The state of healthcare is at the brink of significant change. The passing of healthcare reform impacts everything from how health systems operate to the use of technology in managing and providing care. As a national leader in the construction of healthcare facilities, DPR Construction recently conducted a year-long study to gather the perspectives of healthcare CEOs, owners, designers and management consultants to help customers better navigate the increasingly complex environment.
The Future of Healthcare study, which included a mix of in-person interviews and online surveys conducted by an independent third party, revealed 10 areas of change that will be integral to shaping the industry’s future, including: accountable care organizations; pay-for-performance; aging population (both patients and staff); electronic medical records; healthcare worker shortage; sophisticated diagnostic and treatment equipment; handheld computers and portable diagnostic equipment; medical homes; holistic, patient-centered environment; and evidence-based medicine.
The study also identified health economics, healthcare delivery and building of the future as three key areas that will grow progressively more important to the health industry over the next decade.
Health Economics
Many study participants noted that systems are not fully prepared for the increasing population of aging individuals and the addition of 32 million more insured U.S. citizens once healthcare reform becomes fully implemented. Both of these factors will contribute to an already stressed system, making health economics one of the most critical elements of the industry’s future.
Cash flow is also strained due to continued economic uncertainty, and 14 percent of survey respondents agreed that how physicians are paid (e.g., “pay for performance”) will have a significant impact on the industry during the next five years.
Health Delivery
According to the study, the delivery of health services is becoming more personalized and centered on patients. Hospitals of the future will be there only for the highest acuity patients. Outpatient facilities will deliver less critical care for less cost while serving broader regional markets, and an emphasis will be placed on prevention and wellness with less invasive procedures and advancements in research ultimately reducing the demand for hospitalization.
Additionally, health information technology will remain the backbone of delivery helping to ensure care is delivered more efficiently to lower overall cost.
Buildings of the Future
Overall, with limited access to capital, survey participants noted that fewer new projects will take place and more renovations will rise, largely driven by the need to meet patient satisfaction standards over the long term. At the same time, better technology will drive innovation in technical construction—meaning buildings of the future will be adaptable both in terms of patient needs and technology. As health technologies become more sophisticated and simultaneously require less physical space, the need for server and data support space will increase. For example, dubbed the “Hospital of the Future,” Palomar Medical Center, which was completed this year by DPR and opened to the public on August 19th, was designed and built with telemedicine and the latest technological advancements in mind. The facility is wired with 57 miles of Ethernet Category 6e (Cat 6e) cable laid out to accommodate the ever-changing medical technology landscape, as well as meet current system needs.
The Future of Healthcare study consensus is that healthcare systems have already started to make the changes that will make them more competitive, regardless of the impact of government-mandated reform. As practiced today, healthcare is not fiscally sustainable. There must be, and there certainly will be, transformative changes over the next 10 years.
The study in its entirety can be found at www.dpr.com/futureofhc.
