Patients Are Grabbing The Power — What That Means For Healthcare Real Estate

Experts say power is shifting in favor of healthcare consumers as options and access abound. 

“I think we are going to see more and more focus on the importance of patient satisfaction because of the volume of choices customers have. I think we are going to see continued movement and price shopping in the market, and I think we are going to see a continued revolution around the end user, the consumer,” DPR Construction Project Executive Sean Ashcroft said at Bisnow's State of Dallas Healthcare event.

According to developers and healthcare providers, the healthcare market is continuously evolving to a customer-first, instant gratification market, just like every other sector of real estate. People want convenient, affordable healthcare right where they are, whenever they need it. In the age of Amazon deliveries, it should come as no surprise this is what the experts are seeing both now and for the future. 

But Baylor Scott & White Chief Integration Officer Lavone Arthur thinks the trend is more fundamental and is based on basic economic principles of supply and demand.

"If you think back to the '80s and '90s where we had the rise of HMOs and capitation and the goal was to provide service to a consumer at very low rates … today the co-pays and deductibles associated with plans really have transitioned many of our insured patients to self-pay,” Baylor Scott & White Chief Integration Officer Lavone Arthur said.

She said that shift is driving the emergence of an informed healthcare consumer, which in turn is driving the demand for healthcare options/competition. This means the power pendulum is swinging toward consumers, as they demand more supply.

“I think that if you are a [healthcare] customer 10 years from now, I am bullish on your choices. You are going to have a lot of great choices; I think they are going to be fairly priced,” Texas Health Resources Executive Vice President Brett McClung said.