Josh Kelly, RCDD and Nick Tournis, PMP contributed to this article.

Over the past 20 years in the healthcare market, our strategic consulting team has experienced both common and unique challenges, learned many lessons that continue to guide our service offerings for an industry that is vital to all human beings, and gained insight from the unexpected shifts from the global pandemic that reshaped the future of healthcare.

Whether working on an expansion dedicated to a specific healthcare service or on a new construction project for one of the largest public hospitals in the country, our consultants have repeatedly come up against the same three challenges: 

• Technology scope & responsibilities are not well-defined from the onset
• Technology budgets & schedules are outdated or not fully developed
• Technology goals & objectives are unrealistic 
  ‍

Using an integrated approach built on lessons learned, our consultants take these challenges and use them to become a critical part of the project team, keep projects within budget and on time through reality-based visioning, and above all, exhibit care and trust with all involved in the project. 

Helping Siloed Departments Work Together

In an ideal scenario, communication and collaboration between all project participants would start early and be seamless and transparent. However, on projects with many parties involved, this can become a challenge. We use our experience and consulting expertise to bridge the gap between groups that are typically siloed within their own work. When we are brought on in the early stages of the project schedule, we help create more transparency for all parties involved.

By having comprehensive and data-driven discussions, we help to identify gaps in scope, schedules, and budgets to drive project goals toward being pragmatic, efficient, and attainable.

‍

Designing for the Future with Reality in Mind

Building new healthcare facilities is exciting and often filled with great wonder and hope for future capabilities. As consultants, we have participated in many visioning meetings that discuss drone pharmacies, spa-like patient rooms, robotic services, and more. While futuristic visioning is inspiring, it is important to remember that it often does not recognize the daily work that healthcare staff performs.

To keep projects on time and within budget, we practice reality-based visioning to keep design and functionality grounded while remaining flexible, knowing that we have the ability to support technology advancements as they arise.

‍

Putting the Care in Healthcare

The end goal of every healthcare consulting project should be to design a facility that provides top-tier care for every person that enters the building. To do so, care and trust must be established upfront across all functions involved in the project.

As we continue to support some of the largest and most complex healthcare projects, our consultants not only deliver hospitals for the future but for the patients, staff, and visitors who need those hospitals as soon as the doors are open. Contact us today if you want to learn more about how our experienced team can develop a customized technology roadmap for your next healthcare project.