Over the past several years, our healthcare system has spiraled into a state of chaos due to what many suspect is the result of patients being uninsured or underinsured, reliance on an antiquated approach to medical record keeping and lack of preventative health programs. We have beared witness to the routine practice of ERs used for primary care, seen the rise of a bariatric population and wondered why nursing units are still planned with conventional (paper) charts model. For these reasons and certainly a myriad of others, America has become increasingly unhealthy.  The reform agenda proposes to address these issues in the following ways:

1. Substantially increase the number of Americans who have access to healthcare insurance programs.
2. Improve the quality of healthcare through the implementation of an electronic based health records system.
3. Require coverage of preventative/screening programs.

How might we expect such policies to impact our buildings as these unfold over the next few months and years?  For starters, it may be reasonable to expect that the greater numbers of insured will alleviate the drain that is placed on the ERs.  While ERs might expect to experience a decrease, it would be reasonable then to presume that all those primary care givers may start to see a greater influx of patients. Perhaps this may generate the need to remodel and/or expand primary care offices to accommodate the increase in volume? Time will tell.

The implementation of electronic health records would seem straightforward at first glance, but as many IT departments know, it is fraught with the challenges of adoption and privacy concerns. Nonetheless, a call to action has been made by the White House and it may just be the shot in the arm EHR has needed. We can offer a few recommendations for your IT projects that will help to make the implementation more successful. Lastly, the need to invest in preventative programs is one that we would expect to primarily impact outpatient facilities, integrated medicine and wellness programs most significantly.  The growing trends for these types of services, particularly for Women, endeavor to create a branded healing environment experience that ultimately builds loyalty in order to keep those same patients returning for next years screening as well as any follow up care that may be required.

Will the healthcare reform be successful this time around?  We hope for the sake of our own collective health that it will be.