June 2016 — Health Care Properties Quarterly —
Page 9
Trends
I
n today’s ultracompetitive health
care, Affordable Care Act land-
scape, patients expect providers
to deliver care on demand and in
a manner that’s more convenient
for them.Whether it be calling around
for same-day appointments, search-
ing for walk-in care, finding an emer-
gency department with a “fast track,”
or requesting house calls or telehealth
options, patients are behaving more
like “health care shoppers.”
For the first time, we are seeing
patients shop around for the cost,
quality and convenience they desire.
And, it begs the question, “If patients
are behaving more like consumers,
shouldn’t providers be behaving more
like retailers?”
The notion of hospitals and health
systems adopting a retail strategy
is not entirely new. Many have been
doing it for years through partnerships
with traditional retailers like pharma-
cies and grocery stores, but that is
only the start. A comprehensive retail
strategy that addresses the consumer
mindset looks at everything from
patient mix to service-line offerings
and even extends well into brand repu-
tation and physical locations.
Early adopters are reaping the ben-
efits of building a strong brand, devel-
oping loyal “customers” and enhancing
access to care, something retail has
down to a science.While it has been
slower to catch on in health care, we
are seeing hospitals and health sys-
tems moving toward this approach.
One of the more visible signs is the
way providers are looking at their
physical locations.
Gone are the days of “if you build
it, they will come” in health care. For
example, medical office buildings used
to be located on less
expensive land off
the beaten path. For
many years, that
strategy worked.
However, in today’s
environment of
engaging consum-
ers and increased
competition, that
model is antiquated.
Forward-thinking
health systems now
know the analytical-
minded, consumer-
focused methods of
a retail professional
are best suited for
understanding
where to place new
ambulatory health
centers.
Take the Uni-
versity of Colo-
rado Health System,
which is one of the
few hospital sys-
tems that has taken
the lead on develop-
ing urgent care-style
centers in the retail
setting.These urgent
care-style centers help attract patients
by bringing exceptional UCHealth
health care providers to their neighbor-
hoods and reinforce UCHealth’s com-
munity outreach efforts. One example
of this is the UCHealth urgent care
campus in the GreenValley Ranch
neighborhood.The GreenValley Ranch
Center operates as an emergency room
and offers an array of comprehensive
services from addiction treatment to
wound care. GreenValley Ranch is
miles away from the main hospital
campus in Aurora; however, patients
are accessing this location for service
due to its convenient location.
All clinical “offices” are purposefully
built to provide accessible health ser-
vices to the public, but also must meet
multiple health system goals. A project
team should be focused on the same
metrics that the most sophisticated
retailers in the industry are focused
on – supply and demand, competition,
building barriers to entry and revenue
generation. Essentially, you need to
take the view that you are building a
retail center that sells health care ser-
vices.
The same sophisticated business
intelligence and tools available to
retailers to analyze their real estate
portfolios and execute their strategy
are available to health systems.They
can be used to help quantify and
examine current performance, such as
volume, patient profiles and strategic
capital planning.
So, how can health care providers
start thinking like a retailer? Begin by
asking these questions:
•Who are my consumers and how
will they benefit frommy location?
• Does my consumer spend time
outside of health care at this location?
•Will the adjacent or neighboring
retail stores help my strategic objec-
tives?
• Are my competitors able to out-
position me?
• Is this location sustainable?
Finding the right location enhances
visibility and makes services more
accessible.That office suite or piece
of land may cost more upfront, but it
also opens up so much more oppor-
tunity.What retailers already know
and health care providers are begin-
ning to discover is that a strategically
placed facility goes a long way toward
building your brand. Hospitals and
health systems need to reach out into
the neighborhoods they serve.What
better way to attract patients than by
establishing a presence right down the
street? Not only does it increase access
to care, but also it shows commitment
to the community, which goes a long
way toward enhancing reputation and
creating loyalty.
This is a complex journey and there
is no one-size-fits-all approach. But
after examining these questions and
creating a customized strategy, hos-
pitals and health systems can create
more opportunities to engage with
patients, while also building barriers to
entry for their competitors and captur-
ing more market share.
s
Chad Pinnell
Managing director,
Healthcare
Solutions, JLL,
Columbus, Ohio
Jason Clark
Managing Director,
Healthcare
Solutions, JLL,
Los Angeles
1.Who are my consumers and how will they benefit frommy location?
2. Does my consumer spend time outside of health care at this location?
3.Will the adjacent or neighboring retail stores help my strategic objectives?
4. Are my competitors able to out-position me?
5. Is this location sustainable?
Note: The price of the land is not necessarily a determining factor.
Top Five Strategic Location Factors
