Six Key Drivers Transforming Healthcare Business

Image © Gensler

Healthcare expenditures in the U.S. are ballooning, with projections indicating an increase of $3.5 trillion between 2010 and 2040. There are numerous factors spurring such robust growth, yet the two prime factors are a graying population and millions more Americans insured under the Affordable Care Act. At first blush, the future for the health services industry would seem rosy. Yet a closer look reveals that upward sloping expenditures don’t necessarily correlate to increasing revenues. Profitability is still a concern, particularly for hospitals, which are dealing with upticks in labor expenses and the cost of supplies. (In fact, many hospitals are still figuring out how to precisely measure their costs.)

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Connecting a Medical School to Its Community: The Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center at Columbia University

The Vagelos Education Center at Columbia University. Exterior view of the south facade and study cascade (under construction, June 2016). Photo by Nic Lehoux, courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

This fall, students and faculty will experience a different kind of Medical and Graduate school at Columbia University's new Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center. In addition to the intricate glass facade, soaring views and innovative technology, it’s a building that comes equipped with a very big heart. As the principal-in-charge for Gensler, the executive architect for the project (in collaboration with Diller Scofidio Renfro as lead designer), l saw the collaborative design process bring a certain vitality to its architecture, taking the design beyond just a built "rendering” to realizing a vision that will connect its community.

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On the [Health Tech] Fit Grid: Towards Preventative and Chronic Care

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I don’t mean to brag, but you could say that I’m the perfect private insurance customer: single, healthy, and fit. That is, until recently.

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Driverless Cars/Doctorless Healthcare

Image © FaceMePLS

As I drive in my neighborhood, I am constantly reminded of the theme of convenience. By the mobile dog washes pulled up into driveways; the dry cleaned clothes hanging from car doors; by the roll-up nail salons to remedy that manicure that just can’t wait. With the onset of driverless cars taking speed in our society, as a healthcare designer, I can’t help but wonder if the next step in my field is the “uberdoc.”

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Fitness Centers, Micro-Gyms and the Rise of Collaborative Medicine

Image © Gensler

There’s no question that contemporary health and wellness practices cross the continuum of care: from acute care hospitals to retail health, the health and wellness community now recognizes the importance of all aspects of medicine and champions cross-discipline collaboration. For individuals, a collaborative approach to medicine includes access to the right team of medical professionals, a healthy lifestyle and personal accountability. Eating right, not smoking and staying active must be part of the daily wellness prescription. Luckily, we now have access to tools that can bridge the gap between medical practitioners and everyday wellness regimens. Doctors have long wanted exact information about patients' fitness and activity levels; the surge of wearable fitness trackers and the mountains upon mountains of data they collect can give doctors exactly what they crave. Data driven, collaborative medicine is where this field is headed.

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