Better Health 34 ENG

“ What impresses people
worldwide about
Bumrungrad is our
recognized medical
services of the highest
quality and safety
standards.”
Dr. Num Tanthuwanit
TNN24: What’s Bumrungrad’s
strategy in standing out amongst
the competition?
Dr. Num: First, it’s our expertise
in medical treatment; Bumrungrad
has over 1,200 expert doctors in 55
specialties, and more than 30 specialist
centers with expertise in very complicated
cases. And the more patients
we welcome from every corner of
the world, the more experience our
physicians earn from giving them
individualized treatment.
Second, it’s the collaboration between
our teams. Taking care of a patient
requires all associated physicians in
various specialties to join colleagues
from other fields, such as pharmacists,
nutritionists, physical therapists, and
nurses, as they systematically plan
treatments to deliver inclusive and
effective outcomes.
What impresses people worldwide
about Bumrungrad is our recognized
medical services of the highest quality
and safety standards. Indeed, Bumrungrad
was the first hospital in Asia to receive
accreditation from the US-based Joint
Commission International (JCI) in 2003,
and has received reaccreditation every
three years since. How Bumrungrad
played a vital role in preventing the
spread of MERS in the kingdom last
year speaks volumes of our commitment
toworld-class safety and service
standards.
Thailand’s cultural tradition of
politeness and etiquette makes a great
impression on patients. We are so proud
that today Thailand has over fifty
JCI-accredited hospitals, both in the
government and private sectors, which
proves that healthcare in Thailand is
at a high standard. Apart from that,
Thai hospitals’ service-minded tradition
of caregiving is an advantage over
competing countries that are trying to
establish themselves as international
medical hubs.
TNN24: Bumrungrad recently
launched a new TVC campaign, “The
Collaboration of Expertise”; why did
you choose this approach and what
are its unique marketing strategies?
Dr. Num: The TVC spot, “The Collaboration
of Expertise,” represents our
organizational culture and values,
which we have cultivated for over thirtyfive
years. It brings everything together
and makes the patient the center of
attention. The campaign illustrates how
Bumrungrad offers the best medical
services through its orchestration of
expertise in treating patients, systematic
collaboration, modern technology, and
service mindedness.
I want to emphasize the great
importance we place on selecting the
latest and best technology to serve
patients. Bumrungrad is the first private
hospital to have a Simulation Training
Center, which uses simulation mannequins
to train staff in over sixty different
scenarios. Physicians or physician
trainers use a computer program to
aid our personnel in enhancing their
professional skills in safe and efficient
patient care.
Furthermore, we are one of only five
hospitals in the world, and the only
hospital outside the USA, to use a new
intelligent data processing system
to plan patients’ individual cancer
treatments – the IBM Watson for
Oncology system, developed by the
world’s leading cancer center, Memorial
Sloan-Kettering. IBM Watson uses
artificial intelligence to analyze large
amounts of clinical information to
create guideline summaries that match
patients to treatments. This cognitive
computing tool is said to play an
important part in the future of medicine.
TNN24: Where is the hospital
business heading in the future?
Dr. Num: I believe that health tourism
is a promising market with good
prospects for continual growth. International
competition increases, but
Thailand holds strong advantages in
many aspects. Bumrungrad’s operational
plan from now on focuses on expanding
facilities in the hospital: more medical
exam rooms and more beds to serve
increasing numbers of both Thai and
foreign patients. Aside from that, we
concentrate on finding more qualified
overseas physicians with expertise in
different fields to come work in Thailand.
We’ll also bring in new medical
technology, such as robotic assistance
in prostate and kidney surgery, and
cerebrovascular diagnosis and
treatment-assisting tools with better
accuracy and efficiency.
Ultimately, all of our improvements
and innovations originate from our
commitment to keeping our patients
at the heart of all we do.
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