Click a service at samitivej

Samitivej Hospital will provide telemedicine and utilise radio-frequency identification (RFID) to improve the quality of its services by the end of this year.

Samitivej Hospital director Somsiri Sakolsatayadorn said the hospital plans to provide telemedicine in 12 of the hospital's branches in Bangkok. As a first step, the hospital will implement a telemedicine pilot project at one branch by the end of this year.

She said the telemedicine technology will enable patients to go to any hospital branch and consult a doctor via a network instead of travelling to the hospital on Sukhumvit Road.

"Telemedicine will enhance the quality of services of the hospital and allow patients who are located far away from the main Samitivej Hospital to consult a doctor comfortably via a network," the director said.

Meanwhile, the hospital will use RFID tags for tracking OPD patients as well as doctors in the hospital. The exact position of the patient will be tracked with the help of a location-based tracking system which reads from the RFID tag.

The hospital has also developed an infotainment system for patients staying in the hospital. The system will give patients convenient access to healthcare information and online entertainment through the television screens in their rooms.

Patients will be able to access the interactive digital-infotainment system through keyboards connected wirelessly to their LCD screens.

The system will provide options such as the Internet, a health guide, a phone directory and online games as well as access to the hospital's intranet. It will also provide tourist information for foreign patients who want to travel after recovery.

The director said the hospital had planned a budget of Bt500 million for the period 2007 to 2011 for implementing the IT system that hopes to supplement the healthcare services being provided to patients.