MEDICAL HUB: Bangkok Hospital upgrading

Company sets five-year target to make health services world class

Bangkok Dusit Medical Services has brought on board a strategic planning and marketing expert in a crucial move to make its Bangkok Hospital chain a true regional medical hub in five years.

"In order to be a medical hub, we must build up brand visibility in the world market in terms of quality of service and medical ethics. Therefore, we have a lot of things to do from now on to complete the strategic planning process," Asst Prof Sumas Wongsunopparat said last week.

At Bangkok Hospital headquarters on Phetburi Road, Sumas is charting a five-year road map to upgrade the facility and win recognition as a world-class medical service provider.

In the initial stage, the hospital will develop three major centres for heart, brain and cancer treatment. Medical check-ups and long-stay packages for the elderly are also seen as holding good prospects.

Not all of the 14 Bangkok Hospital branches will form the medical hub because some have been positioned to serve the community.

The key strategic factors are qualified doctors and special supportive staff, advanced equipment, cash flow and new management structure.

The doctors must not only be sufficient in number but also well-established and well-recognised. The medical teams must possess a proper balance of skills to accommodate all patients' needs.

Besides its local doctors, the hospital must be made acceptable to well-known physicians from around the world so that they would consider working here. Specialists in various supportive teams are also essential.

Equipment is capital intensive, but indispensable if the institution aspires to become a world-class medical hub. Since new technology and unrelenting cost pressures are constraints on growth in the hospital business, Bangkok Dusit must adopt an efficient system to maximise asset utilisation.

The company will create synergy in both human resources and equipment within its hospital network. The director of each hospital will shift his focus to improving service quality rather than competing to build up revenue.

"I know that it's not easy and takes time to encourage new ways of thinking to muster support among key stakeholders, which is essential to the mission and vision of the organisation.

"The most important thing is hospital management, which will lead the effort to succeed in implementing the strategic planning process," Sumas said.

Despite what some other hospital groups may claim, Thailand is still not up there with Singapore and Hong Kong, which are real medical hubs, he said.

Reaching the status of a true medical hub is not just a matter of giving a competitive edge to a private hospital, it will also improve the country's image and help bring in foreign exchange through various activities such as shopping and tourism.

Patcharee Lueng-uthai

The Nation Published on May 30, 2005 www.nationmultimedia.com