A recent poll of healthcare providers found that 85% agree that most patients will not require an in-person physician evaluation by 2021. Virtual doctor visits will be common, smartphones and wearable sensors will be used widely to record a patient’s health information, and patients will have greater access to self-serving their health needs via technology equipped unmanned kiosks.
These are some of the predictions from the Mortenson Leadership Series Healthcare Study, the construction firm’s fourth in the last six years. The study is based on a poll of more than 900 healthcare professionals, facilities leaders, and architects who support them, conducted during last year’s ASHE Planning, Design, and Construction Summit.
While most of the study’s findings weren’t surprising, they confirm trends about Millennials’ healthcare expectations, how and where healthcare institutions will be investing, the role of technology in healthcare, and what roadblocks might lie ahead for project management.
Millennials' preferences for how they receive healthcare are having a major impact on how health systems are investing. Image: Mortenson
One thing is certain: patients are taking more ownership of their health. Eighty-three percent of the healthcare providers polled observe that patients are far more willing these days to shop for lower-cost care options. By 2021, 85% predict that providers will screen patients first to guide them to the appropriate treatment. And that won’t necessarily be toward a medical office or clinic.
One of the biggest disparities between the 2018 and 2015 surveys was the responses to the question about how common virtual doctors would be in three years’ time. Last year, 88% responded to this question affirmatively, compared to 63% in 2015. And 85% in the 2018 surveyed participants thought that most patients don’t require an in-person physician evaluation, versus 49% in 2015.
As one 2018 respondent noted, “Millennials expect immediate access. This access will drive how we design facilities as well as garner a new age of telehealth.” Two-fifths of healthcare providers and architects mentioned that virtual telemedicine and self-service treatments would be typical delivery care within the next decade, with much less reliance on physical structures to deliver goods and services.
Healthcare facilities managers say their institutions must become leaner to grapple with insufficient project resources. Many see opportunities in reducing waste and energy consumption. Image: Mortenson
More than two-fifths (44%) of architects polled also said that Millennials’ expectations about the need for more integration and utilization of technology is impacting healthcare and its facilities, followed by 22% who cited the demand for convenience and virtual care. “Less acute, more ambulatory. Less invasive procedures. More virtual … diagnosis and treatments,” stated one respondent.
Two thirds of facilities leaders polled said that their institutions would invest more over the next two to three years. But 35% added that their biggest challenge continues to be insufficient money and resources (including receiving adequate payments for services rendered), followed by “growing pains” (18%) and project delivery (17%).
Nearly half of facilities leaders polled say their healthcare systems continue to invest in clinics, ambulatory care centers, and medical offices. Image: Mortenson
Nearly all of the facilities leaders see significant opportunities to eliminate waste and reduce energy use.
Despite all of speculation about virtual care expressed in the study, 49% of facilities leaders said their institutions would be making major investments in clinics, ambulatory care, and MOBs, followed by traditional hospitals and focused medical facilities (48% each), microhospitals (47%), and remote screening facilities (45%).
The respondents were evenly split about how much their institutions might spend over the next two years, with 33% each projecting moderate, substantial, or flat growth.
The study includes a section about the Affordable Care Act. Fewer respondents in 2018 than in 2015 thought the legislation had done enough to address the country’s long-term healthcare needs. And between 94% and 97% of those polled last year said that the Act still needed “significant changes or revisions,” had created uncertainty for their institutions, and had challenged their organization’s near-term financial condition.
Related Stories
| Sep 13, 2010
Palos Community Hospital plans upgrades, expansion
A laboratory, pharmacy, critical care unit, perioperative services, and 192 new patient beds are part of Palos (Ill.) Community Hospital's 617,500-sf expansion and renovation.
| Sep 13, 2010
China's largest single-phase hospital planned for Shanghai
RTKL's Los Angles office is designing the Shanghai Changzheng New Pudong Hospital, which will be the largest new hospital built in China in a single phase.
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
Data Centers Keeping Energy, Security in Check
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation's largest commercial user of electric power. With major technology companies investing heavily in new data centers, it's no wonder Building Teams see these mission-critical facilities as a golden opportunity, and why they are working hard to keep energy costs at data centers in check.
| Aug 11, 2010
Green Guide for Health Care launches pilot program, looks for participants
In first quarter 2010, the Green Guide for Health Care, in collaboration with Practice Greenhealth, is launching a one-year Green Guide for Health Care Operations Pilot Program for healthcare organizations engaged in any or all aspects of green operations initiatives, based on Green Guide v2.2 Operations section.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
EwingCole to merge with healthcare specialist Robert D. Lynn Associates
EwingCole, a nationally recognized architectural, engineering, interior design, and planning firm with more than 320 professionals, today announced that it will combine its practice with Robert D. Lynn Associates of Philadelphia, a 40-person firm with a robust portfolio of healthcare projects. The combination will create the Delaware Valley¹s largest and most comprehensive firm with an emphasis on healthcare architecture, and a national scope and presence.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction employment declined in 333 of 352 metro areas in June
Construction employment declined in all but 19 communities nationwide this June as compared to June-2008, according to a new analysis of metropolitan-area employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis shows that few places in America have been spared the widespread downturn in construction employment over the past year.