It’s been an exciting time to cover the healthcare design industry. I can’t remember the last interview I had with a source (whether on the A/E/C or ownership side of the coin) that didn’t touch upon planning for the future. Common themes are almost exclusively tied to healthcare reform—planning for flexibility, patient-centered design, accountable care, efficient workflows, costs-savings strategies, and so on.

The reason these conversations are so rampant is that we finally know, at least sort of, what the future holds. There’s something to plan for. However, 2012 was a bit different. Last year was rife with uncertainty that affected both plans for future projects and outcomes of projects underway. The large acute care facilities that were/are in the works—started years ago—may already need to be reevaluated for the future. While other systems are figuring out how their strategies moving forward will accommodate more outpatient care, with that acute care hub remaining at its core.

And determining where to spend precious, and limited, dollars is a challenge that’s been present for years, thanks to the economic downturn, and likely will be for years to come, with mandates for IT upgrades and reduced reimbursements putting facilities projects on the backburner.

But to gain a better grasp on what’s happened as well as what’s to come, we here at Healthcare Design want to hear more, from you.

For all of our architecture/engineering and construction professionals out there, be sure to take part in our newly launched 2013 Corporate Rankings Survey. In it, we’ll capture what your firm’s business was like in 2012, how it compared to 2011, and what types of projects are shaping your work, as well as the landscape for healthcare design to come.

New to the annual survey this year, we’re asking you to drill down a bit more—tell us about what specialty hospital projects you’re taking on, what the breakdown is of patient/family/staff areas you’re creating, and what types of features are being brought into today’s patient room environments.

And, finally, be sure to give us your outlook: what are the biggest challenges and opportunities you’re eyeing up for 2013?

You can find the survey at healthcaredesignmagazine.com/2013CorporateRankings. The results, including our lists of the top healthcare architecture/engineering and construction firms for 2012, will be published online and in the July 2013 issue of the magazine. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at jsilvis@vendomegrp.com.

Please take part—we look forward to hearing from you.