Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital, a hospital unit run by the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University, has upgraded its registration process by installing a contactless, face recognition system by NEC Thailand.

The IT and network service provider was tapped to provide face recognition technology across the hospital's patient registration counters and various touchpoints, such as the emergency room, to facilitate a "faster and more accurate" registration process. 

Moreover, NEC upgraded the hospital's CCTV system to augment overall security and aid staff in easily locating patients within the compound.

WHY IT MATTERS

With the system in place, Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital expects a reduction in registration response times and staff burden. This also enables medical teams to administer treatment "more quickly in a safer environment while freeing up additional resources," it noted in a press statement.

NEC recognises its role in supporting the safety and security of the hospital's high profile visitors, including members of the royal family and other state officials. 

Ichiro Kurihara, president of NEC Thailand, also added: "By enabling contactless patient registrations, NEC aims to support safer and more secure environments by reducing in-person exposure, especially in environments such as hospitals where the risks of infection from COVID-19 and other diseases are higher".

THE LARGER TREND

In other parts of Asia-Pacific, there have been innovations in hospital entry to prevent the further spread of coronavirus infections. One such example is an IoT integrated entry screening system at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney. Jointly developed by the University of Sydney and Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, the COVID-19 Smart IoT Screening System uses a personalised QR code to provide physical gate access based on a combination of COVID-19 screening questions and temperature checks. If the COVID e-Gate detects that a person's surface body temperature is above a pre-determined threshold, it will alert a concierge staff to conduct further checks on that person, such as COVID-19 testing.