Identification and prioritization of factors affecting the overall project cost of healthcare facilities

Planning for the delivery of a healthcare facility requires the management of a complex array of data variables that affect the development of the project scope and its cost estimate. The timing of key decisions can significantly affect costs; therefore, the early identification of factors that influence overall project costs is of paramount importance to healthcare facility owners. This study identifies and prioritizes key factors affecting healthcare facility costs based on the analysis of data collected from multiple projects. The database used for this study included information on project characteristics, building parameters, dimensions, and costs covering several phases of the project life cycle, from programming to activation. Initially, the study identified project characteristics and building parameters that influence overall owner project costs. Then, several quantitative methods were employed to rank these factors based on how they influence overall project costs. In the end, this study distinguished 39 healthcare-specific factors from 62 factors investigated in the research. Finally, it ranked the top 11 building factors that affect the overall costs of a healthcare project.