Biophilia

Here is a link to an interesting paper entitled "Biophilia:  Designing with Nature in Mind."  This paper discusses the healthcare interior design movement biophilia, or "dealing with human’s basic interaction and love of nature... into healthcare design as a way to improve patient and employee wellness."  Check it out - interesting stuff:
http://www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com/sites/healthcaredesignmagazine.com/files/whitepapers/Lamin-Art_Whitepaper042913.pdf

MOB Financing Pointers

In the article "Tips for Pain-Free MOB Financing", Greg Vieceli gives a few things to consider when contemplating medical office building ownership and financing.  In short, they are:

1.  More MDs and specialties can mean less risk.
2.  Get the partners to have skin in the game via a lease agreement and/or personal guaranties.
3.  Financial transparency.
4.  Designating a group representative.
5.  And of course - location, location, location.

To read this article, visit Medical Office Today's website -
http://www.medicalofficetoday.com/article/tips-pain-free-mob-financing

Virtual Visits

A new study purportedly suggests that “virtual visits” to healthcare providers for certain infections may be as effective as, and cheaper than, in-person in-office visits.  The researchers’ rough estimate of the cost difference with respect to treating a patient with a reported UTI was $74 per e-visit vs. $93 for an office visit.  Query, what are the implications for proper patient screening and care; patient savings; efficiencies; return visit frequencies; over-prescribing antibiotics; access to healthcare; and healthcare real estate needs, costs, and returns on costs per square footage?

Read more at:

“Virtual visits to doctor may be cheaper than and as effective as in-person visits”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/virtual-visits-to-doctor-may-be-cheaper-than-and-as-effective-as-in-person-visits/2013/01/18/8237c028-601e-11e2-a389-ee565c81c565_story.html

Healthcare Real Estate Trends

In healthcare the one constant is change.  Recently we’ve seen changes in healthcare (and by extension, healthcare real estate) because of The Great Recession, lower reimbursements, healthcare reform, mergers and repurposing (to name a few).  Below are six trends for this year that Duke Realty predicted at the outset of this year.  Now that we have four months of 2013 under our belts, it’s a good time to look back and see how these have played out, and, just as importantly, look forward… and be ready for more change…

1.              Higher-acuity care will increasingly move to medical office buildings.

2.              Freestanding emergency departments will be used in new ways.

3.              Partnering will increase.

4.              The case for hospital-driven monetizations will keep getting stronger.

5.              Repurposing will expand.

6.              Compliance will become even more vital.

I encourage you to read more at:

“Six Healthcare Real Estate Trends to Watch in 2013”

http://www.dukerealty.com/media-releases/2013/01/six-healthcare-real-estate-trends-to-watch-in-2013/