Siriraj & DTAC Potential Partners in Telehealth Services

On April 29th, 2020, Prof. Dr. Prasit Watanapa, Dean of Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital along with Assoc. Prof. Visit Vamvanij, Director of Siriraj Hospital, Assoc. Prof. Cherdchai Nopmanee-jumruslers, Vice Director of Siriraj Hospital, and Dr. Sichon Luerithiphong, Assistant Director of Siriraj Hospital welcomed the distinguished delegated from Directors of Total Access Communication PCL (DTAC) led by Mr. Sharad Mehrotra, CEO to the press conference on the joint project to enhance the Telemedicine Services at Siriraj Hospital.

“As the spread of the deadly virus continues, general patients and those with chronic disease are recommended to avoid face-to-face interaction because they’ll risk getting infections, especially at Siriraj Hospital. Therefore, online medical consultations are encouraged for patients during this time,” said Visit Vamvanij, Director of Siriraj Hospital.

Siriraj Hospital is the oldest hospital in Thailand, founded by King Chulalongkorn in 1888 with the aim of providing public health services. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a deep impact on various sectors, particularly medical and public health services. Providing the usual public health service during the COVID-19 crisis is a key mission for Siriraj Hospital.

“That is why we developed Siriraj Connect, a telemedicine solution, providing medical services from online consultation to drug delivery by post,” adds Dr. Visit. “There are three simple processes – preparation, online consultation, and payment and drug delivery.”

“The digital divide is a major challenge for telecom-intensive services, like telemedicine, which is even more clearly perceptible during the COVID-19 outbreak. A majority of patents cannot access Siriraj Connect mobile app as elderly patients require support to do so,” said Sharad Mehrotra, CEO at DTAC.