Bumrungrad International

Bumrungrad International Hospital is an international hospital that focuses on health care for patients. It is also called interchangeably as Bumrungrad Hospital or Bumrungrad. The word "Bamrungrad" is pronounced as Bahm-roong-RAHT and means "care for the people".

History

Bumrungrad International Hospital was established in September 1980 with the Thai Baht 90 million investment offering an initial 200-bed facility^[3]. It is now the Southeast Asia’s largest private medical center^[4], a regional referral center for specialty medicine, and one of the world’s popular medical tourism destinations as reported by Thai-American Business Magazine ^[5] and Newsweek International ^[6]. The majority shareholders in the hospital are Bangkok Bank PCL (Thailand’s largest bank) and the Sophonpanich family, one of Thailand’s leading business families - according to Forbes Magazine [1] and The Thai American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand^[3].

Management

Bumrungrad International is managed by a team of experienced hospital administrators from the USA, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, and the UK [2]. The hospital’s medical Chairman is board certified in the United Kingdom. Its Group Medical Director is board certified in the USA. Other top medical officers were trained in the USA or United Kingdom, and/or held positions at one of Thailand’s top teaching hospitals. In accordance with the news report in the Macau Business ^[7] and in the Smart Travel Asia ^[8], a large proportion of the medical staff has international experience, and many possess board certification from the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Japan or the USA (210 are board-certified in the USA).

Accreditations, Awards & Recognition

Site & Medical Services

The hospital is located in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. Several articles state that Bumrungrad is a "one-stop" center for medical services ^[13] ^[10]^[8] - especially for surgery procedures ^[13], and features 554 beds, 25 specialty centers, and 945 doctors representing virtually all specialties and sub specialties of medicine. Dental, general and specialty medicine, advanced diagnostics and therapeutics, surgical services, intensive care, and rehabilitation are available in this modern and efficient medical facilities^[6]^[2].

Medical Centers

The hospital treats over one million patients annually^[14] ^[15] for medical services ranging from comprehensive check ups to cardiac surgery. The Australian newspapers^[10] ^[16] report that the hospital builds the reputation for high-quality, international-standard medical services, immediate access to those services and specialists, and affordable prices. The hospital has a five-star lobby ^[17] and is reviewed as a five-star hotel^[6]providing concierge-style services and an electronic medical-records system that eliminates paper and waiting^[16].

Facilities

Operation

Bumrungrad International Hospital is regularly featured in the world press as a leading medical tourism destination ^[18]. In 2007, the hospital served 400,000 international patients from over 160 countries seeking high quality, International standard services, and lower cost healthcare^[17].

Bumrungrad has 20 representative offices in different countries^[17] [7] and acquire Asia's largest network of renal-care facilities in 2007^[17]. The hospital has a complete support service infrastructure to manage inbound patients, including partnerships with leading inbound and outbound travel and tour operators^[10] ^[16][8].

Representative Offices

The hospital has opened a new building and launched a new international subsidiary to develop and manage hospitals in places such as Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Manila, and an associated hospital in Dubai^[17].

The hospital manages patient information utilizing an integrated hospital information system that uses electronic medical records and digital radiology systems. A case study by Intel Corporation revealed that Bumrungrad commissioned the development of a custom total hospital information system to service both the front office and back office in 1999^[14]. The system is a key to achieving rapid scheduling of services and efficient use of resources as reported in articles that by adapting the hospital information system, the hospital eliminates paper and waiting ^[16], thus ensuring the average waiting time to see a specialist is only 17 minutes^[6]^[19].

Global Care Solutions (GCS) became one of the hospital's IT partners which has improved and maintained this integrated total hospital information system, called Hospital 2000. In January 2008, GCS was acquired by Microsoft's Health Solutions Group ^[19][9] [10].

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Joint Commission International (JCI) Accredited Organizations - Thailand section". The Joint Commission International (2008-01-20).
^ ^a ^b ^c "Facts and Figures". Bumrungrad International. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c "BUMRUNGRAD’S Global Services Marketing Strategy - Cast Study". Center for Management Research. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
^ ^a ^b "Sun, sand and surgery". The South Asian Post (2005-05-05). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
^ "Medical Outsourcing: Thailand is Well Positioned". The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand - Thai-American Business (September – October 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Medical Meccas: Beyond the Beaches". Newsweek International - Newsweek Health for Life (2006-10-30). Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
^ "Medical tourism takes off in Thailand" SPECIAL REPORT Check In, Check Up, Jul 01, 2006. Accessed Jan 17, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Medical tourism in Asia". Medical Tourism (2006-05-26). Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
^ ^a ^b "BUMRUNGRAD’S Global Services Marketing Strategy - Cast Study". Center for Management Research. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Medical tourism warts-and-all". Travel News (2007-05-04). Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
^ "Bumrungrad featured on US news" News and Update:A Clycle of Asia, Apr. 24, 2006. Accessed Jan 18, 2008.
^ "Bumrungrad gets its ‘60 Minutes’of fame" Headline: The Nation, Apr. 27, 2005. Accessed Jan 18, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Medical tourism taking off (literally)". Healthcare Finance News (2007-01-16). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
^ ^a ^b "Powering the Medical Future in Thailand: Case Study". www.intel.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
^ "Health Medical Tourism - Special Interest". Tourism Authority of Thailand (2006-05-26). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Cut-price deals". The Australian (2006-05-07). Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Economic Review Mid-year 2007: Outof Intensive Care". Bangkok Post. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
^ "Outsourcing Your Heart" Time Magazine, May. 21, 2006. Accessed Jan 12, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Microsoft to Acquire Innovative Healthcare Technology and Assets From Global Care Solutions". [Microsoft Corporation (2008-01-22).

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