As we look into the future, we’re seeing how what was needed in the past isn’t what the healthcare facility of the future is going to need. This was the topic of discussion in our recent podcast and we asked the Healthcare IT Today community what they thought the healthcare facility of the future would look like. Today we’ll share a number of responses about the facility itself and tomorrow we’ll share a look at the technology that will be needed in the healthcare facility of the future.
Richard Watson, MD and Co-founder at Motient
There will be greater delineation between general, specialty, and subspecialty hospitalizations, with more primary hospitals that handle care for 60% of cases. We must ensure that critical patients only use the highest level of care for as long as they need it before moving back to their home base. A strong regional transport infrastructure, which shares patient movement data and links facilities in clinical decision making, will be critical for right-sizing care across the continuum.
Yousuf Ahmad, CEO at AssureCare
Consumerism is dictating how, where, and when patients receive care, and is unequivocally forging the future of healthcare delivery. Gone are the days where healthcare is confined to the four walls of a hospital or physician office. Convenience of care, whether it’s at the grocery store, pharmacy, or home, is the future. To make this happen, care teams must be equipped with mobile technology that provides a 360-degree longitudinal view of the patient, regardless of where in the healthcare ecosystem they received care.
Miles Romney, CTO at eVisit
A decade from now, we’ll see more, and smaller, clinics. They’ll be staffed by nurses and MAs managed by remote doctors. And every living room will be an exam room. All care will be “hybrid” care, some elements provided on-site and some from afar. Smart peripherals at home and in-clinic will be everywhere. Imaging tech will be cheaper, more prevalent: CT scans and MRIs will be on tap, no scheduling (or pre-authorization!) required. And we’ll see the start of auto drug fabricating and dispensing.
Christine DiNoia, Director of Clinical Programs at Lightbeam Health Solutions
As the population grows, the need for healthcare workers and facilities grows with it. However, the healthcare facilities of the future will look very different – while more complex cases will remain in hospitals, we will see a noticeable shift as much of healthcare transitions to in-home, creating more options for different types of care, like telehealth, tech-enabled, or concierge. This will create a need for specialty care centers, medical office buildings, and outpatient facilities, as hospitals could decentralize. Technology will be more prevalent than ever, with smart tech streamlining many tasks such as scribing, biometric data-sharing, SDOH insights, and more. With many new developments and the focus shifting from episodic care to wellness, the time for innovation is now.
Matt Dickson, Senior Vice President of Stericycle Communication Solutions at Stericycle Communication Solutions
There will always be a need for physical offices to conduct hands-on exams but through the emergence of augmented reality, we will find that patients will also be engaging with physicians from thousands of miles away and still feel as if they are in the same office. It’s going to be hybrid care on a whole new level. In the next 10 years, we’ll see these options begin to emerge, but the rising Alpha and Beta generations (born 2010 to 2039) could receive routine care in the metaverse.
Marco Pinto, DMD, Orthodontist at Sage Dental and Vice President of the American Lingual Orthodontic Association
For dental offices, large waiting rooms are officially relics of the past, as during the pandemic patients shifted their preference for remote check-ins and waiting for their appointments inside their cars. Now, when practices renovate or build new facilities, they opt for smaller waiting rooms – still providing space for those who can’t or prefer not to wait elsewhere – and reallocate precious real estate to add operatories, designated space for additional diagnostic machinery, and more.
Max Cohen, CEO and Co-Founder at Sprinter Health
What will healthcare facilities look like (physically) in 10 years’ time? Real estate decisions are made years in advance, and they have a tendency to lean towards conservatism, since the cycle times involved are so long. I don’t think we’ll see radically different setups, but what you will see is smaller, more modular, more nimble facilities for health systems that have the flexibility to expand virtual and hybrid offerings.
It’s not hard to see some themes across all these responses. One is the push to the home and new alternate places of care. One might even say continuous care rather than the episodic care that we do today. Reminds me of the shift that offices are seeing as they work on a hybrid approach to the office which allows the flexibility and convenience of remote, but the benefits of being together in an office as well. That’s how I’d describe what patients want from facilities in the future.
I was also intrigued by the idea of a VR based experience for patient care. I’m interested to see how that plays out. Plus, Max Cohen kept us honest that physical facility decisions take time and so the change may not happen as quickly as we’d expect. Although, with the move to virtual, that could happen quicker since it doesn’t take as long.
Another theme was the role of technology in the future of the facility. We’ll dive into more details of what technology Healthcare IT readers think will be used in the healthcare facility of the future tomorrow.
