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HEALTHCARE REAL ESTATE

Cover Story: Expanding Practice?

Considerations for Building Out

Clinical and Office Space

Continued from page 1
An endless number of factors go into
A leaseholder can negotiate TI in their building out clinical and office space,
lease agreement terms or engage a quali- from lease terms and vendor contract
fied healthcare advisory professional to negotiations to system implementation
assist with the negotiations. and data drops. You have to think about
Remember, it doesn’t always make everything from lighting and plumbing
sense to buildout your space, even if you to windows and floors. Two important
can afford to do so. An expansion of considerations from an efficiency stand-
your medical practice should be a strate- point are patient flow and equipment
gic decision that takes into account sev- placement. You also have to consider
eral factors, including market opportuni- patient demographics. For example, a
ty. If the demand is not there, it may not pediatric practice may have designated
make sense to invest in an expansion. play areas while a bariatric surgery cen-
So how do you know if the timing is ter may have larger chairs in the waiting
right? There are several signs that a room.
buildout might make sense for your While there is certainly a lot to consid-
medical practice, such as: er in planning a space expansion and
1. Your ability to maximize revenue is there is a significant financial investment
capped by your existing space. required, a strategic buildout can present
2. Your existing space plan doesn’t tremendous benefits for your practice.
allow for maximum patient flow and effi- Expanding your medical practice’s clini-
ciency. cal and office space can help you to scale
3. Your existing space doesn’t allow for your practice with the ability to see more
the technology you need to best serve patients and drive better patient flow.
your patients. And you don’t have to do it all your-
4. You want to expand into a new geo- self. You can engage an outside firm to
graphic market. oversee the space expansion process,
If you decide to move ahead with an from start to finish. A healthcare adviso-
expansion, space planning should be a ry professional with experience assisting
prime consideration. Keep in mind the with medical practice expansions can
important distinction between clinical help you with building out your space
space, which is revenue-producing, and and growing your practice.
administrative or “white” space, which is
not revenue-producing (e.g., hallway, Kevin N. Fine, MHA, is a director of
office, waiting room). Clinical space healthcare advisory services in the Miami
expansions can provide the greatest office of Kaufman Rossin, one of the top
opportunity to add revenue, by enabling accounting firms in the U.S. He can be
you to see more patients, offer more reached at kfine@kaufmanrossin.com.
services or add providers.

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20 December 2017 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News