Central Maine Healthcare (CMH) in Lewiston recently announced plans to open an outpatient care facility inside a mall in southern Maine—offering imaging services and urgent care, according to the Sun Journal. The system believes its model can lower healthcare costs in the region. 

While outpatient centers are not new, those involved say the model is the first of its kind in the state. CMH claims the money saved in overhead hospital operational costs can result in a lower fee structure paid by the patient or received by the provider as a result of the new center, located at Topsham Fair Mall in southern Maine.

“One of the great things about urgent care next door is if, for example, somebody comes in with a sports injury or something that requires imaging,” said Kate Carlisle, director of public relations at CMH, in the report. “We have the imaging services right here.”

According to the report, the biggest concern among hospitals in cases like this will be maintaining the correct amount of regional services to avoid higher consumer costs.

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