% of study participants admit that they have changed their master plan with the past six months, compared with 19% from 2014. How has reduced reimbursement impacted medical facility construction? Some takeaway statistics on future projects:- Administrative admissions technology- 27%
- Community family care centers- 24%
- Medical office construction (expansion)- 22%
- Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC’s)- 22%
- New medical office construction- 20%
- Rehabilitation centers- 12%
Construction project budgets
In 2015, hospitals reserve 34% of their budget for new construction, another 34% towards renovation projects, and 21% towards facility infrastructure.Infrastructure projects
Medical building services and medical building technology construction projects in infrastructure that are most popular include:- Ventilation
- Electrical transformers
- Automation systems
- Security systems
- Nurse call systems
- Heating and cooling
- Wired and wireless data infrastructure
- Generators
- Electronic health records (EHR’s)
- Wireless routing
- Patient monitoring systems
- Telecommunications