The healthcare industry is pouring billions of dollars into new hospitals and medical centers. According to an article on the NPR website, the new hospitals are vastly different than the ones they're replacing.
For instance, the hallways of UT Southwestern's Clements University Hospital in Dallas look like art galleries and the patient rooms look like spas.
They've replaced the standard dirt-attracting curtains in the rooms with double-paned glass. The space between the panes can be filled with gas, clouding them for privacy.
Videoconferencing is available in all 460 private patient rooms. Adding technology to the old building wasn't an option and the faciity needed more space, more beds and more surgical suites to serve the area's growing population.
According to the article, north Texas hospitals already charge insurance providers some of the highest rates for procedures in the country.