Attendees of the 2014 Healthcare Design Conference will have a chance to look into the future through the eyes of a diverse group of healthcare leaders during the closing keynote presentation, “Changing Healthcare—Innovation and Leadership Forging a Bright Future.”

From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 18, panelists Barry S. Rabner, president, CEO, and trustee of Princeton HealthCare System, and Helen Zak, president and COO of ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value, will be among panelists sitting down for a discussion on the future of healthcare in the U.S. and abroad and to offer suggestions for bringing about change.

As a preview to the session, Healthcare Design asked Rabner and Zak, “How do you anticipate healthcare delivery changing over the next five years and how will the built environment need to evolve to support that?”

Here’s what they had to say:

Barry S. Rabner:

“Facility design impacts clinical outcomes, patient safety, patient and family satisfaction, and profitability. The Affordable Care Act and new insurance models are reordering healthcare provider priorities and changing the definition of good design. Factors driving healthcare utilization upward include 78 million baby boomers expected to live longer and 30 million people gaining insurance coverage for the first time. On the other side, factors driving utilization downward include employers moving their employee health plans to a defined contribution structure and employees buying down on covered plan benefits to obtain lower-priced premiums. Understanding how these changes will impact demand, site of care, and the built environment is essential.”

Helen Zak:

“Healthcare in the next five years is going to look significantly different that it does today and so will the built environment. Healthcare will become more patient-centric, and that’s good news for you and me.  This translates to many changes in how healthcare is delivered and the environment it’s delivered in. Imagine care delivered at the right time, at the right place; it will surely include moving out of the hospital to clinic, retail, mobile, and home-based care that’s convenient and without wait and hassle. This will have a significant impact to the built environment, including how space is designed, furnished, and used.”

 

For more conference information, visit HCDconference.com.