I’ve been noticing two reoccurring themes in medical real estate: satellite care clinics and consolidation of health systems and physician practices. Both of these issues correlate with the unknown long term effects of healthcare reform as hospitals implement provisions and transform their organizations into more efficient care entities.

When hospitals purchase free-standing physician offices they often convert them into outpatient clinics. The shift isn’t visible on the surface, but underneath the covers a powerful economic transformation has taken place, with the new owners now able to charge a so-called “facility fee” to cover the cost of their infrastructure.

We hear a great deal about healthcare consolidation today. The truth is, it has been happening in earnest for two to three years already, and it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

Mobile asset management in the hospital is a great example of an unsexy but high-impact topic. In this interview, John McCarthy, GE Healthcare’s GM of Asset Management Professional Services, answers my questions.

Economic, legislative and regulatory headwinds continue to buffet healthcare providers and administrators working to improve flat or light a fire under slow financial growth. Help isn’t only on the way, it has arrived with the development of electronic data interchange (EDI) technology.