What tactics are providers using now, five years after the PPACA was passed?
By Murray W. Wolf
March 23 marked the 5-year anniversary of the signing into law of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). After a half-decade, it is clear that healthcare reform has influenced providers’ real estate strategies in many ways. But what’s in store for the rest of the post-reform era?
Exploring that topic was the assignment of a panel discussion titled “The Hospital, Healthcare System and Physician Group Perspective on the Post-Affordable Care Act Environment and Its Impact on Real Estate Usage and Strategies,” which was held at the recent InterFace Healthcare Real Estate (HRE) Southeast conference in Atlanta.
The panelists included:
■ Michael Arvin, healthcare market leader for BOKA Powell LLC, a Dallas-based architecture, interiors, planning, graphics, and strategy firm;
■ Phil DeBruzzi, executive lead for Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Blue Cottage Consulting, an independent healthcare consulting firm specializing in strategy, operations, and facility planning services;
■ Peggy Hey, director of the facilities management group, real estate services for Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System, one of the nation’s largest public, not-for-profit systems, operating more than three dozen hospitals and more than 900 care locations, including physician practices, freestanding emergency departments (FEDs), outpatient surgery centers, pharmacies, laboratories, imaging centers and other facilities;
■ Mark Loukides, executive director, facilities development for Greenville Health System, a public, not-for-profit academic healthcare delivery system with five medical campuses, four acute care hospitals, eight outpatient facilities and several specialty hospitals, long-term care hospitals (LTACHs), wellness centers and other facilities; and
■ Karen Schwartz, VP, facilities/support services for Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, a not-for-profit system that operates two hospitals and numerous health services in Greenville, S.C.
The moderator of the panel was Hedy Rubinger, a partner and the chair of the healthcare practice for Atlanta-based law firm Arnall Golden Gregory, which says it has one of the nation’s largest teams of healthcare-dedicated attorneys.
What’s the right ambulatory strategy?
Historically, hospitals and health systems have largely focused on the acute care setting, Mr. DeBruzzi told the audience. Today, however, much of the focus has shifted to the ambulatory network and access, he said.
“So we’re seeing a great deal of investment and focus in that area,” he said. “But not just traditional MOB (medical office building), doc-in-the-box kind of stuff.” The approach is tailored to reaching high-cost, complex patients, so the solution might be a specialty center rather than a traditional primary care office, he said.
“And the other piece is that
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