The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) is stepping up its development of knowledge bases and intelligent tools to support its Healthy Thailand project, which is expected to be complete in 2018.
The aim of the project is to increase the awareness and monitoring of personal health issues and to generally improve the quality of life for Thai people on the basis of smart health and smart living.
Nectec deputy director Asanee Kawtrakul said the agency's work on the Healthy Thailand project began several years ago and would continue for another eight years. It will provide healthcare services of international standard as well as developing core technologies and intelligent tools to reduce costly imports.
The agency is currently laying down the Healthy Thailand system's infrastructure and has divided the system into three frameworks: the National Health Information System (NHIS) - a knowledge base with international standards; intelligent devices; and e-health care services and tools.
In its creation of the NHIS, the agency is developing data mining and metadata broker systems and tools that will detect the emergence of diseases in any area or community in the country. Government and medical authorities will able to access this information via an NHIS network and provide preventive medicine and healthcare services as well as supporting knowledge and disease management.
Nectec is currently developing a trial of data standards, healthcare-data sets and data cleansing with provincial healthcare offices and three other government agencies. It will also develop a clinical-data set with more than 300 researchers, leading to creation of a Thai Health Information Network.
In its provision of intelligent devices, Nectec is developing Point of Care kiosks, where people will be able to check their primary health, including blood pressure and weight, and access healthcare information and knowledge. The first such kiosks are expected to be operating by the end of this year.
The agency is also developing preventive medicine services based on bio-sensors, which it hopes will soon be widely applied by people concerned about their health. These wearable health-monitoring devices will be able to check a patient's vital signs and temperature. Prototypes are expected to be finished next year.
Meanwhile, Nectec is developing e-healthcare services and tools, including a telereferal system that will refer patients to hospitals on the same online network, so that treatment will begin faster.
It is also working with partners to develop an emergency-case management system and an emergency call centre that will be able to send patients' healthcare information from hospital to hospital. As well as supporting the telereferal system, this is expected to reduce risks and treatment times.
"With these healthcare services, information technology will not only be supporting a creative society, but also a healthy society with a suitable economy. We are trying to make use of technology - as well as research and development that Nectec has been working on for 20 years - to increase productivity and management. This will support a knowledge-based society, knowledge management and knowledge engineering to provide smart, innovation services that in future will be used on a platform-as-a-service basis to support the good health of the Thai people." Asanee said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jirapan Boonnoon
Quelle/Source: The Nation, 29.04.2010
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