Healthcare Construction Company, Simone Health, Discusses 3 Trends for Ambulatory Facility Design

BRONX, N.Y., Sept. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With nearly one third of US healthcare spending going into ambulatory care, ambulatory facilities must reflect the importance of outpatients in their design and ease of use. With growing customer expectations of outpatient care, many healthcare facilities have invested in high quality ambulatory care facility design, with certain trends showing up one after another. Healthcare construction company, Simone Health, discusses 3 major trends for ambulatory facility design. Read on to learn more about these trends and explore what they can do for your healthcare facilities.

1. Using a lean process: In order for an ambulatory facility to run efficiently and with ease, the outpatient process must be designed with patient throughput in mind. Adopting a lean process can be a challenge if a facility is not optimally designed for one. To begin, assess what is backing up patient flow and start addressing those issues first. Follow-up this assessment by designing a cleaned-up, improved operational process, and then make moves to enhance the space for a lean process to work best in. Utilize simulation models and other visualization tools to make sure your operational design functions smoothly, working out any small issues before applying the lean process to real patient care.
2. Designing for group visits: A growing number of patients are becoming exposed to shared medical appointments, otherwise known as group visits. For common diseases like diabetes, group visits are a great way to teach large groups of patients about pain or disease management and treatment options, alongside the chance to cultivate a support group of those suffering from the same conditions. Many current ambulatory facilities do not have the set-up for these types of visits, but they can be a highly valuable space for patient-caregiver communication. However, one consideration is that group appointments are, on average, longer than individual ones. Depending on how many patients attend the shared appointments and how long they take, the group space's value to an ambulatory facility could change.
3. Digital exam rooms for telehealth:  With technological advancements making strides in recent years, developments in AV/VC technology has made telehealth become a recent phenomenon in the healthcare world.  Home care through e-visits and various other telehealth solutions can provide valuable healthcare experiences to patients burdened by distance, symptoms, or other situations who cannot make it to the office. Video conferencing, phone calls, email chains, and even online media channels can all be valuable telehealth tools and tend to be familiar mediums to many patients. Equipping digital exam rooms with tools for easy, high-quality telehealth services can not only expand geographical patient reach but make more time for in-patient care while shortening lines and wait times for outpatient facilities.

These three trends all contribute something new and exciting to an ambulatory healthcare facility. Investing in these changes could see a higher quality patient experience, alongside better organization and profits for the facility itself. Find ways to incorporate these trends into your next facility design today.

About Simone Health Development Companies:
Simone Health Hospital Development Company is a full-service real estate investment company specializing in the acquisition and development of office, retail, industrial and healthcare properties in the New York tristate area. Headquartered in the Bronx, the privately held company owns and manages more than 5 million square feet of property in the Bronx, Westchester County, Queens, Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey. The company's portfolio includes more than 100 properties and ranges from multi-building office parks to retail and industrial space. The largest and most successful development from Simone Health is the 42-acre Hutchinson Metro Center office complex located directly off the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. The first two phases of the complex, which comprise nearly 750,000 square feet of Class A office and medical space, are fully leased. Two additional phases totaling 650,000 square feet (370,000-square-foot Metro Center Atrium and 280,000-square-foot Tower Two), are completed and fully leased. Visit www.simdev.com

SOURCE Simone Health Development Companies