In a newly published article in Illinois Real Estate Journal, HSA PrimeCare president John Wilson outlines the complexities involved in developing healthcare facilities in an age in which patients expect the highest levels of convenience and comfort. Wilson identifies expanding service offerings, bundling of services within multispecialty facilities, and retail-format clinics as key strategies with which health systems are attempting to respond to the specific needs of their patients.

Within the patient-centered medical home model of care, a primary physician coordinates a patient’s treatment with specialists within the larger healthcare system. Primary care physicians within this integrated medicine model typically operate on the same medical campus or within the same suite as specialists and have the ability to share files with ease, allowing for more effective and thorough communication and preventing potentially harmful medical oversight. This centralized system provides easy, convenient, and comprehensive care that appeals to the modern healthcare consumer and is transforming the way healthcare developers operate.

Each of these respective trends naturally has implications for the design and construction of healthcare facilities. For example, in the medical home model of care, health systems are looking toward larger but more flexible footprints that house a comprehensive set of healthcare services while minimizing under-utilized common areas.

John also sees hospital-based urgent care centers and minute clinics as a way in which health systems are attempting to be more responsive to a desire from the public to receive expert care in convenient, neighborhood locations.

With the ability to stop in at any time to talk to a nurse practitioner and potentially walk out with the appropriate treatment or prescription, patients are more likely to seek consistent care. These clinics require either independent retail locations or space with easy access in a larger medical office facility. Advocate Good Samaritan Professional Building in Downers Grove, Ill. for example, is an HSA PrimeCare development that contains an Advocate Health Immediate Care Center. To establish a retail presence in our building, the center has additional signage out front and is located at the high-traffic entrance of the building.

To read the full article, please visit the Illinois Real Estate Journal website.