The Affordable Care Act effectively killed the top-down approach of hospital design, according to the second part of an article on the Dallas-Fort Worth Healthcare Daily website about the Dallas area's hospital building boom.

Hospital systems that are building or renovating facilities have this in mind when they enter into the design process.

“There has to be a lot more collaboration because it affects readmission rates, it affects satisfaction rates,” says John Castorina, senior vice president of the architecture firm RTKL, which designed UT Southwestern’s Clements Hospital.

Another change is the transition to electronic medical records. 

The 2.1 million-square-foot new Parkland Health & Hospital System is being called an “all-digital” facility. 

The televisions in the hospital rooms are now tools for patient engagement, the article said. Patients can access educational material about their condition. They choose their meals using the TV interface — if the doctor has ordered a low-sodium diet, the menu will reflect it. 

Read the article.

Read the first part of the article.