A new law approved by parliament Wednesday will make it easy for European travellers short of prescription drugs, or on waiting-lists for surgery at home, as they will be reimbursed for care anywhere in the EU by late 2013.

The ground-breaking European parliament law, adopted after years of talks, sets out patients’ rights to medical care in any of the 27 member states, while spelling out rules for reimbursement and requirements for prior authorisation.

“This is a big day for European health, a great victory for patients’ rights,” said Health Commissioner John Dalli.

The law, which after formal approval by the EU’s 27 leaders at a summit gives members 30 months to transcribe it into national legislation, will enable patients to be reimbursed at home for care received in a foreign country.

People seeking more than 24-hour hospital care across a border will need to get prior agreement from national health services. But the legislation sets out refusal rules to ensure requests are not thrown out lightly.

A patient with a heart condition for example might not be granted a request on the grounds that travel was dangerous for his health. Or a request for surgery could be turned down if the clinic had a reputation for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

“Some rare diseases aren’t even recognised in some countries, let alone treated” said Dalli. “And small countries often can’t offer the same medical services as bigger nations.”
Patients will be able to seek non-hospital treatment or care without prior authorisation.

Dalli said the legislation would not prompt Europeans to travel for care as sick people prefer to seek treatment in their own countries.

The demand for cross-border healthcare affects only around one percent of public spending on health, he said.

Under the new law, member states are to set up information centres offering patients data on treatment, providers and levels of reimbursement across the bloc.

IT allows foreign patients to be treated in their own tongues.

Whenever she saw a dentist, Naomi, a Japanese patient living in Bangkok, would struggle to explain her symptoms and
find out what her options for treatment were.

Patients can communicate with the doctor with the help of an  interpreter.   Now she can confidently communicate with the dentist at Bangkok Dental  Centre thanks to face-to-face interaction with a Japanese interpreter on screen.
“Even though I would be able communicate with the doctor in English, I feel more secure speaking with them in my native language, especially if they can explain to me in Japanese about a critical part,” she said.
Naomi said being able to communicate in her own language helps create the impression of being treated at home, and so she has also introduced her Japanese friends in Bangkok to the service. They are all pleased with it.

At Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre (BMC), information technology has been perfectly utilised to bridge language and cultural barriers. The hospital has applied the Unified Communication technology to drive a patient-centric approach.
In the doctor’s room, in addition to the computer monitor, camcorder and other standard medical equipment, one click on the Cisco IPT will connect the doctor and patient to the interpretation centre.

The doctor can then send the patient’s information to the interpreter’s screen, so that more definitive explanations can be made on both sides.

BMC Chief Operation Officer John Duke said BMC introduced the “Tele-interpreter” application as a pilot project around a year ago, in order to offer international patients the most accurate communication about their conditions and treatments. Feedback so far has been very positive.

BMC takes care of around 15,000 international patients a month and interpretation is one of the most crucial aspects of the service, Mr Duke noted.

Having launched in English, Japanese and Arabic, the Tele-interpreter service at BMC is now available in 26 languages, 24 hours a day. Mr Duke explained that in case the required interpreter was not present at the interpretation centre, they would be able to offer mobile services by using wireless IP phone technology.

“This enables the interpreter who is at the nearest location to the request to pick up and communicate via the wireless IP phone,” he said, noting that the phone screen displayed all details of the doctor’s room.

It saves time for the translator in walking from the centre to the doctor’s room and can also help the patient to be treated faster. In the past, it would take around 20 minutes to walk from the interpretation centre to the doctor’s room.

Based on the pilot project of the Tele-interpreter application, some 120 points of service have been implemented in BMC and by the end of this year the hospital will have rolled out all of the more-than 450 interpretation points in the pipeline. The interpreter can see details of the procedure on the Cisco wireless IP phone.

According to Cisco’s Unified Communication technology, the doctors and interpreters can communicate through the Cisco VT Advantage camera on the computer monitors operating on Cisco Soft Phone Client software installed on computers at both ends.

In the past, Mr Duke said, the interpreters had to walk to the doctor’s room to carry out translations, or otherwise work over the telephone.

However, the demand was increasing as the number of international patients today was growing rapidly, with up to 400 patients a day now passing through the centre’s doors.

“The Tele-interpreter application allows the hospital officers to cut down their travelling time and therefore the hospital increases its productivity,” he said.

The COO noted that the Tele-interpreter technology helped bridge the barriers of language and culture, freeing up the caregiver to concentrate on provide medical services.

It also bolstered the medical knowledge and improved the productivity of the translators.

BMC has started the Tele-interpreter service at the Dental Centre and both dentists and patients are said to be impressed with the services.

BMC Customer Services director Patanavadee Pongsatit said such technology was also available through the BMC at Suvarnabhumi airport.

Tele-interpreter has also been adopted by Bangkok Hospital Samui, where it was proving very helpful in reducing medical errors, Patanavadee said, noting that in the past that translators would have had to fly to Samui.

BMC will set up the Unified Communication network at the Samui branch next month.

“We then will be able to save a lot of travelling costs and time, as the translators could even work from home via the IP network if need be,” said Patanavadee, adding that the BMC had a roster of full-time and freelance interpreters.

According to Cisco Systems (Thailand) commercial business general manager Vatsun Thirapatarapong, BMC was one of the first leading hospitals to implementing Unified Communication technology, with the mission to improve the quality of its patient care services.

However, he said the healthcare provision continues to face significant challenges due to a shortage of physicians and nurses, standardised quality of treatment, wealth effects, generational demands and affordability of healthcare services, equipment and technology.

And there the unavoidable reality that as healthcare becomes borderless, the importance of the patient experience will increase, meaning payment will be linked to value, social care will blend with healthcare, and enterprises will accordingly need to focus on sustainability.

Mr Vatsun noted that Cisco has addressed a “Connected Health” vision, with the focus of the connection being among the health community where patients and clinicians were the centre pieces, surrounded by other elements such as hospitals, benefactors of sponsors, health authorities, primary health, life sciences and research, and health information exchanges.

Mr Vatsun said the framework of Connected Health is collaborative care based on the Unified Communication technology. It comprises three major parts – business drivers, business solutions and network technologies – with a mission of patient safety and satisfaction, quality of care, cost challenges, staff satisfaction and regulatory compliance.

The Connected Hospital Infrastructure covers IP Nursecall, location-based services, mobile care, Health Presence and collaborative care; Tele-Radiology covers performance and management, and Collaboration-TeleConsult; while the Regional Health Networks cover the integration of healthcare entities to encourage collaboration and improved patient services.

“Today, we talk about voice and mobility, but in the near future, the service will be shared with Web 2.0,” Mr Vatsun said, explaining that if the international patients returned to their countries while still requiring care, the hospital would be able to keep connected with them using a Web 2.0 service.

In the future, it will be shifting to the “Virtual Health Treatment”, as Mr Vatsun mentioned a Cisco HealthPresence solution where a “pod” becomes one of the key technologies.

Instead of building hospitals in many places, the government may consider having “pods” located in town centres, utilising the healthcare resources such as doctors and nurses, together.
This would enable the healthcare services to be outsourced to more remote communities.

From Bangkok Post Sep 2010

Articles originate from QHT or public domain.

If any owner wishes to claim copyright, please contact us and we will delete.

The Yoovidhya family aims to reposition Piyavate Hospital as an accessible healthcare centre for general Thai patients, instead of the financial focus being on making a profit.

New Owners changing Piyavate focus to accessible, affordable careToday at 12:38The Yoovidhya family aims to reposition Piyavate Hospital as an accessible healthcare centre for general Thai patients, instead of the financial focus being on making a profit.

This is the business policy of millionaire Chaleo Yoovidhya, who wants to increase its contribution to society following the family’s taking a major stake in the hospital last year.
Chairman Jiravat Yoovidhya, who is Chaloe’s son, yesterday said his father early last year agreed with Boon Vanasin, then chairman of Piyavate Hospital, to purchase Boon’s stakein the hospital as the tycoon wanted to focus on his property and healthcare business both domestically and internationally.
Boon owns Thonburi Hospital Group and is building hospitals in China.
The Yoovidhya family now holds a 75-per-cent stake in Piyavate Hospital, against 30 per cent previously.
Chaleo is the founder of TC Pharmaceutical Industries, the manufacturer of Red Bull, the world-famous energy drink.
“Chaleo had donated a lot of money to build many hospitals upcountry, but he had never owned a hospital. When the opportunity came up, he thought he could dosomething good for society by operating the hospital to serve the general public.
“This is our family’s first healthcare business. It’s very new and we admit we’re not experts in the industry, so Chaleo assigned three children, including me, to learn about the healthcare business and manage it. He will invest in the industry for the long term and has no plan to leave it,” said Jiravat.
He said his father’s policy for the family’s first healthcare business was not to focus solely on making a profit, but more on taking care of Thai people’s health.
He wants the business to grow gradually, catering to both Thai and foreign patients with affordable medical costs. Piyavate Hospital’s target group is not, therefore, the same as that of Bumrungrad International and Bangkok Hospital, the country’s two leading private medical institutions.
Chaleo has no plan to list Piyavate on the stock market.
Jiravat said the image of Piyavate would be changed from one of a high-end hospital to an affordable one that Thai patients will think about when they want to receivecomplex medical treatment at a reasonable cost.
The hospital currently has no plan to hike the prices of its medical services, so its service costs remain 10-15 per cent lower than those at other leading private hospitals.
Jiravat added that besides focusing on Thai patients, he would utilise the connection of Red Bull’s agents worldwide to bring foreign clients to Piyavate.
However, he has no plan at this stage to synergise the two businesses.
The hospital expects patient numbers – for both Thais and foreigners – to increase by 20 per cent from last year.
The proportion of Thai patient numbers has grown from 60 per cent last year to 70 per cent currently.
He said the most important thing Chaleo wanted from investing in Piyavate was to employ ethical doctors that have the same goal of doing good for society throughout their careers. The hospital plans to increase the number of physicians who are loyal to the institution and want to work for it for the long term.
He said the hospital’s profit would come from an increase in patient numbers and cost control. It expects to swing into profit this year, now that its interest burden has declined dueto the arrival of the Yoovidhya family.
Nithi Mahanonda, CEO and president of Piyavate, said Chaleo had brought in about Bt800 million in cash as collateral for the hospital’s long-term loan of Bt1 billion, replacing theprevious collateral – the Piyavate building.
As a result, interest expenses have declined to about Bt5 million per month from Bt8 million.
Piyavate targets revenue to grow 10-15 per cent from last year’s Bt1 billion, and by another 18 per cent next year.

Samitivej Hospitals in Bangkok are leading specialists in children’s health, with one one the Group’s facilities being dedicated to the medical care of youngsters. They have also started a charity to assist in medical treatment, especially heart conditions. QHT is a service partner of Samitivej hospitals.

Samitivej, a leading private hospital in the Southeast Asia region, today announced the establishment of “Samitivej Heart Fund”. The Fund, in cooperation with the Children with Heart Disease Foundation under the royal patronage of HRH Galyani Vadhana, will provide heart surgery to 60 children patients to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Their Majesties.

Announcing the good news at the Mom & Kids Health Fair at Central Bangna, Dr. Dul Damrongsak, Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital director, said, “Samitivej Srinakarin is reputable for its specialization in children patient treatment. We were established as a children hospital and became the first private children hospital. For seven years, we have expanded our expertise in various fields and acquired advanced technology, medical equipment as well as nurtured our medical team. Combining our expertise with our commitment to social contribution, this special project was initiated. We started it off with heart surgery in children, which is one of the most critical children health issues at the moment.”

Dr. Chanika Tuchinda, Chairman of Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital and the President of the Samitivej Heart Fund, added, “Every one in 100 Thai children are suffering heart disease. This is quite an alarming number, and it means that more than 4,000 young children are waiting for heart surgery. At present, only 2,500 children per year have the chance to have the surgery while the rest have to wait in long queue at public hospitals due to many constraints, especially the medical related expenses that many families cannot afford. It is quite sad that a number of children cannot wait and pass away immaturely.

“This is why Samitivej established this fund. We hope we can give some children and their families the chance to live and the access to quality of life. We hope to give them a new life and brighter hope. And, we are in a strong position to do so with a great pool of our specialists, medical team as well as state-of-the-art equipment and technology that make Samitivej ready to provide pre and post surgery care to these young children,” added Dr. Tuchinda.

She stated, “We are proud of what we are doing. Giving people a new life is the greatest contribution we all can do. With the chance to live that we are offering, these children will grow up and they can make even greater contribution to the betterment of the people.”

To raise funds for the heart surgery for children, Samitivej Srinakarin has launched a communication plan and a roadshow to provide information and encourage patients and visitors to join the project. Through a short period of roadshow and publicity, the Fund has already raised more than Bt300,000.

Interested persons can also join the project by making donation at the three Samitivej hospitals – Sukhumvit, Srinakarin and Sri Racha, or through TMB, Bangkok Hospital Branch, savings account No. 196-08745-6 under the name “Vajiravej Wittayalai Chalermprakiat Foundation for Samitivej Heart Fund”, or call 0-2711-8181.