New Technology Seeks To Bolster Affordable Health Care Bangkok Technology Investment a Step Towards Affordable Health Care As rising costs continue to become a major problem in health care, technology may help patients take a step toward more affordable health care. Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, recently entered a partnership with Motorola for a new mobility solution. Motorola has designed a technology that will facilitate intra-hospital communications and give hospital staff access to information at their fingertips. The potential cost savings from this partnership are far-reaching. From more accurate record-keeping to decreasing communication lag times, it's a leap towards more affordable health care. Rising Costs Are Becoming a Major Problem in Health Care With Bumrungrad International being the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia, space and time are both at a premium for hospital staff. Real-time access to patient information can cut wait times, which may lead to more affordable health care. The new technology allows wireless switching and over 300 access points. According to Mr. John Cunningham, Director of RFID and wireless for the enterprise mobility business in Asia Pacific, Motorola Networks & Enterprise, Through close collaboration with the IT team from Bumrungrad, Motorola was able to design a solution that will enable them to deploy Wi-Fi and RFID services through one switching platform. This will reduce their total cost of ownership and simplify management of multiple wireless infrastructure technologies. This rapid access to information may help prevent rising costs from becoming such a major problem in health care. The partnership may also include staff location technology as well a networked physician directory coordinated to find a specific doctor. Could a Virtual Physician Directory Help Find an Available Doctor? The RFID technology included in the Motorola system may enable personnel location capability. Imagine, a nurse being able to locate the nearest physician using a virtual directory designed to find a doctor based on the situation at hand. Or, hospital administrators could see who's available for certain procedures at a glance, quickly mating physicians' availability with their ability. The technology not only enhances Bumrungrad's current technology, but it also poises the hospital for future upgrades. Health Value Travel Prakash Arige http://www.healthmedicaltourism.org FMDRL_ID: 1283http://www.healthmedicaltourism.org#ResourcetoShare