There is a seismic shift—not in real estate, but in a sector that will fundamentally reshape how we think about how health care services are delivered.
That in turn will have an impact on the needs for real estate in a health care setting.
Family medicine has evolved. When I was a child, the family doctor was a self employed professional. Their office had one name on the door, and behind the waiting room was a sliding glass window for the receptionist, who often also doubled as the doctor’s assistant. That model is completely obsolete and has been replaced by the family health team clinic which has several owners, numerous associates, nurses, a nurse practitioner, and even other services like a dietitian, a blood lab, an imaging lab. All of these things under one roof in the name of efficiency. Increasingly, these clinics are not owner operated, but instead are associated with a larger healthcare provider.
But just like technology has disrupted retail and media, it’s now coming for healthcare.
The first wave was simple telehealth—video calls with your doctor. This was multiplied out of necessity during the pandemic. That was a good start. It saved a trip for a quick follow-up or a prescription refill. But it is limited.
The game changer is the technology that brings diagnostic equipment to the patient. Some health care systems have already adopted the technology. Somewhere between 60-80% of office visits can be handled by telehealth, augmented with the diagnostic equipment.
The change is coming, and it is clear as day. Commercial real estate has taken a beating since the pandemic. Medical office has been one of the remaining segments of stability in the office market. I can’t tell you how quickly the technology will penetrate the market. I predict that within the next five years, today’s existing technology will achieve sufficient market penetration that we will see a significant reduction in medical office footprints.
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