Hospital network in Thailand extends its partnership with HMI

Left to right: Mr. Rapeephat Suansinpong, Dr. Surapong Ambhanwong, Darryl Maytom, Dr. Robert Crone, and Dr. Sant Chaiyodsilp

On January 22, HMI signed an agreement with Phyathai Hospitals (PYT) in Bangkok, Thailand to embark on a long-term partnership that will focus on clinical services, education, and quality management across its entire hospital network. The Phya Thai Heart Center, located within one of PYT’s hospitals, has worked with HMI since its founding in 1998 to develop quality management, nursing, and clinical programs. The new agreement will extend HMIÍs role to PYTÍs three hospitals in Bangkok.

HMI will be assisting PYT in its overall strategies for growth, and will work with PYT in developing core management systems that will cut across the hospital network to enhance clinical quality, productivity, and cost-effectiveness. The partnership will also focus on specific clinical and educational programs to transfer knowledge and skills to clinical and administrative teams at PYT. The system’s hospitals offer a diverse range of services, and part of the partnershipÍs strategy will be to direct resources toward flagship services that distinguish each hospital.

The new relationship comes at an important time in PYT’s development. Designed as a premier system of private hospitals, PYT experienced setbacks during the Asian financial crisis, forcing it to put some of its plans for enhanced services on hold. The company has since restructured itself and recovered its secure position, and has begun launching some ambitious clinical and IT projects as well as government partnerships.

The PYT network
The first hospital in the PYT system, PYT1, holds a minimally invasive neurosurgery unit, a stroke center and a rehabilitation center, which will all be areas of focus for the HMI partnership. One of PYT’s recent accomplishments has been to develop and launch a new computer system in PYT1. This process—onerous for even for hospitals in the U.S—was very challenging for a hospital network in Thailand, where the prices of software developed overseas are especially steep relative to local currency. Implementing the software has required intensive training to teach computer skills to staff members accustomed to paper-based systems.

A nurse watches a patient’s progress at the PYT Heart Center

Despite the initial costs, the new IT system is expected to make hospital administrative processes more efficient. Pharmacy orders and billing will be automatic, and an electronic medical record keeps patient information stored from visit to visit. Later this year, PYT will begin extending the system across all of its hospitals.

PYT2, located nearby, is the flagship hospital of the network, with modern facilities and specialized clinical services. The Heart Center is located in PYT2, offering emergency cardiac care as well as outpatient and rehabilitative care. Aided by the partnership with HMI, the Heart Center has been highly successful in implementing quality management systems that track outcomes and guide improvement, and following a team-based model of care. Nurses were made an integral part of the clinical teams, and education programs have assisted their professional development as specialized cardiac nurses. “PYT has been quite innovative in its efforts to train and maintain the highest quality standards in the Heart Center,” said Dr. Sharon Kleefield, HMI’s director of quality management. This approach will be the basis for expanded work across the hospital network.

	A nurse takes care of paperwork at the Phya Thai Heart Center

PYT2 also recently opened a One Stop Center designed to give foreign patients a convenient portal into all the services at the hospital network. “The government of Thailand is working hard to promote Bangkok as a health center for Southeast Asia,” said Darryl Maytom, PYT’s CEO. By making access to services more convenient, PYT hopes to make itself an attractive destination to foreign patients.

PYT3 is a general hospital that has recently partnered with the government of Thailand to provide almost total care for 63,000 Thais under the national health plan following a managed care model. The program has been a success so far, and PYT hopes to extend the care to more people under the plan. “We see a bright future in building links with the government sector, particularly the major teaching hospitals that are attached to, or part of, the universities,” Maytom said.

An enduring partnership
Dr. Surapong Ambhanwong, chief medical director of PYT1, said that the relationship with HMI is a key part of PYT’s strategy for growth, because the two organizations have been working together for years and have developed a productive relationship. “HMI has been with us for quite some time now, and we feel close—not only personally, but also in terms of our systems and communication,” he said.

Dr. Robert Crone, HMI’s president and CEO, added that HMI’s work with the Heart Center has been a model of promoting team-based care and systems for continuous improvement. “Our partnership with the Phya Thai Heart Center is an example of a successful partnership that uses strategies developed in one location and adapts them to the needs of another,” he said. “We look forward to extending this approach to the entire network of hospitals to help PYT in its goal of meeting the highest standard of clinical excellence.”