The Department of Medical Services (DMS) has announced plans to expand into senior care, precision medicine and digital transformation.
DMS director-general Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn said the department has adopted telemedicine to ease the overwhelming number of patients at hospitals.
“The idea is to treat outpatients at their home. In the future, many hospital wards will be minimised. Patients with cancer will be able to receive treatment from home and will not be required to stay overnight,” said Dr Thongchai.
The department aims to provide senior care for people above 60 years old as Thailand becomes an ageing society. Dr Thongchai said health screening can prevent diseases and find issues at an early stage.
He said precision medicine would complement health screening as the genomic database can predict and prevent possible health issues. Telemedicine is also handy for patients in remote areas, he added.
Dr Thongchai, however, also noted that people are likely to live in apartments and remain single. The public health system must respond by providing comprehensive care to patients without a family, especially those who have terminal illness.
“Soon there will be fewer paediatric clinics and more geriatric clinics. A public health system must provide remote treatment which does not require patients to travel to hospital, especially senior patients who do not wish to be admitted but would rather stay at home with family,” Dr Thongchai said.