The Pearland and Friendswood area has seen an increase in urgent care facilities and freestanding emergency centers, reflecting a similar national trend.

“Consumers are just looking for more access to [health] care the busier their lives get,” said Kyle Price, senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital in Houston. “There are a lot of parents [who] are both working and their kids are in school who are looking for access to [health] care that’s convenient.”

Differences in care

Dr. Robert Kimball, president of the board for the Urgent Care Association of America, said it is important to understand the differences between urgent care and emergency centers prior to seeking medical care.

Urgent care centers accommodate patients with nonlife-threatening conditions, such as sprains, broken bones, the flu, colds, other common illnesses and minor stitches. Freestanding emergency centers or hospital-based emergency rooms should only be visited in the event of a more life-threatening situation, Kimball said.

The cost of urgent care facilities and emergency centers also significantly differs, officials said. An average visit to an urgent care center is $155 compared to $750-$1,250 for a typical ER visit, Kimball said.

Price said that while his hospital-based ER accepts all patients, some enter with ailments that can be treated at an urgent care center for a lower cost. Nationwide, up to 27 percent of all ER visits could take place at an urgent care or retail clinic, according to a UCAA study.

“Some people who come into the ER, although we will see them and treat them, would be more appropriate in an urgent care setting,” Price said. “It would save them a lot of money.”

Urgent care centers

The rise in urgent care facilities is a result of a growing population in the region who are increasingly busy during traditional hours of medicine, Price said. The desire for more convenient access to nearby health care services after work hours also continues to spur these developments, he said.

“I think families today just find that it’s easier [to visit urgent care centers] with our busy lifestyles,” Price said. “I think that’s really one of the drivers that sparked big growth in urgent care [facilities].”

Memorial Hermann opened the first urgent care center in its health system in June in Friendswood on East Winding Way Drive and plans to open more locations in the Greater Houston area in 2016, according to officials. Price said Southeast Hospital’s relationship with the city and its residents made Friendswood the right place for Memorial Hermann’s first venture into urgent care.

“Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital sees Friendswood as [part of] our backyard,” he said. “We’re very active in the community and with the chamber [of commerce]. As the Bay Area continues to grow, we wanted to grow with it. We wanted to be able to offer the community a lower-cost entry into the Memorial Hermann health system.”

The 4,500-square-foot facility can accommodate about 80 patients a day, said Tiffany Ridley, Memorial Hermann Medical Group regional director of business operations. Memorial Hermann Urgent Care has five examination rooms, in addition to a procedure room, and offers X-ray and other imaging services on-site.

The urgent care center has contracts with insurance companies similar to those of primary care physicians, Ridley said. According to Price, insurance copays average between $25 and $45 for urgent care visits—typically what the insured pays for an appointment with a primary care doctor or a specialist— versus $200-$250 for trips to an ER.

Emergency centers

Texas Emergency Care Center in Pearland was one of the first freestanding ERs in the state when it opened in 2006, according to CEO Rhonda Sandel, who founded the Texas Association of Freestanding Emergency Centers.

Freestanding ERs have many of the same requirements as hospital-based facilities. ERs must be open 24/7 and have emergency-trained physicians and registered nurses on site at all times, according to officials. Sandel said patients are seen faster in freestanding emergency centers versus traditional ERs.

Conditions requiring emergency care include chest pain, shortness of breath, concussions or head injuries and seizures, according to officials.

Sandel said unlike most freestanding ERs, Texas Emergency Care Center is in-network for the facility and physician with all insurance groups, except Aetna.

The cost of freestanding ER services and notifying patients of these expenses was the topic of recent Texas legislation. State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, authored Senate Bill 425, which requires freestanding emergency centers to display fees associated with treatment.

State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives.

“The primary concern we’re trying to address is to have consumers become more knowledgeable and more educated about these types of facilities and their [medical] options,” Bonnen said. “The legislation places disclosure requirements on freestanding emergency rooms so that people understand when they go that it’s different than an urgent care facility or their doctor’s office, specifically in that there is a fee charge for the facility use in addition to professional service fees.”

SB 425 also requires freestanding ERs to post notice that the facility or its doctors may or may not be contracted with their insurance provider, Bonnen said. Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 425 into law May 28, and facilities must be in compliance beginning in 2016.

Health care officials project the trend of urgent care centers and freestanding ERs will continue as the demand for expanded medical resources also rises.

“We’ve seen the rise of urgent care and freestanding emergency rooms, and they each will likely have a role to play in our communities moving forward,” Bonnen said. “It’s just important for people to understand what each one offers and understand the financial obligations associated with each of the choices they have.”