By Healthcare Facilities Today

Fifty one percent of respondents said they are considering the Affordable Care Act in senior leadership when addressing facilities questions according to the 2014 Hospital Construction Survey conducted by Health Facilities Management magazine and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE).

Since the ACA was passed, hospitals and health systems primarily have been focused on how to respond to the quality, clinical and economic issues associated with the legislation, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management magazine website.

Bricks-and-mortar questions have also arisen that organizations will need to answer, such as:

• Will our existing facilities enable us to effectively manage the transition from volume-based care to value-based care?

• As we work to reduce costs by moving care delivery to the clinically most cost-appropriate setting, do we have sufficient outpatient facilities to meet the needs of our population and in convenient locations?

• As our inpatient population shifts to more chronically ill patients and complex cases, will we need to reconfigure our acute care facilities?

More than half of respondents — 51 percent — are considering the ACA in discussions about potential changes needed to existing facilities or campus design, the article said. That's up from 34 percent of respondents the prior year who said that the ACA was playing a role in senior-level construction planning discussions.

According to the article, it's a change from years past when construction focused on building inpatient beds and increasing other acute care facilities to enhance curb appeal and gain market share.

Read the article.