Healthcare consumers are seeking access to care that is convenient, efficient, and effective. In their eyes, navigating to a hospital campus is usually just the opposite. As a result, the demand for more convenient medical outpatient buildings is ever-growing.
Payors (the government, insurance companies, consumers) are also in favor of ambulatory care. Hospital rates for on-campus services are much more expensive than rates in medical outpatient buildings.
You recognize this need for medical outpatient buildings, which is why you’re expanding your health system. And you have options for how to get your new facility off the ground. To that end, your first thought might be to self-develop. However, the early stages of such an undertaking are full of planning steps (like integrating goals into the project roadmap and developing the business plan) critical to the overall success of the project and to obtaining leadership approval and funding.
Partnering with a top-tier developer will help ensure this pre-development phase — and the entire project — goes smoothly. For your consideration, we’ve listed six benefits of having a real estate developer in your corner during pre-development:
1. Pre-development partners provide an outside perspective while you maintain project control
Self-development may be an attractive option when building new outpatient facilities. It means you remain in total control. However, the right developer never imposes their process on you. The team at NexCore is prepared to meet you where you are. That might mean assisting with every piece of planning. Or it might mean simply taking a second look at the plans you already have in place and offering perspectives from our national expertise, benchmarks, and retail-oriented consumer research.
Our philosophy is your strategy first. We’ll wrap a real estate solution around your operational business plan — not the other way around. No matter what, our involvement in the pre-development phase begins with listening to you. We ask for all the data that’s gotten you to this point. We meet with you to understand how you envision success and what the goals of the project are. You have a seat at the table, choosing the architect and general contractor with as much or as little input from us as you desire.
2. Bolster your plan for efficient medical outpatient building operations
Specifically, engaging a developer to help you plan for lower operating costs to combat lower reimbursement rates is essential to the long-term prosperity of your new medical outpatient building. Hospital rates are generally 30 to 50% higher than outpatient rates. So, it cannot be denied that medical outpatient services receive lower reimbursements. NexCore Group understands this fact. And we have decades of experience planning for efficient operations that turn a profit in an outpatient setting — despite these lower reimbursement rates.
For instance, we have experts in lean processes, which improve patient and provider satisfaction and save you steps, money, and space. We know which regulations do not apply in an outpatient setting, saving you on the cost of needlessly adhering to them. We also know how to keep the size of your facility in check while offering the same number of services, thus minimizing your rent while maximizing scope — and profit.
3. Check off every healthcare real estate planning detail
Another way a developer can help you plan for an efficient outpatient center is to assess (or help craft) your provider recruitment and alignment strategy.
It can be more convenient for providers and other healthcare professionals to work on a hospital’s main campus since, for them, everything is in one place. However, fostering an outpatient environment where providers want to work is crucial to success. Their long-term tenancy if not employed and engagement if employed is better for your bottom line. When they’re satisfied and productive in their new outpatient environment, it leads to more patient and service alignment for volume and revenue for your hospital.
Provider and physician recruitment is just one operational piece of the planning puzzle we understand how to manage. We also help with details like project visioning and goal setting, patient experience design, programming and program stacking, and every additional operational item imaginable during medical outpatient center development.
We’ve completed many healthcare real estate development projects. We know how to work together to find success, partially because we never miss a pre-development detail. And remember, we always keep your POV at the forefront while offering these considerations you might otherwise overlook.
4. Access retail data for a consumer-driven healthcare space
Health systems use an important set of benchmarks and tools that place a hospital-centric lens on outpatient center planning. This data matters, but we’re able to offer additional insights — retail data — for a building that’s even more attractive to new patients.
We analyze often overlooked metrics like mobile phone movement and traffic patterns to nurture a more consumer-driven approach to medical outpatient center location. After all, optimal site selection is paramount to the success of your new building. Ensure you have access to as much data as possible to make the best decisions.
5. Plan for the future of your medical outpatient building
None of us knows exactly which services will boom in an outpatient setting next (although we have educated guesses). That’s why, to safeguard the continued profitability of your medical outpatient building and to meet your patient as consumer demands, we know to bake flexibility into your blueprint.
Instead of building discrete spaces for every specialty, we advise clients to opt for a universal grid planned with flexibility in mind. That way, if a certain specialty thrives while another wanes, the prevailing service can move into more space within the building without the need for a significant retrofit and/or a new service can be added.
What’s more, we deliver growth plans as a part of a standard pre-development process. So, if you decide to construct a free-standing ER someday, for example, there’s already a vision for how that extra space can be added with ease.
6. Receive financing options and a true partner in risk
The best developers can offer you financial options that meet your needs — even in today’s economy. We tailor financial plans so you can lease, own, or lease-to-own your medical outpatient building.
Not only that, at a certain point during planning, NexCore also locks into the agreed-upon financing and project budgets. We will take on some of the investment risk for you. Your success is our success, so we’re highly incentivized to plan and execute your project right.
We understand that financial overruns are a huge concern on projects this large and complex. A good developer will do everything they can to minimize these overruns by understanding how to plan exceptionally well. This expertise coupled with bespoke financing puts you in the best possible position to build and sustain your new healthcare facility.
One step closer to long-term health system viability
Proper planning can make or break your project. Having an expert developer as a sounding board during pre-development and beyond sets you up for success. In addition to the specific benefits the NexCore team can bring to your project, we also have resources to manage it, taking some difficult details off your very full plate.
With project success comes a medical outpatient facility that reflects well on your professional performance and serves the community you care about.
If you’d like more information about partnering with the NexCore Group to plan your healthcare real estate project, please reach out to NexCore Group.