Modern medicine needs appropriate buildings
The healthcare system is undergoing profound structural change, putting organisations under pressure. Outpatients before inpatients, minimal case numbers, digital transformation, and shortages of specialists are just some of the key terms These structural changes place different demands on real estate in the health sector. Many hospitals and healthcare organisations have lost entrepreneurial freedom of action due to oversized and poorly designed real estate. They are forced to change their structures, reduce staff, and enter into cooperation agreements, mergers, and special depreciation. In the end, healthcare organisations are almost always also real estate operators.
walkerproject’s functional evaluation of real estate addresses three problem areas:
- Assumptions made in the business plan are often not tenable: investments are increasingly associated with risks, the specified target values for new construction do not stand up to scrutiny, overcapacity is created, and buildings are realised that already have problems when they are opened.
- Unfortunately, many projects are based on the dominant designs of the past, resulting in processes and structures that do not meet today’s requirements and lead to high operational costs.
- The many projects are based on the dominant designs of the past, resulting in processes and structures that do not meet today’s requirements and lead to high operational change.
Systematic evaluation of functionality
walkerproject’s tool assesses the functional sustainability of real estate in the healthcare sector and evaluates construction investments with a mixture of data analysis (patient, organisational, and market data) and on-site inspections by experts using a valuation grid.
Our approach considers a property’s attractiveness from various perspectives and comprises around 400 individual evaluation criteria. We orient ourselves along the following themes:
- How suitable is the infrastructure for individual functional areas (e.g., at reception, in the emergency room, in the operating room, in diagnostics, and during consultation hours, etc.)?
- What possibilities does the infrastructure offer with regard to the design of medical services? How closely and easily can functional areas interact along different patient pathways?
- To what extent is the property suitable to be adapted to the main trends in healthcare?
The grid for the real estate valuation has been digitally embedded in a web app, enabling, and all criteria can be evaluated and documented directly on site. The real estate users receive a direct preview of the central elements of the evaluation.
Fast modular decision support
During our experts’ on-site inspection, a detailed property valuation is created. The complete data set with all the evaluated criteria is made available to the organisation, and the most important findings are summarised in a professional report within 48 hours.
Our expertise and our evaluation grid’s modularity allow us to quickly adapt to the needs of our clients and their infrastructure. The grid is suitable for hospitals and clinics as well as any other type of property in the healthcare sector, such as nursing homes, psychiatry, primary care surgeries, outpatient centres, etc.
Decisions on a new construction/conversion project can thus be made on a sounder basis. In addition, there are many points of reference for discussion with the building owners, and, in some cases, projects can be improved once the planning has already progressed.
Our offerings
Business plan check
The assumptions and forecasts made in your business plan with regard to properties are reviewed on the basis of our functional evaluation and compared with current market data and trends.
New building check
This check assesses planned buildings with regard to their future viability and flexibility. Planned construction projects are subjected to a detailed examination with regard to the assumptions made, compliance with international requirements, suitability from a process perspective, and the effects on operating costs.
Infrastructure check
This check assesses the existing infrastructure with regard to its future viability. Structured on-site inspections determine the current state of the infrastructure and the processes that are used. These are compared and evaluated with international standards.
Do you want to learn more?
Would you like to learn more about functional real estate valuation? We would be delighted to tell you more about our project work in an obligation-free conversation or answer any questions you may have. Our team is looking forward to hearing from you!