X-rays, MRIs and imaging in Baytown and the ring

Where to get the picture taken, what it costs without insurance, and why "best X-ray in Highlands" has no answer.

Baytown

• Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital, 4401 Garth Road — the full set: X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, mammography, nuclear medicine and the interventional suites. Any doctor's order; scheduling through the hospital's imaging line, linked on the health page. Emergency films are through the ER, and that's the most expensive door in town.
• The urgent cares — most of the ones on Garth and Rollingbrook have an X-ray room, and that's the fast, cheap route for a wrist, an ankle or a chest film: walk in, out in an hour, the image read on site. No MRI, no CT.
• The outpatient imaging centers — the freestanding MRI and CT sites on Garth and near the hospital are the cash-price option; they'll quote a number on the phone that's a fraction of the hospital's for the same scan, and they'll send the images to whoever ordered them. The health page lists them with phones.
• Chiropractors, orthopedic and dental offices — some take their own X-rays for their own use; ask.
• Mammograms — the hospital's breast center, and the county's mobile unit on a schedule the help page carries.

The ring

Highlands, Crosby, Cove and Beach City have no imaging centers — nothing to rank, whatever the search box suggests. Mont Belvieu's urgent care on 146 is the nearest walk-in for a simple film north of the county line; ask whether the X-ray room is staffed that day. Everything else is Baytown, or the hospitals in Houston.

Without insurance

Ask for the cash price before you go: urgent-care X-rays are the cheapest, the outpatient centers next, the hospital last, and the ER is another order of magnitude. Bring the order from your doctor — nobody images without one except the ER — and ask for the images on a disk or a link, which are yours.

Reading the results

The radiologist's report goes to the doctor who ordered it, usually within a day or two; the hospital and most centers also post it to a patient portal. The doctor explains it; the report is written for the doctor.

Questions people ask

Where can I get an X-ray in Baytown? The urgent cares on Garth and Rollingbrook for simple films; Houston Methodist Baytown for everything. MRI in Baytown? Houston Methodist Baytown and the outpatient imaging centers — the centers for the cash price. X-ray in Highlands TX? None; the nearest are in Baytown. Cheapest X-ray in Baytown? Urgent care, cash price, ask first.

En español

Houston Methodist Baytown (4401 Garth Road) tiene radiografía, tomografía, resonancia, ultrasonido, mamografía y medicina nuclear. Las clínicas de urgencia en Garth y Rollingbrook hacen radiografías simples — rápido y más barato; no hacen resonancia ni tomografía. Los centros de imagen independientes dan precio en efectivo por teléfono y cobran mucho menos que el hospital. Highlands, Crosby, Cove y Beach City no tienen centros de imagen; la clínica de urgencia de Mont Belvieu en la 146 es la más cercana al norte. Pida el precio en efectivo antes de ir, lleve la orden del médico y pida una copia de las imágenes.