Healthcare Planning, Design and Construction (PD&C) departments traditionally have delivered in an inconsistent manner with limited improvement in delivery models or methods when compared to other industries. Traditional delivery models and initial cost-per-square foot metrics have been the standard measures.

Increasingly, PD&C departments must approach both traditional and emerging challenges with a new tack, shifting their focus from attaining the lowest cost-per-square-foot to maximizing available space for clinical care and increasing efficiency.

Consolidating Support Services — Currently many healthcare organizations have combined resources to leverage greater power in negotiating supplier and services contracts. PD&C departments of the new era will move this concept further with off-site consolidated support services facilities, taking advantage of lower costs to construct — while freeing clinical space on-campus to deliver care to more patients. Further benefits will be found by taking advantage of economies of scale in the healthcare supply chain.

Implementing Sustainable Technology — Effectively implementing sustainable technology will drive PD&C decisions in the new era of accountability. Reducing energy and resource costs through opportunities such as Combined Heat and Power (CHP) will play an important role in judging success. Finding ways to reduce water consumption will become increasingly more important as costs rise.

Relying on Healthcare Simulation to Isolate Inefficiency  Successful PD&C departments will be required to integrate knowledge and metrics from managers and shift leaders to better utilize tools such as simulation to reduce waste and/or implement LEAN principles in their business practices.

Planning, design and construction responsibilities will mean more than identifying the right contractor. The new era of accountability will drive a greater need for healthcare’s internal PD&C departments and professionals to improve efficiency in outcomes, minimize wasted effort, and eliminate the segmented approach to delivery. These efficiencies and improvements must be measurable on many fronts and will be critical to the department’s ability to prove that they are indeed accountable to the overall organization and the continuum of care which they provide.

Haskell can help make the future of your healthcare organization more certain. We invite you to review our portfolio of healthcare projects. For more information, contact Haskell Division Leader – Healthcare Construction, Mark Allnutt.