The Third Evolution of Healthcare Real Estate
Healthcare delivery is changing, and healthcare real estate is evolving with it.
Historically, healthcare services were concentrated on or near large hospital campuses, where providers benefited from proximity to acute-care resources and referral networks. Advances in technology, reimbursement, cost pressures, population growth, and patient preferences gradually shifted more care into decentralized outpatient settings closer to where patients live and work.
This shift continues today. Outpatient services accounted for approximately 57% of hospital revenue in 2024, up from 52% in 2020.[1] Additionally, approximately 6,400 ambulatory surgery centers treated 3.4 million fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries in 2024.[2]
- OUTPATIENT SHARE OF HOSPITAL REVENUE IN 2024: 57%
- AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTERS IN 2024: 6,400
- FEE-FOR-SERVICE MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES TREATED IN 2024: 3.4M
A third phase is becoming more pronounced as healthcare providers increasingly bring complementary outpatient services together in coordinated community healthcare destinations.
The evolution can be viewed through three stages:
- Centralization
- Decentralization
- Re-aggregation
From Hospital Campuses to Community-Based Care
For decades, the hospital campus served as the center of the healthcare ecosystem. This concentration also shaped healthcare real estate, with proximity to major hospitals serving as an important consideration for medical office properties.
The growth of outpatient care gradually changed that model. Advances in medical technology and surgical techniques allowed more procedures to be performed outside hospitals, while cost pressures supported lower-cost outpatient settings.
The result was a decentralized network of medical office buildings, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging facilities, urgent care centers, specialty clinics, and rehabilitation facilities. While this expansion improved accessibility, it also created a more fragmented landscape in which patients might visit several unrelated locations throughout their care journey.
Integrated Outpatient Campuses: The Next Evolution
The emerging integrated outpatient campus model combines the convenience of community-based healthcare with some of the connectivity historically associated with hospital campuses.
Health systems and developers can bring primary care, specialists, imaging, rehabilitation, urgent care, and ambulatory surgery together within a single healthcare destination. For example, orthopedics can be located alongside imaging, physical therapy and ambulatory surgery, allowing multiple stages of care to occur within the same campus.
For patients, this can mean fewer trips and easier movement between providers. Physicians gain proximity to complementary specialties and shared patient populations, while health systems can establish comprehensive access points in growing communities.
Integrated Outpatient Healthcare in Florida and the Southeast
Recent developments across Florida and the Southeast demonstrate how this strategy is being implemented.
Tampa Bay
BayCare HealthHub
BayCare has established HealthHub locations throughout the Tampa Bay region that combine multiple outpatient services within community settings. In May 2026, BayCare opened an additional HealthHub in Carrollwood offering BayCare Medical Group physicians, urgent care, outpatient imaging and laboratory services.[3]
Lakeland
Orlando Health / Watson Clinic
Watson Clinic Parkway Medical Center, an approximately 80,000-square-foot, four-story multispecialty outpatient facility, opened in June 2026 on the Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital campus. Operated by Watson Clinic and developed in partnership with Anchor Health Properties, the facility offers multiple physician specialties alongside on-site imaging.[5]
Jacksonville
HealthPlace at SevenPines
Baptist Health opened Baptist HealthPlace at Seven Pines on June 2, 2026 within Jacksonville’s Seven Pines master-planned community. Its location demonstrates how residential and population growth can influence outpatient healthcare expansion.[4]
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Horizon Professional Center
Anchor Health Properties opened the 20,626-square-foot Horizon Professional Center II in Lawrenceville in 2025. Located next to an existing 40,000-square-foot medical building, the development expands a multispecialty outpatient campus near Northside Gwinnett Hospital.[6]
Why Integrated Outpatient Campuses Matter for Healthcare Real Estate
Integrated outpatient campuses can strengthen connections between patients, providers, health systems and real estate stakeholders. Complementary and referral networks may support tenant retention, while health systems gain strategic access points in growing communities. These characteristics may also attract institutional medical-office investors.
For investors, these characteristics may contribute to more durable medical tenancy. Established medical practices can also be difficult and costly to relocate due to specialized buildouts, equipment, patient patterns and referral relationships, potentially increasing the value of remaining within an established healthcare ecosystem.
Real estate evaluation should consider population growth, accessibility, health system affiliation and complementary medical users, along with parking, signage, shared easements and future expansion capacity.
However, a campus location alone does not make a property a strong investment. Tenant credit, lease structure, remaining term, landlord responsibilities and local competition should still be evaluated independently.
Healthcare Real Estate Is Following the Patient
Healthcare real estate has evolved from centralized hospital campuses to decentralized outpatient care and, increasingly, integrated community healthcare destinations.
Rather than returning to the traditional hospital model, providers are bringing complementary services together within community-based outpatient locations. For owners, developers and investors, a property’s position within the surrounding healthcare network and population base may be just as important as the building itself.
Sources
[1] American Hospital Association, Costs of Caring 2026.
[2]Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, March 2026 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy – Ambulatory Surgical Center Services.
[3]BayCare, BayCare Brings New HealthHub to Carrollwood, May 2026.
[4]Baptist Health, Baptist HealthPlace at Seven Pines: A New Destination for Comprehensive Care in the Neighborhood, June 2026.
[5]Watson Clinic, Watson Clinic Parkway Medical Center Announces Upcoming Open House & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, April 2026.
[6]Anchor Health Properties, Anchor Health Properties Celebrates Ribbon Cutting of New Multi-Specialty Outpatient Facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia, May 2025.
[7]MUSC Health, MUSC Health Celebrates Clements Ferry Pavilion Opening, January 2026.
[8]Ascension Saint Thomas, Ascension Saint Thomas Breaks Ground on New Full-Service Hospital and Health Campus in Clarksville, June 2026.
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