Modern Healthcare's 2018 Construction and Design Survey found that healthcare construction and design is being driven by a focus on customer needs. The survey analyzed nearly 120 contracting, design, development and architecture firms.

"Now, technology is in a much greater way informing what the architecture will be," Andrew Quirk, senior vice president and national director of the Skanska USA Healthcare Center of Excellence said. "We got rid of function follows form. Operators are keenly attuned to the efficiencies of buildings they design and how they operate." 

According to the survey, some construction, development and design firms significantly benefited from an uptick in lower-acuity outpatient locations, behavioral health facilities, senior-living centers and adaptive reuse of existing facilities. 

The drive to boost patient satisfaction and streamline clinical operations coupled with the progress of new technology, undersupply of medical office space and a ballooning aging population will fuel demand. Consolidation has also bolstered systems' financials and will kick-start capital spending, the article said. 

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