By; David Wilson, CCIM, Executive Vice President, Lockard Development
One of latest trends in health care real estate is the freestanding emergency department (FSED).
The number of FSEDs has doubled in the last decade, and these facilities are now available in nearly every state.
FSEDs have come under some scrutiny, especially as the Affordable Care Act works to lower the cost of medical treatment. Some have expressed concern that people confuse FSEDs with urgent care facilities and end up paying more for treatment they could have received at the latter.
Despite this concern,FSEDs will play a more critical role in the overall health care system. Rather than replacing certain types of care, FSEDs are actually filling a major void in growing communities. In the last 25 years,demand for emergency care has grown at the same rate that non rural hospital emergency departments have closed, according to The Journal of the American Medical Association.