Q.1 Bumrungrad upgraded its information system in late 1990s.

Explain the ratio nale for Bumrungrad to make significant investments in upgrading these syst ems ? Ans1. As we know that Hospitals have become an important element for any count ry as it determines health services and treatments of various diseases. So in 1997 when Thailand was hit by severe recession/ economic slow down so Bumr ungrad hospital faced a very tough time, so to over- come this recession its C. E.O Curtis Schroeder thought of a strategy of upgrading with the New I.T Softwar e , so to be unique in itself and also to focus more on International Clients t hrough Internet . So the main rationale behind the upgradation was to address the needs at one go .This also includes simplifying internal operations by connecting different appl ications from Pharmacy to Food outlets or to Medical treatments .So that consoli dated bills or invoices can be generated constantly. Bumrungrd also wanted its Information Software to enable its International Clients/Patients of diff countr ies to receive the info in different language and also be able to book an appoin tments and accommodation easily .Its main focus was to facilitate quicker treatm ents for its patients at the clinic in the premises only to save the time and mo ney of hospital in administering medical services . Also because of following weakness/disadvantages Hospital thought of upgrading i t with new Information System : It was less efficien . High maintainance cost. Requires lot of people for its operation. Runs on 4 different application. Lacks uniformity. Lack in providing complete information. Q2. Bumrungrad previous system had several problems which the new softwar e has to address. Describe the features and architecture of the new system. Disc uss how it solved the problems of old systems faced by Bumrungrad. Ans2. One of the main reason Why Bumrungrad went for complete replacement of its Info System becoz it wanted to boost Online initiatives that is enabling client s/patients to book their appointments and to recieve the info in different langu age and also for online communication with various Suppliers and Insurance Compa nies. The main features of Hospital 2000 softwares are : Multilingual Fast and Quick Easy Accessability Online information Use of bettertechnologies (P.A.C.S) Us of less paper reports Simplified or unified work flow Huge database Common application for related departments As far as system architecture is concerned it was built on 3 tier architecture c omprising PC based clients, Clusterd servers and database and these have to b c onnected properly for the uniform flow of information. The clients represented the face of IS as all the data relating to the hospital operation could be keyed in and through which data stored in data could be extra cted. Clustered servers also known as Transaction server which actually facilitate all the transactions taking place in hospital.

 The database server receives and precesses all the transactions and also to supp ort data warehousing and online analytical processing. And also the good feature about the architecture was that the complete syem was clubbed together based on the uniformity in the purpose being served. They were linked to network hubs in respective departments on each floor to make the work much easier and faster with the use of fibre optic cables. The key areas where New IS turned out to be beneficial over old IS are : Same IS being used in different departments. Huge database. Multilingual. Less maintenance cost. No need for carrying prescription and all reports. Very efficient and fast. Simplified and unified workflow within the hospital. So these were the key areas where the new IS turned out to be very beneficial as it reduced the work load and made it very easier and faster for both Hospital a nd Clients/Patients. Q3. In the light of increasing volume of foreign patients handled by Bumrungrad , do you think that implementation of new information system was beneficial for the company? Discuss. Ans. Yes with the modernization in IT industry all other industries have also be en modernized including hospitals also. So hospitals are no more restricted to o nly one particular place or region they have become globalized and entered into global market with the advancement in technology like Internet.