iSOFT reaches milestone with system installation at Bangkok hospital

Peter Dinham
Sunday, 22 March 2009 07:43

IT Industry - Deals

Australia's largest listed health information technology company, IBA Health Group (ASX:IBA) is helping to achieve efficiencies in one of Southeast Asia’s biggest hospitals through the installation of iSOFT’s enterprise health information systems (eHIS).

IBA says that iSOFT Thailand has completed the first phase of a project to replace 10 legacy hospital information systems at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, in a project due for completion this year and valued at around $8.4 million.

IBA says iSOFT has completed the first phase installation of a master patient administration index, and also implemented a blood bank module which manages blood donations, tests specimens and tracks stocks. In subsequent phases, new clinical and patient management systems for inpatient and outpatient care will be installed.

According to Dr Viroje Changkolwatana, the hospital’s project manager and the medical faculty’s deputy dean of information technology, the Thai language version of iSOFT’s eHIS application will be used by 10,000 healthcare providers, including 6,000 nurses, and includes new billing and insurance modules for improved cost control.
 
“With 2,600 beds and 10,000 outpatient visits a day, the Siriraj Hospital is Thailand’s largest hospital and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia. It is traditionally the hospital used by the Thai royal family, and is the principal teaching hospital of Mahidol University,” Dr Changkolwatana said.
 
“The eHIS system is fundamental in driving major improvements in management and patient services by providing ready access to timely financial, patient and clinical information. Accurate information will help our doctors make speedier diagnoses to improve treatment, reduce waiting times and generally improve patient care. The new billing system will give us greater control of income and spending and lead to financial savings.”

According to iSOFT’s managing director for Southeast Asia, Dr Wim Botermans, the company had earned an enviable track record at the Siriraj Hospital for consistently delivering state-of-the-art applications.
 
“A project of this scale demands a system that is highly robust. The ability to handle 10,000 outpatient appointments daily is the clearest indication of the system’s performance capabilities and the project is evidence of the customer’s confidence in our ability to manage one of the world’s largest single-hospital implementations and reinforces our reputation in the region.”