Something more challenging than becoming a smart hospital is ensuring easy access to the hospital’s smart medical services.
That’s the main goal for Vimut Hospital, a one-year-old private health centre owned by developer Pruksa Real Estate. It is working with AIS Business to turn Vimut into a completely smart hospital.
AIS Business is the enterprise division of Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand’s leading mobile network operator.
Hospital director Dr Santi Ueanoraset says that as a newcomer in the market, Vimut needs speed and technology to reach its potential customers.
The hospital’s initial investment of 100 million baht is spent on its technological infrastructure for communication and organisation, he said.
AIS Business has provided the hospital with integrated communication services since day one of its operations.
“Our collaboration with AIS is aimed at levelling up Vimut Hospital to be a fully smart hospital equipped with the network infrastructure for designing internal services and solutions required,” Dr Santi said.
He said Vimut bridges homes and the hospital, which supports quality healthcare and good living.
The hospital capitalises on digital tech to stay agile and flexible while aiming to improve the process workload, bring safety to patients and enhance the service experience, according to the director.
To improve the service experience for patients, the hospital uses the ViMUT app, which is able to not only handle appointments, but also check medical treatment records, including X-rays and scan results.
As routine work is processed digitally, paper consumption has been reduced substantially and the hospital’s personnel have more time for the patients.
Dr Santi said it was the intention of Pruksa’s founder Thongma Vijitpongpun to ensure that Vimut Hospital offers quality services, with easy access and at reasonable prices.
With that aim, Dr Santi said, the hospital focuses on “4As” — Availability (round-the-clock services), Accessibility (easy access), Assurance (quality medical services), and Affordability (reasonable prices).
Technology helps smart hospital grow sustainably
Vimut Hospital — which began operating on May 1, 2021 — has adopted technology to help it grow sustainably while ensuring customer satisfaction, saving costs and making profits.
AIS Business takes care of the technology for the hospital’s communication system and infrastructure, including the contact through its app, social media and other online channels.
This omnichannel communication system is aimed at providing a seamless experience for users of the hospital’s services, Dr Santi said. Within the omnichannel realm, the patients may contact the hospital through any channel and get uninterrupted services, in the same way as when AIS customers use its call centre.
Through the app, telemedicine consultation can be done along with appointments with the doctor and for home delivery of medicines, as well as making payments.
“The online consultation service has been available for a year now, and the patients love it. Post-treatment follow-ups can be done online. From start to finish, AIS teams up with the hospital over the development,” Dr Santi said.
In the first six years, Vimut Hospital focuses on the healthcare business and after that, it will serve as a platform that makes it more than a hospital.
The original plan was for the hospital to have 100 beds in the beginning and increase the number to 236. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the hospital had to take care of almost 1,000 beds, including patients in home isolation and at “hospitels” — hotels transformed into field hospitals for those with less severe symptoms.
The hospital personnel alone could not deal with all the patients, so technology proved helpful for telemedicine and taking care of patients and keeping their records through an online system.
“It’s like treating someone in your family, offering easy access while creating a great experience. It is a combination of physical and digital experiences,” Dr Santi said.
Healthcare industry with endless opportunities
AIS chief enterprise business officer Tanapong Ittisakulchai said that the company works with Vimut Hospital to make it grow and stand out although it is a newcomer in the healthcare industry.
He said that to help Vimut become a smart hospital, AIS Business applies 5G digital technology in ICT management, data centre, cloud contact centre, and mobile app for telemedicine services.
“We have gained Vimut Hospital’s trust to upgrade their potential for smart healthcare, which is our first turnkey project for a hospital,” Tanapong said.
AIS’s support for Vimut Hospital includes turnkey solutions, a data centre, data management, and digital services, as well as assistance for the development of a mobile application that includes a vaccine service system, telemedicine and cloud contact.
“There are still numerous unknown opportunities in the healthcare industry. AIS Business has the potential to help transform our allies to become smart hospitals with improved capability,” Tanapong said.
“We want to drive the digital economy in Thailand by employing technologies to help our business allies,” said the AIS executive.
Meanwhile, Dr Santi of Vimut Hospital stressed that without technology and partnership with AIS Business, the healthcare centre is unlikely to achieve its goal of providing quality medical services at affordable prices.
For him, AIS Business and Vimut Hospital are business partners that work together with their best strengths and with the help of digital technology.
