Medical offices are ready for their checkups.
The healthcare industry is undergoing major shifts as both providers and consumers adopt new attitudes. A Deloitte 2021 survey found that 36% of US consumers now use telehealth services, up from just 11% in 2019 before the pandemic. Additionally, 70% of consumers favor receiving healthcare in alternative settings like retail clinics or urgent care over hospitals.
These trends show a decentralization away from traditional doctor's offices and hospitals. Consumers want convenient access to healthcare with flexible options. Many also take an integrated approach to wellness, seeking both medical and lifestyle services like fitness, therapy, nutrition and more.
In response, healthcare providers are rethinking their physical footprints. A JLL 2021 study reported that 30-50% of providers plan to reduce their real estate in the next three years. More innovative, agile workspaces are needed versus legacy office models. This is where medical coworking spaces become attractive solutions.
Shared coworking spaces allow creative blending of medical services with wellness offerings. A clinic could combine primary care doctors, physical therapists, lab services, counseling, chiropractors, meditation classes and a fitness studio all under one roof. Patients could take an integrated approach to whole-person care.
Coworking spaces provide the flexibility both wellness entrepreneurs and traditional medical providers need. Short term leases and day use options reduce risk. Shared amenities reduce overhead. Mixing complementary services creates holistic experiences.
As of 2022, 36% of wellness-focused coworking spaces offered some form of healthcare service. This is expected to rise to over 50% by 2025 according to the Global Wellness Institute. The medical coworking market is forecast to grow at 16% annually.
This rise of flexible medical and wellness spaces is driven by consumer demand, decentralized care delivery, and alternative workplace strategies.
Medical coworking spaces can transform healthcare and wellness
Coworking spaces — shared work environments for different businesses and freelancers — are becoming increasingly popular across all industries. This is increasingly evident than in the medical and healthcare sectors.
Healthcare providers, biotech startups, medical device companies, and other medical businesses are realizing the benefits of flexible office spaces over traditional private offices. Here's an in-depth look at the rise of a coworking model in the medical field.
Flexible offices mean a healthy bottom line
One of the biggest appeals of coworking spaces is flexibility. Traditional 5+ year office leases can be limiting for medical businesses, especially young startups or companies going through growth phases. Coworking memberships, which can be month-to-month or yearly, allow flexibility to scale teams and spaces up or down as needed. For medical device startups waiting on FDA approvals, short term coworking spaces help mitigate financial risks. Plus, as healthcare operations become more agile, the ability to quickly change work environments is key.
Coworking spaces also provide flexibility when it comes to the type of workspace. Many coworking spaces offer open coworking desks, dedicated private offices, lab spaces, meeting rooms, and more. Medical businesses can choose the right workspace composition for their needs, and change it as they grow or as projects evolve.
The cost advantages for health and wellness providers
Coworking can provide significant cost savings over traditional office spaces. Medical startups often benefit from coworking because they can avoid large upfront capital expenditures associated with building and furnishing an office. Coworking allows sharing of reception, IT infrastructure, meeting rooms, and other facilities. Enterprise medical businesses are also realizing the cost benefits of decentralized agile workforces. Using an on-demand mix of coworking spaces and private offices across different locations is cheaper than maintaining one large corporate office. Supporting remote work with coworking spaces also allows medical companies to reduce their real estate footprints in expensive cities.
For healthcare providers like doctors, dentists, therapists, or specialists, the cost savings of using a coworking space part-time versus opening a private practice are substantial. Coworking spaces allow medical professionals to test new markets or ideas without having to rent an entire office. The low overheads associated with coworking spaces allow practitioners to maximize their profits initially.
Access to amenities and technology
Modern coworking spaces cater to the needs of healthcare and medical businesses. They provide access to high-tech equipment, fast internet, and premium amenities that would be costly to implement alone. Coworking spaces are designed for collaboration and innovation - ideal environments for medical device prototyping, digital health projects, and research work.
The community aspect of coworking spaces also creates opportunities to collaborate with professionals from diverse fields of healthcare. From therapists to medical coders to MRI technicians, coworking spaces allow mixing of varied skillsets across the medical spectrum. This sparks creativity and innovation.
Coworking spaces also provide amenities that enhance quality of life for medical professionals. Access to onsite fitness centers, wholesome dining options, green spaces, and relaxation lounges improve wellbeing. For nursing mothers, there are dedicated private lactation rooms. Medical startups benefit from business accelerators, networking events, and programs offered within coworking communities. These high-end amenities and opportunities create appealing work cultures.
Too often, healthcare office environments are sterile and bland. Warm, inviting, professional coworking spaces purpose-built for the medical field provide a refreshing alternative. The humanizing of healthcare workplaces has tangible impacts on quality of care, patient satisfaction, and practitioner burnout.
Regulatory and compliance benefits
There are also regulatory and compliance benefits with medical coworking spaces. Maintaining privacy, securing sensitive health records, and meeting HIPAA requirements are essential in the healthcare industry. Coworking spaces designed for the medical field integrate physical and digital security features to ensure compliance. This includes secure access controls, soundproof spaces, deidentification of data, and high encryption standards. Coworking operators vet members, manage NDAs, and implement privacy protocols.
Many medical startups work with drugs, therapies, medical devices, or hazardous materials that require special handling. Biotech labs need biological safety protocols. Coworking spaces tailored for medicine have environments designed to meet and exceed legal and compliance standards. This allows companies to focus on progress rather than spending resources on managing facilities.
The growth of medical coworking communities
Major coworking brands now offer specialized medical coworking spaces across the United States. There are also niche medical coworking space providers like WorkLab in Texas, which caters to digital health, biotech, and medical companies. Denver's Shared Health medical collaborative is an example of a coworking community for wellness professionals. The growth of fitness studios, dental clinics, therapy providers, and alternative medicine providers is driving demand for specialized medical coworking models.
Coworking gives medical professionals and businesses the flexibility, cost structure, amenities, and regulatory standards needed to thrive. As healthcare operations become more decentralized and mobile, medical coworking spaces provide ideal work environments. The cross-pollination of ideas within medical coworking communities also leads to innovation that improves quality of care. Ultimately, medical coworking spaces create the right ecosystems for modern medical workforces. The demand will only grow as more medical businesses seek alternatives to inflexible, expensive traditional office spaces.
Optimize medical coworking spaces with Coworks software
Operating a successful medical coworking space requires the right digital systems. Coworks provides software that optimizes coworking spaces for both operators and members. Our space management platform is designed specifically for the needs of compliant, specialized spaces in the medical industry.
Coworks centralizes management of members, spaces, billing, access control, analytics, and more with an easy-to-use dashboard. Members can instantly book spaces, communicate with the community, find events, or find other members. For coworking operators, Coworks automates scheduling, invoicing, compliance auditing, and reporting.
As medical facilities become more agile and flexible, Coworks software creates the digital infrastructure to power next-gen healthcare workplaces. The platform removes the friction from operating and using shared medical workspaces for both owners and members.
Watch a self-guided demo or contact Coworks today to explore solutions for medical coworking spaces, clinics, hybrid offices, and other shared workspaces in the growing healthcare industry.
