Concentrating services will have consequences

We really are not discussing a building, a parking lot, financial aid, street alignments or history when we are talking about the medical mall. We are talking about how we deliver medical services in Cedar Rapids in the future. Do we favor centralized delivery or do we favor decentralized delivery?

A medical mall all under the auspices of Physicians' Clinic of Iowa would be a centralized delivery system - a monopoly. How would you get a second opinion if you were facing a medical emergency in Cedar Rapids if all the doctors had investments in PCI? Wouldn't they all agree on the diagnosis offered by the mall? To get a second opinion, you might have to go to Rochester, Minn., or further. Advocates of the mall really are advocates of medical concentration.

Those who advocate the current medical delivery system favor a decentralized approach. You can get a second opinion in Cedar Rapids, because doctors work independently. We don't have to worry about a parking lot, because the doctors already have parking lots. Disputes are handled in a tactful manner with concern for family members rather than being decided by the “mall.”

Al Swegle

Cedar Rapids