Healthcare Vital Signs

Precisely how healthcare consumerism will affect the real estate footprints of incumbent healthcare providers and new market entrants remains to be seen. For the last 10 to 15 years in the U.S., we have seen ambulatory facilities, such as medical office surgery centres and free-standing emergency departments, flourish and grow in number, particularly in locations away from hospital campuses. We’ve also seen the proliferation of healthcare service offerings in retail settings. There are now more than 15,000 retail/ urgent care and 23,000 diagnostic/ treatment locations across the U.S., many of which are situated on outparcel or inline retail centres, very close to where consumers buy THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE REAL ESTATE other products or services. Even in traditional acute-care locations, there’s been significant focus on enhancing patient/consumer experience through building design and access. Meanwhile, telehealth initiatives bring the promise of locating care closest to the patient – quite literally to their fingertips on a mobile or wearable device – with no lease or asset purchase required. While we may not be able to see all the impacts this new wave of healthcare consumerism will bring to the real estate industry, we can be confident that the industry and its approach to supporting healthcare providers will adapt alongside these innovations in care delivery. 38 | CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD