The myriad pieces of facility development, Part 3.

Medical practices often find that they have outgrown their office space and cannot relocate within the same building or in the vicinity of their current location. They are confronted with the need to develop and build a new facility. Parts 1 and 2 of this series helped you conceive your new office and get it designed and ready for construction. Now it is time to build.

Myriad pieces of facility development, part 1.

Medical practices often find that they have outgrown their office space and cannot relocate within the same building or in the vicinity of their current location. They are confronted with the need and desire to develop and build a new facility. Part 1 of this article discusses a plausible strategy to this intricate task. The central concept is to use a team approach by calling on specialists to accomplish certain functions. Although this process may seem complex and expensive, it is likely to provide significant value. This value may express itself not only in greater efficiency of the practice as a result of rational planning of the space, but also in the intrinsic worth of the facility as a real estate investment.

Systems concept for patient management.

In this article, the author provides guidance relating to the flow of patients, staffing, and communications issues that can greatly enhance the productivity and profitability of a medical practice. These suggestions can improve the satisfaction level not only of patients but also of providers and their entire staffs. The author cites the example of an orthopedic practice, but the guidance can be broadly applied to all venues of medical practice.

The facility's role in office economics: the bottom line.

The object of medical practice is to deliver services in a timely manner. To prosper in the current environment, clinicians must stress productivity and efficiency. This article discusses the impact of office space configuration on these factors. Not only is profitability increased, satisfaction improves as providers can spend more face-to-face time with patients, and waits are reduced.

Myriad pieces of facility development, Part 2.

The first article in this series discussed the complexity and breadth of deciding what to do when relocating your practice. Assuming you have accomplished those tasks, you now need to undertake the job of actually getting that done. This section takes you from the conceptualization of the project to the actual heavy lifting, and outlines the concrete (literally) steps that must be taken to bring the undertaking to fruition.

Office space planning and design for medical practices, Part 4: Development issues.

The decision to build anew or remodel/add-on to your existing facility has been a tough one. After that decision was reached, the implementation of design and construction presented many difficult hurdles on the road to achieving a functional office space in a cost-effective manner. This article will continue to explore just how a practice proceeds with some of the further details of the implementation process.

Office space planning and design for medical practices: Part 3, Implementation, design, and construction.

The decision to build anew or remodel/add-on to your existing facility can be a tough one. Once that decision is reached, the implementation of design and construction presents many difficult hurdles on the road to achieving a functional office space in a cost effective manner. This article will continue to explore just how a practice goes about that implementation process.

Office space planning and design for medical practices: Part 2, Remodel or build new.

The decision to build anew or remodel/add-on to your existing facility can be a tough one. Your practice could possibly have multiple levels of ownership, equity, or lack of equity in the existing facility, emotional ties to the current location or building, etc. This article will deal with just how a practice makes that decision.

Office space planning and design for medical practices, Part 1: An overview.

The physical environment in which physicians practice is important to their professional and financial success. Providing a pleasant and efficient workspace enhances morale for both staff and patients and increases practice prestige, efficiency of operations, and ultimately revenue and profitability. This series of articles details the questions that need to be considered in assessing office space requirements. This assessment is critical to form the decision to reconfigure existing space or build anew.