10 TELECOM & DIGITAL ECONOMY
Coronavirus pushes digital health Thomas Hundt
The healthcare sector in Thailand is investing in E-health due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital technologies are becoming more popular. Telemedicine is enjoying an upswing and the Covid-19 crisis is boosting network expansion and robotics in hospitals. However, the legal framework and co-ordination still needs to be upgraded.
Thailand in a transitional phase of Digitalization The Thai health service is still labor-intensive in many areas. Some small and middle-sized health facilities still manually administrate diagnoses, treatment and invoices. Public and the private institutions have initiated and implemented various digital projects as well as programs, but independently of each other. Therefore, electronic systems are not sufficiently interlinked. The health information system also lacks specialists who can program and implement complex applications. However, the technical basis for E-health applications already exist, such as the rapid spread of smartphones, fast Internet and data collection via identity cards.
UPDATE 3/2020
Basic data for digital health applications in Thailand Population size (2019)
69.6 million
Number of doctors per 1.000 inhabitants (2017)
0.81
Number of hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants (2018) Health expenditure per capita (2017)
2.25 US$ 224
Households with Internet access (2018)
68 %
Mobile phone users per 100 inhabitants (2018)
89
Sources: United Nations Population Division; World Bank; Thai Ministry of Public Health; and the Thai National Statistical Office.
Digital network will be improved Thailand’s Ministry of Health aims to bring the medical sector up to world-class level. In 2017 it issued an E-health strategy paper that outlines a roadmap on how to realise a digital breakthrough by 2026. In this regard, for example, the departments of the Ministry should develop a regulatory framework. Business sector representatives have complained that no legal basis has been introduced for telemedicine yet. Online consultations still operate in a legal vacuum. The Medical Council of Thailand is currently also working on corresponding regulations and the Thai Health Information Standards Development Centre is responsible for the interoperability and standardisation of digital health information. The E-Health plan states that the same standard can link health care services with digital technology without separating public and private sectors.
