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MEDICAL PRACTICE
STRATEGIES & ISSUES

Medical Retail

By Steve Raub, CCIM

Physicians want to be close to their patients, however, this takes on additional meaning in regard to the
physical spaces in which physicians practice their specialties. A new trend is developing and coming to
shopping centers near you, which may answer the needs of medical providers who want to be more
accessible to their patients. likewise, for reasons of convenience and time-saving, patients yearn for

easier access to their medical providers.

All types of medical professionals typically
want to be as close to their patients as they can
get. “First Floor - Front door”, is the theme
which encapsulates the desire for practices to
get closer to their existing and prospective
patients. Easy access helps drive the addition
of new patients. For example, a cardiology
group saw their patient base skyrocket when
they relocated to a first-floor space near a
movie theater because of their enhanced
visibility to so many movie goers walking by
their office. They had people walking in for
screenings, which would never have happened
when they were tucked away in the back corner
of an upper floor of a hard-to-reach medical
office building.
Oftentimes patients don’t find it convenient to go to the doctor. medical offices, a long-term lease may be the answer of how it all
It may be hard to drive across town, find the medical office building becomes more affordable for physicians and landlords.
and try to find a parking spot near the building. Then they have to Advancements in technology have led to the proliferation of
make their way to the lobby in the heat, cold, rain or wind, find an ambulatory surgery centers. Going forward, more surgeries are
elevator or stairs and follow long hallways. This becomes an expected to become outpatient procedures that no longer require
unpleasant and perhaps difficult experience. Should it be this an overnight stay. Micro hospitals are already popping up in San
painful? Medical professionals can make it easier for current and Antonio and it’s just a matter of time before retail centers get the
prospective patients to find them. It makes a lot of sense for chance to provide these smaller hospital venues to patients across
everyone. the Alamo City. Then large, difficult-to-access, back-office medical
This is called Medical Retail, a trend of blending the need of space and physician’s offices could become a thing of the past.
medical offices for easy access with the convenience of shopping So, Medical Retail will certainly be more popular in the future to
centers. First Floor – Front door locations give physicians high get patients closer to their physicians. Successful physician practices
visibility, high traffic offices with easy parking that is very accessible. will be those that are easily accessible to the public.
landlords like having medical professionals as tenants because they
tend to stay in the same location for many years, once they are Steve Raub, CCIM is a Circle of Friends sponsor with IRC, Investment
established. While tenant improvements can be expensive for Realty Company, LC

12 San Antonio Medicine • January 2020