S & T News >> Thailand
Man of many roles see endless work ahead
Kongkiat Kespechara is a doctor of internal medicine. But he's far from being a conventional doctor.
For most of the past decade, he has been working 18 hours a day, seven days a week to help Thai hospital patients by developing software to help improve Thailand's medical services.
It was in the late 1990s, when working as a doctor of internal medicine at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, that he realised the potential of information technology, as it related to healthcare.
"Being a doctor, I could help patients - even save patients' lives - one by one. But I could help many more patients by utilising technology," he said. He began to see ways to improve medical services by using information technology.
His thoughts turned to action in 2000, when the government introduced the Bt30 healthcare programme.
His plan was to develop software to assist hospitals that were delivering medical services under the new scheme. It would provide tools to manage their routine workflow and monthly reimbursement reports efficiently while also enabling an effective improvement in their medical services.
Kongkiat began the development of information-system software for hospital management by using open-source technology. He named it "Hospital OS". The aim was to convert the information systems of small- and medium-sized government hospitals, with fewer than 100 beds, to electronic format.
With five programmers working on a volunteer basis, the first version of Hospital OS was installed in 14 small- and medium-sized hospitals around the country in 2001. Kongkiat's team was operating under research and development funding of Bt1.9 million from the Thailand Research Fund (TFR). It had undertaken to equip just 10 hospitals with the new system, and was buoyed by its ability to implement the system in 14, despite the fact that the number represented only a tiny fraction of Thailand's 700 small- and medium-sized government hospitals.
The success gave Kongkiat the passion to develop his innovation; to help many more hospitals. Since the funds had run out, he decided to set up his own company, called Open Source Technology. There was no profit motive, but he wanted to see his staff get paid.
Since then, he has persevered with research and development of Hospital OS. As well as implementing the system, he has trained hospitals around the country in its use and benefits.
There are now about 95 hospitals and 215 clinics around the country using Hospital OS. The latest version is 3.9, which also links hospitals with their remote clinics. Rather than travelling to hospital to get routine check ups or medicine, patients living in remote places simply visit nearby clinics. Real-time communication between hospitals and their clinics helps to reduce the number of patients attending the hospital each day and saves patients the cost of travelling.
Kongkiat plans to release version 4.0 in April next year. Among other things, it will help to optimise work at the clinics in order to improve their healthcare services.
Hospital OS has become Kongkiat's distinguished masterpiece. It not only helps to improve medical services at hospitals throughout the country and in remote areas, but is also being installed in hospitals in countries such as Sri Lanka, South Africa and India. The foreign hospitals are offered free downloads of English versions of the software, its source code and manual to enable customisation.
Kongkiat's efforts have been recognised by a 2007 IT Princess Award from the Foundation for Research in Information Technology; A place in Software Park Thailand's 2008 Hall of Fame; and a runner-up award in the heath category at the Thailand ICT Awards in 2005.
Apart from Open Source Technology, Kongkiat has set up two other companies: iMed International Software in 2003 and Phuket Software Factory in 2006. Kongkiat hoped the two new companies would generate enough revenue to support Open Source Technology - in case that company was unable to survive alone. However, all three have been able to survive without the help of the others.
iMed International Software provides hospital information system solutions for large hospitals with more than 100 beds. It is currently being used by 12 major hospitals in Thailand. Phuket Software Factory provides business-intelligence solutions for healthcare services.
The three software companies now generate revenue of about Bt15 million per year, and Kongkiat is happy that he can take care of his 51 employees. "They feel that they can contribute to society while earning money as usual," he said.
But the 51 staff of his three companies is, these days, a relatively small human-resources issue for Kongkiat. He has become the southern regional director of Bangkok Hospital, a position from which he oversees three hospitals - Bangkok Hospital Phuket, Bangkok Hospital Samui and Bangkok Hospital Hat Yai - and thousands of employees.
Last but not least, he is also a director of Software Park Phuket, a recent position that Kongkiat regards as his latest challenge. His passion now is to help to improve the quality of life and income per capita of Phuket's ordinary population; to make the island into a "creative city" where people can live, enjoy life and generate a lot of money.
His dream is to release Phuket from reliance upon the "unsustainable revenue of tourism". Instead, he hopes to see Phuket generating a huge and sustainable income for Thailand through software and design businesses.
At present, he is working to drive Phuket Software Park, which was launched early this year, into its next phase. This aims to transform it from being a park offering facilities and building the local software industry to a Phuket Innovation Park, working to make Phuket a creative city enjoying the economic success of its creative industries.
Kongkiat's mission is just starting. It will take time and perseverance to bring success. These days, he still works 16 hours per day, seven days a week. It's two hours a day less than before because he wants to spend more time with his children.
"I am happy when I am working. I think we should not wait until we are rich before contributing to society. People can do many beautiful things for society without waiting until they are rich. I do it because I wish to do it, and not because of the money.
"My work is endless. I don't think I have reached a point of success because there are so many challenges waiting for me,' he said.
By Asina Pornwasin
Source: The Nation, October 13, 2009
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