According to a recent survey of health care executives across the country, 52% do not believe our nation’s health care facilities will be able to meet patient care demands adequately over the next five years. The survey, facilitated by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., questioned hospital CEOs, CFOs, and facility managers nationwide. The survey respondents represented 31 states.
Michael D. Bolen, chief executive officer and chairman of McCarthy explains, “This survey was designed to assess trends in health care facility change and to understand the greatest challenges facing U.S. hospitals as they plan for, design, and build future hospital projects. The results of this survey provide a snapshot of the top issues health care executives faced over the past five years and what they see ahead in the next five.”
Respondents were asked to identify, in their view, “the most significant change in the health care industry over the past five years.” The most frequently cited responses were:
*Technology (20%);
*Reimbursements (18%);
*Patient Care/Delivery (16%);
*Regulatory/Legislative Oversight (14%); and
*Cost of Construction (8%).
When asked to rate industry issues on a sliding scale as to their impact on health care construction at their facility over the past five years, respondents identified
*Access to Capital (89%),
*Industry Competition (84%),
*Information Technology (83%),
*Patient Satisfaction (80%), and
*Insurance/Medicare/Medicaid (62%) as those areas having the greatest impact.
Respondents were then asked to identify what they believe will be “the most significant change in the health care industry potentially impacting their business over the next five years.” The most frequently cited responses were:
*Reimbursements (23%);
*Labor Shortage (12%);
*Demographics (12%);
*Technology (11%); and
*Regulatory/Legislative Oversight (11%).
More than 62% believed that their identified change would have a significant impact on their facilities/construction needs.
Facility Managers were asked to rank on a sliding scale 23 construction-related areas indicating those that are never a problem to those that are always a problem. As-built documentation was the top problem identified on the survey with 60% of respondents ranking it as a significant issue. Design-document errors, start-up/commissioning process, and completion of punch list items followed with 46% of respondents ranking these as often problematic.
“Our survey reveals that declining reimbursements, labor shortages, and aging baby boomers are seen by many health care executives as the most significant changes expected to impact the industry over the next five years,” comments Bolen. “The impact of this pull between an increasing demand for services and a simultaneous reduction in financial resources available will require even greater creativity from the design and construction communities to meet hospital needs. Continuing to refine the building process, from start to finish, is imperative to ensure success.”
