Medical mall has some misperceptions

By Mike Sundall

As the chief executive officer of Physicians' Clinic of Iowa, I am writing to share the facts on our proposed Medical Mall in Cedar Rapids and our vision for the project.

PCI plans to build an approximately 200,000-square-foot facility that is on the leading edge of health care. The Medical Mall concept is a relatively new approach, putting the patient at the center of the experience. Rather than drive to multiple locations for specialty care visits, imaging and lab work, the patient has convenient access to all of these specialty services at one location. The Medical Mall concept is such an innovative one that there are only a handful of these facilities in the United States.

Following are the main issues where misperceptions have arisen.

l Affordability

Some have jumped to the erroneous assumption the new building, with all of its conveniences, will lead to more expensive care. That is absolutely not the case. Our Medical Mall will not increase the patient's cost of health care, as we are paid a fixed-payment through third-party payers (insurance companies). PCI, through our Medical Mall, will provide more convenient, patient-centered care, without increasing the cost to patients. In fact, this will allow PCI to consolidate our cost of operation by reducing duplication.

l Quality

A growing number of PCI patients live in non-Cedar Rapids ZIP codes. I believe this indicates PCI specialists are already known for our quality care throughout Eastern Iowa.

PCI's Medical Mall will allow our physicians and staff to further enhance this quality care. The amount of time a patient will wait for an appointment to see a specialist to whom they've been referred will be greatly reduced.

Another tremendous benefit is coordination of care. While technology goes a long way toward sharing patient information and consulting between medical professionals, it pales in comparison with a physician's ability to walk down the hall to discuss coordination of patient care with other specialists.

l Accessibility

PCI is committed to the safety of our patients and their families. The Medical Mall will provide convenient and safe patient drop-off, parking and access to the building from multiple entries (similar to a retail mall). A family member will be able to drop off a patient, have staff assistance and park onsite. It also will offer easy access to and from I-380.

l Duplication

PCI's Medical Mall will not duplicate lab and imaging services already available in the community. PCI will consolidate our existing services rather than “add” to them.

l Limitations

Some people believe PCI's Medical Mall will lack important specialties such as cardiology or pulmonology as well as primary care physicians. Not true. PCI has been contacted by many health care providers and primary care doctors who are interested in being part of the Medical Mall. It is our intention there will be no “missing services” by the time we open our doors in 2013.

PCI's Medical Mall is an exciting, forward-thinking project that will improve the delivery of health care and solidify Cedar Rapids' plans to create a medical destination that attracts a broader regional base of patients and revitalizes our downtown.

Michael D. Sundall is CEO of Physicians' Clinic of Iowa and has more than 35 years of health-care practice management experience. He is a native of Boone. Comments: msundall@pcofiowa.com