Samsung Medical Center in South Korea has been working towards becoming an advanced intelligent hospital, and in the process, it became the first hospital in the world to achieve the highest stage in the HIMSS Infrastructure Adoption Model (INFRAM). 

During HIMSS22 APAC, Jean-Hyoung Lee, IT infrastructure manager at SMC, shared how they got there. 

Firstly, Lee said they were able to reach Stage 7 INFRAM through their software-defined network (SDN) infrastructure. 

"In order to become the smart hospital of the future, one of the most important things is the network," he emphasised.

And such a smart hospital of the future requires three aspects: mass data communication, multi-species and mass device connection, and seamless service convergence. These are all possible through SDN, Lee said.

Previously, SMC's networks were physically separated. "When you go to the TPS [Telecommunication Pipe Shaft] room, the HIS and PACS networks were separated," he said.

It was only in recent years that SMC drew up a roadmap for its digital transformation and began remodelling its hospitals to connect its various networks. 

Among key projects it sought to implement through this roadmap are smart parking, medical, incremental location check, automated medical payment, smart call centre system, automated medical equipment interface and innovations in logistics through robots.

According to Lee, SMC chose to go through the INFRAM assessment to use it as a springboard for future HIMSS Maturity Model certifications, such as for EMR and digital imaging.

Sharing their lessons in the process, Lee said: "In preparing for the HIMSS INFRAM over the past two years, we found it important for medical staff, developers, [basically] everyone to work together to solve issues by presenting various ideas or solutions, receiving feedback, and freely discussing results."

Four months after securing a Stage 7 INFRAM accreditation, SMC also got validated for Stage 6 Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model in August.