Thailand’s healthcare industry has made steady strides in digital transformation over the past decade. The country’s digital health market – spanning telemedicine, Electronic Health Records (EHR), mobile health applications, health analytics, online pharmacies, and wearable technologies – has expanded significantly from USD0.2 billion in 2017 to USD0.9 billion in 2022. It is projected to grow at a CAGR of 17% from 2022 to 2025, reaching USD 1.4 billion by 2025.

Today, TMI works closely with its members and partners in accelerating healthcare digitalisation and address roadblocks.

Dr Wansa noted that progress on digitalisation in both public and private hospitals has been stifled by several key challenges over the past three years.

“The main problem is the lack of funding, due to the high cost of Hospital Information System (HIS) software, and increasing cost of cybersecurity-related technologies,” he said.

“Public hospitals are burdened by high patient volumes, leaving doctors with insufficient time to complete good-quality digital medical records, so some still prefer using pen and paper.”

He added that while every hospital in Thailand use some form of IT system today, the level and sophistication of usage vary widely. Some hospitals only use the basic medical record management function without CPOE (Computer Physician Order Entry), so orders for treatments, medications and lab tests continue to be issued via paper or verbal instructions – methods that are time-consuming and more prone to misinterpretation or errors.

Interoperability as an indispensable component of digital transformation

EHR products must be able to share information seamlessly to realise their full potential. By enabling data transfer between systems and organisations, an interoperable health IT environment improves the delivery of health care by making the right data available at the right time to the right people.

Thai hospitals have made good strides on the interoperability front, with widespread awareness about the value of data sharing in achieving seamless patient care. All HIS platforms used in Thailand are capable of exporting patient data using global HL7 data standards.

Nonetheless, one key barrier remains in the lack of a governing body, Dr Wansa pointed out.

“The hospitals expect a government organisation to be in charge of governance (over data sharing in healthcare). There were some organisations who tried to act on this, but they failed to be accepted by other stakeholders.”

TMI’s role in advancing Thai healthcare digitalisation

To guide hospitals on their digital journey, TMI has developed the Hospital IT Quality Improvement Framework, covering key aspects of digital transformation such as structure and roles, data, control, processes, and so on.

Its Hospital IT Maturity Model provides a roadmap for hospitals to gauge their current IT maturity level across areas including risk management, security, and data quality control, while identifying areas of improvement.

TMI partners with the Ministry of Public Health and the Hospital Accreditation Institute Thailand to support hospitals in effectively implementing and utilising these tools. So far, more than 100 hospitals have received certification. Promoting their use will remain a top priority for the association in the coming years, said Dr Wansa.

The association has also collaborated with the National Cyber Security Agency over the past three years to strengthen hospitals’ cybersecurity capabilities.

Throughout the year, TMI conducts a range of training sessions, seminars and workshops on relevant health IT and data topics, including business analytics, nursing informatics, ICD-10 disease coding, and more. Its 33rd academic conference was held in November 2024, centred around the theme of AI in Healthcare – another focus area for the association in the year ahead.

“We want to ensure that the use of AI in hospitals truly enhances quality of care, without introducing additional risks or compromising patient safety,” Dr Wansa concluded.