By Healthcare Facilities Today

Many health care service providers have spent the past few years attempting to understand and anticipate the vast changes resulting from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) given the size and complexity of the law.

According to those in C-Suite positions, the objective appears to be the same across the board: to increase the number of patient lives managed by the provider. Although the strategies used by these healthcare providers vary, below are a few trends that are taking place in reaction to the ACA, according to a blog on the RE Journals website written by Jon Boley of HSA Primecare.

Strategic partnerships
In order to broaden their service offerings and extend their referral networks, hospitals and health systems are increasingly partnering with other health care institutions and major universities to leverage existing brands and service platforms and grow market share. 

Physician alignment
Some providers are actively purchasing physician practices which can present a whole series of new real estate considerations for a health system including whether or not to relocate such physicians into a multi-specialty facility or to dispose of or renovate the practice’s existing building.

Real estate strategy
With the implementation of the ACA, many organizations were actively reviewing their real estate portfolios and real estate strategies including utilization, location decisions and service delivery platforms. Recent physician acquisition and alignment has driven a re-evaluation of real estate due to sometimes duplicative locations or efficiency questions. 

New care delivery sites
As health care providers continue to implement the ACA, they are increasingly looking at the development of new care delivery sites to meet the demand of newly insured patients and the aging Baby Boomer demographic while capturing market share. 

"Though the implementation of the ACA poses certain unavoidable challenges for healthcare systems struggling already to contain costs while meeting the demand of an aging demographic, the law also offers opportunities to improve efficiencies in health care delivery, develop valuable new patient relationships, and expand the service offerings for existing patients. As health care real estate service providers, we need to be ready with an understanding of the nuances of the ACA and the challenges facing health care providers so that we can assist in developing innovative real estate solutions that meet the needs of our clients," Boley wrote.

Read the blog.