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Convenience is a major factor in how patients choose healthcare, but it rarely replaces insurance coverage, clinical quality or trusted referrals. JLL’s 2023 U.S. Healthcare Patient Survey found that location and proximity ranked second among provider-choice factors for most types of care, behind whether the provider accepted the patient’s insurance. For outpatient behavioral health, location ranked third. The evidence describes what patients say they consider; it does not prove that a particular building, sign system or location causes better clinical outcomes.
The findings matter to healthcare developers, health systems and designers because “convenience” is broader than putting a clinic near a population center. Travel time, parking, navigation, service, comfort, appointment logistics and the ability to combine healthcare with another errand can all affect the patient experience. A practical strategy therefore balances access benefits against facility cost and the time clinicians spend moving between sites.
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What did the 2023 survey find about convenience and healthcare choices?
JLL surveyed 4,017 U.S. residents through Engine Insights from April 19–28, 2023. The survey asked respondents what influenced decisions across several care categories. A JLL summary of the results identifies insurance acceptance as the leading consideration and location or proximity as the next major factor for most categories.
More than 80% of respondents considering primary/preventive or specialist care included insurance acceptance among their top five factors. Physician quality and reputation appeared in the top five across every care category for more than 40% of respondents. Those results place convenience in context: patients may value a nearby site, but a convenient location does not compensate for an unaffordable or poorly regarded provider.
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The Building Design + Construction report covering the survey lists 4,037 respondents, while JLL’s primary release lists 4,017. The official JLL sample size and field dates are used here. Both sources describe the same 2023 survey period, but the discrepancy is a reason to avoid presenting the article’s 4,037 figure as the definitive count.
How far are patients willing to travel for care?
In the 2023 results reported by Building Design + Construction, two-fifths of respondents traveled less than 15 minutes for care and nearly eight in ten traveled less than 30 minutes. These are descriptions of that survey sample, not a universal catchment-area rule for every clinic or service line.
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JLL’s 2025 survey shows why geography matters. The nationally representative survey included 4,061 U.S. residents and was conducted June 18–26, 2025. It reported that 89% of suburban patients traveled less than 30 minutes to access care. Twenty-eight percent of suburban respondents could reach care within 10 minutes, compared with 23% in both urban and rural areas. The figures should not be blended with the 2023 results: they come from a different survey year and sample.
Which factors matter most by type of care?
Patients do not use one identical decision model for every service. The 2023 JLL results show that referrals, quality and convenience change in importance by care category.
| Care decision | Survey finding | What it means for planning |
|---|---|---|
| Primary or preventive care | Insurance acceptance was among the top five factors for more than 80% of respondents; location ranked near the top. | Network participation and a convenient routine-visit location need to work together. |
| Specialist care | Insurance acceptance was a leading factor; location generally ranked second, while referrals were cited by 45.5%. | Referral pathways, scheduling coordination and access from the referring provider can be as important as a central address. |
| Outpatient surgery | Referrals were among the top five factors for 52.6% of respondents. | Patients may accept additional travel when the procedure, surgeon and referral network are trusted, but arrival and discharge logistics remain part of convenience. |
| Inpatient care | Referrals appeared among the top five factors for 50.5%. | Hospital reputation, referral relationships and family access should be considered alongside transport and parking. |
| Outpatient behavioral health | Location ranked third; 31% included recommendations from friends among their top five factors. | Privacy, discreet arrival options and community trust may matter in addition to proximity. |
The percentages identify reported priorities, not a formula for predicting an individual patient. A health system can use them to frame questions for local market research, then validate those assumptions with payer mix, referral data, transportation patterns and community input.
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What does “convenience” include beyond proximity?
Convenience is the removal of friction across the complete patient journey. A clinic can be geographically close yet difficult to use if a patient cannot find the entrance, park without stress, complete registration or move between departments.
Arrival and parking
JLL’s 2025 release compared respondents who rated providers highly with dissatisfied respondents. Easy parking was reported by 87% of the highly satisfied group versus 58% of the dissatisfied group. The association does not establish that parking alone caused satisfaction, but it shows why parking capacity, accessible spaces, drop-off areas, weather protection and clear payment or validation policies deserve design attention.
Navigation and wayfinding
The same release reported simple navigation for 91% of highly satisfied respondents, compared with 62% of dissatisfied respondents. Navigation begins before arrival: address information, transit directions and entrance labels should match the language used in appointment messages. On site, consistent signs, readable contrast, decision-point signs and visible reception desks can reduce uncertainty. Any signage package still needs review against applicable accessibility, life-safety and healthcare regulations; the survey does not certify a particular product or sign system.
Trip chaining and one-stop access
Building Design + Construction reported that 58% of respondents made another stop, such as a pharmacy or urgent clinic, during the healthcare trip. This finding supports evaluating mixed-use medical destinations, co-located services and pedestrian connections, but it does not mean every project should add retail or unrelated uses. The right question is whether additional services solve a documented local need without creating confusing circulation or privacy problems.
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Service and comfort
JLL’s 2023 discussion includes service and comfort among the experience factors patients weigh. Waiting-room seating, temperature, acoustic control, restroom access, check-in design and predictable appointment communication all influence perceived effort. These elements can often be improved through operational planning and interior fit-out, even when a health system cannot relocate a facility.
How should a health system balance proximity with facility cost?
Proximity has an economic trade-off. A second neighborhood site may shorten patient journeys but add lease, construction, staffing, maintenance and technology costs. It may also require clinicians to travel between a local clinic and a hospital, reducing available care time.
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JLL Healthcare Division President Alison Flynn Gaffney summarized the trade-off in the 2023 release: “It’s critical to strike the right balance between convenience and cost – health systems need to balance the benefits of being close to their target populations with the cost of a new facility or a provider’s time in transit from a local clinic to the hospital.” Read the full JLL release for the statement and survey context.
A location decision can be structured around five questions:
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- What travel burden is acceptable? Compare drive, transit, walking and paratransit times at different hours, including winter or extreme-weather conditions where relevant.
- Which services need hospital adjacency? Imaging, surgery, emergency backup and specialty equipment may favor a campus or tightly coordinated network; routine visits may be more flexible.
- What capacity is required? A smaller local site can improve access only if appointment supply, staffing and hours match demand.
- What is the full cost? Include construction or rent, parking, security, digital infrastructure, transport between sites, maintenance and clinician travel—not just the initial building cost.
This framework turns “closer is better” into a transparent decision rather than a presumption. It also makes it easier to explain why a health system chooses a hub, neighborhood clinics, mobile services, telehealth or a combination.
How do telehealth and urgent care change the convenience equation?
Convenience is not limited to a physical address. Building Design + Construction reported that 42% of respondents had a telehealth appointment in the prior year, compared with 45% in 2022. JLL’s 2025 release reported telehealth use by 43% of respondents and an urgent-care visit by 27%, up 240 basis points from 2023.
These figures describe utilization, not a guarantee that virtual care can substitute for an in-person site. Telehealth still depends on broadband, a private space, device access, digital literacy, interpreter support and clinical appropriateness. A building strategy can support hybrid care with private virtual-visit rooms, reliable connectivity, staff assistance and clear escalation paths when an examination or diagnostic test is needed.
Urgent care can reduce travel for time-sensitive but non-emergency needs, yet it should not be presented as a replacement for emergency services. Its value depends on hours, staffing, referral links and the ability to transfer patients safely when a higher level of care is required.
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What do the 2025 findings add about urban, suburban and rural access?
The 2025 JLL release cautions against treating every market as interchangeable. Its respondents were reported across urban communities (31%), suburban communities (48%) and rural communities (22%). Suburban patients were especially likely to report a journey under 30 minutes, while the share reaching care within 10 minutes was 28% in suburban areas and 23% in both urban and rural areas.
For urban projects, a short straight-line distance may conceal transfers, congestion, parking prices or difficult building entrances. Suburban projects may have more land for parking and one-stop services but can be hard to reach without a car. Rural projects may face long distances, limited public transport and shortages of clinicians even when a building is centrally located within the service area. Market-specific transportation analysis is therefore more defensible than importing a city-based or suburb-based standard.
What should designers and builders include in a convenience-focused project?
Survey evidence cannot specify a construction program, but it can guide a practical checklist:
- Site access: provide legible vehicle and pedestrian approaches, accessible drop-off space, safe crossings and routes that work for mobility devices.
- Parking operations: size and locate accessible spaces, short-term drop-off, staff parking and any validation or payment areas so arrival does not become the first bottleneck.
- Visible entrances: distinguish public, emergency, service and staff entries; coordinate exterior signs with appointment instructions.
- Wayfinding hierarchy: use consistent names for buildings, floors, departments and parking zones. Place decisions signs before—not after—turns and elevators.
- Flexible interiors: allow rooms and support spaces to adapt as appointment types, telehealth use or co-located services change.
- Privacy and dignity: consider discreet behavioral-health access, acoustic separation, sightlines and check-in alternatives where appropriate.
- Operational resilience: plan for construction phasing, temporary entrances, power and network continuity, infection-control requirements and future expansion.
These measures should be tested against the project’s code requirements, accessibility obligations, infection-prevention policies and operational model. Patient convenience is a design objective, not a waiver of technical standards.
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The JLL findings are U.S. survey evidence based on respondents’ reported priorities and experiences. They should not be generalized automatically to other countries, payer systems or healthcare delivery models. The 2023 and 2025 surveys are separate snapshots, so their percentages should not be combined into a single trend line without additional analysis.
Most importantly, associations are not causal proof. A patient who reports easy parking and high satisfaction may also have had a shorter wait, a trusted physician, better insurance coverage or a less complex appointment. The results support reducing friction as a planning goal; they do not prove that a particular parking layout, building type or proximity threshold improves health outcomes.
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For a proposed project, combine survey evidence with local origin-destination data, appointment no-show patterns, referral flows, payer contracts, community engagement and post-occupancy feedback. That process can reveal whether the main barrier is distance, cost, scheduling, transportation, navigation or the availability of appropriate care.
What is the practical conclusion for healthcare construction?
Patients consistently place convenience near the top of healthcare decisions, especially location and travel burden. Yet convenience works alongside insurance acceptance, provider quality, referrals and the quality of the facility experience. The strongest construction strategy is not simply the nearest possible building; it is a network and site plan that removes avoidable friction while preserving clinical capability and financial sustainability.
Health systems should evaluate each market separately, distinguish urgent from routine and specialty needs, and design the arrival, navigation and service experience as carefully as the clinical rooms. JLL’s 2025 findings reinforce that parking and wayfinding are visible parts of perceived quality, while the 2023 results show why proximity must be balanced against cost and provider time. Used with local evidence—and without treating survey associations as proof of causation—the research provides a useful foundation for more accessible healthcare facilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a closer healthcare facility always attract more patients?
No. Patients can favor a farther provider when insurance coverage, reputation, a referral or a needed specialty outweighs travel time. A nearby facility also needs appointment availability, appropriate hours and a workable arrival experience to be genuinely convenient.
How can a project measure convenience before construction starts?
Use travel-time mapping by mode and time of day, then compare it with local referral origins, missed appointments, payer networks and community interviews. Modeling the complete trip—from home to entrance and back—can expose barriers that a simple mileage radius misses.
What is the difference between proximity and accessibility in healthcare design?
Proximity describes distance or travel time to a site. Accessibility also includes whether patients can afford the service, reach it by available transportation, enter and navigate the building, communicate with staff and obtain an appointment that meets their needs.
Can telehealth eliminate the need for neighborhood clinics?
Not for every patient or service. Virtual care requires suitable technology, privacy and clinical appropriateness, and many visits still need examination, testing, treatment or emergency escalation. Hybrid planning can use telehealth to reduce some trips while retaining local in-person capacity.
