Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1479222
102 HEALTHCARE NEWS 102 Hospital construction on rise despite higher operational costs By Hayley DeSilva A recent Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis healthcare report revealed that spending on hospital construction has reached a nearly record-setting high despite costs of operations increasing, Construction Dive reported Aug. 29. "Construction costs across all sectors, including healthcare, remain at all-time highs, exacerbated by the double-digit annualized inflation rates. Making matters worse for some is the rising cost of lending rates," Chris Hopper, president and general manager of Skanska, a Sweden-based contractor, told the publication. "From a healthcare perspective, particularly where schedule urgency is of utmost importance, we are seeing projects move forward despite the higher costs." Kevin Hinrichs, president of Taylor Design, a strategy- based design firm, told Construction Dive that hospitals stand to lose more money by not following through with construction. "By not following through with planned projects, healthcare networks would lose more in revenue than they pay in construction costs, even with price escalation," Mr. Hinrichs told the publication. "Some are even accelerating project schedules, and presumably paying more to do so, as a way to get patients in the door faster and revenue coming in sooner." The pandemic is another reason for current heightened construction, since plans have been put off for the past two years, according to the publication. n Patients' trust in physicians may affect pain level, study finds By Erica Carbajal A new study suggests patients experience more pain and pain-related brain activity when they perceive their physicians as less trustworthy. Researchers from the University of Miami published their findings Aug. 24 in Cerebral Cortex. They conducted medical simulations where participants underwent a series of painful procedures with different virtual physicians who appeared more or less trustworthy. Researchers measured participants' brain activity during the medical simulations using functional MRI. The virtual physicians were images of people in white physician coats with faces created using an algorithm to make them appear more or less trustworthy. Researchers found patients reported the simulated diagnostic procedures — which involved heat simulations on participants' arms — were more painful and unpleasant when performed by physicians they perceived as less trustworthy. They also found more activity in a number of pain-related brain regions when the simulated procedure was led by physicians perceived as less trustworthy compared to more trustworthy. "The takeaway from this study is not necessarily that we need to train doctors to make different facial expressions. Rather, our results demonstrate that even small changes to the doctor-patient relationship may be enough to decrease patients' pain," said Steven Anderson, PhD, study author and recent graduate of University of Miami Psychology. n 10 best, worst states to retire in 2022 By Alexis Kayser S everal Southern and Midwestern states make the best places to retire as poor affordability weighs down other states, according to 2022 rankings from Bankrate, a publisher offering financial comparison services on real estate, budgeting and retirement plans. e study analyzed data points on five weighted criteria: affordability (40 percent), well-being (20 percent), culture and diversity (15 percent), weather (15 percent) and crime (10 percent). Four key takeaways from the top five states: 1. Michigan's affordability is best in the nation, with a low cost of living and tax rate. 2. Despite rising living costs, Florida's substantial population of people 65 and older keeps it at the top of the list overall. 3. Missouri and Ohio's affordability and fair climates supersede subpar culture and well-being scores rank in the bottom half. 4. Natural disasters are rare in affordable Georgia, but its population of those 65 and older and its entertainment scene are lacking, according to Bankrate. Bankrate's best states for retirement: 1) Florida 2) Georgia 3) Michigan 4) Ohio 5) Missouri 6) Kentucky 7) Texas 8) Tennessee 9) Pennsylvania 10) South Dakota Bankrate's worst states for retirement: 1) Alaska 2) Maine 3) California 4) New Mexico 5) Montana 6) Vermont 7) Maryland 8) Connecticut 9) Hawaii 10) Washington n