A Case Study in Digitalizing Thailand’s Healthcare 

Samutprakan Hospital is a leading example of how to create smarter healthcare for Thailand’s population.

May 2021 , by Alexandra Santiago

Major pressure is being placed on Thailand’s public hospitals. With an aging population now facing more complex health issues and rising medical costs, the healthcare sector is looking to public hospitals to fill the gap and improve quality of life. But with a seemingly never-ending influx of patients and increasingly overworked health professionals, improvements need to be made to increase the efficacy of the overall system and ease the burden on frontline workers. 

According to the YCP Solidiance white paper The Future of Smart Hospitals in Thailand, “smart” hospitals—which are characterized by interconnected and automated solutions powered by digital technology—are the future of the healthcare landscape and the answer to Thailand’s complex healthcare challenges. The burden on the public hospital system makes digitalization vital for efficiency, with ~80% of total patient beds in the country relying on public healthcare. 

An example of a public hospital that has successfully integrated smart technology into its system is Samutprakan Hospital, a 600-bed facility that caters to 2.5 million Thai citizens under universal health insurance.  

Case Study: Samutprakan Hospital 
The hospital began the “smart” process by using the 3P’s Strategy that allowed its stakeholders to objectively assess areas for improvement: 

Centralizing the “smart” process around these three pillars allowed the hospital to source efficient and purposeful technology that would create impactful change. The hospital also established partnerships with several digital and tech providers like Blockchain, Next Gov, Clicknic, and AIS to pinpoint effective answers to its specific challenges: 

The different challenges faced by public hospitals make them good candidates for integrating digital technology. Much like Samutprakan Hospital, creating “smarter” hospitals is necessary to evolve the quality of care within Thailand, and a great opportunity for vendors and other businesses to collaborate with healthcare providers. 

To learn more about the different business opportunities in developing Thailand’s smart hospitals, download the full white paper here.

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