By Healthcare Facilities Today

The prospect of a greatly expanded customer base created by the Affordable Care Act has U.S. hospitals and health systems looking at how and where they treat patients who will be more actively engaged in their own health and well-being, according to an article on the Healthcare Design website.

Going to where the customer is has become a primary strategy that has hospitals and health systems. Networks of ambulatory care centers, physician practices, and urgent care centers are being built around the country. Providers are also upgrading facilities to support a new model of delivery that will rely heavily on technology and teamwork.

 “The biggest challenge is that we’re creating this more distributed model of healthcare with ambulatory facilities in today’s healthcare world, knowing that world is going to be very different five to seven years from now,” said Kip Edwards, vice president, development and construction for Banner Health in Phoenix, which is opening new clinics at a rate of four to six per year across seven different states.

Designing flexible spaces that accommodate new technology and care teams means fewer walls and more shared spaces—a trend that started in corporate offices more than a decade ago, the article said. Wireless technologies enable doctors and nurses to work with patients in various settings, communicating through email, videoconferencing, streaming media, and remote monitoring and robotics. Edwards said he believes that in the future, most routine office visits will be e-visits. 

“Today, we’re building exam rooms, but tomorrow we’ll need more group spaces,” he said in the article.

Read the article and view the image gallery.