Category: News

From the spread of the coronavirus, Covid-19 during April, 2021, the health professionals are facing risks in contracting the virus as the number of people tested positive of Covid-19 shows an increasing tendency.

April 21, 2021 at 18:30 p.m. – Khon Kaen University Library by Mr. Panuwat Uthaiban, an information officer briefed the control system of Temi Robot to the medical officers at Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. Temi Robot has joined the officers in caring the patients with Covid-19 and lessening the risks of the health professionals in contacting the disease.

Khon Kaen University Library has given Temi Robot, built with support for Smart Robot Project by the True5G Temi Connect & Carebot Group, to join officers in charge at Srinagarind Hospital to take care of the patients since January 15, 2021. In order to make the automaton control more efficiently via Smart phone or Tablet, Khun Panuwat this time transferred new added functions of Temi Robot to the health officers at the hospital. Now, the following functions are available from Temi:

1. 1. Automatic order by creating different points on patient’s bed on a map. Then Temi will follow an officer to draw the room plan and patients’ beds. When officer click ‘homebase’, Bed No. 1, Bed No.2… Temi will cater food or medicine to the beds as ordered by following the built map.
2. 2. Manual order is viable on Smart Phone.

KKU Library is supporting the health professionals at Srinagarind by sending 3 robots to join the working team, with the hope that the new technologies and innovations developed will help lessening risks in the health officers’ operations.

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On April 4, 2021, Associate Professor Apichat Jiravuttipong, MD, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University (MDKKU) made the following statement about two Srinagarind Hospital -based medical officials who have been infected with COVID-19:

1. Summary of situation
   • Following disease investigation, two MDKKU medical officials have been found infected with COVID-19.
   • MDKKU has already finished the primary disease screening and identified those who were in contact with the two index cases. Currently, all individuals at high and moderate risk are being COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tested and testing will be complete today. Low-risk individuals will be called in for COVID-19 PCR testing as the next priority. Meanwhile, PCR results for the first group of high–risk individuals are all negative as of April 3, 2021.

2. Measures for care and prevention of COVID-19 outbreaks within MDKKU

MDKKU has well-prepared strategies for care and prevention of COVID-19 outbreaks and has now moved to alert-level 5 emphasizing the following:

• Cancelation, or, delay of elective surgery: Due to operating room exposure to the index cases, some operating rooms (ORs) have to be cleaned. So, we have to limit OR services.
• Other services: Hospital services will still be provided. However, non-urgent and non-emergency conditions should be avoided between 3 – 18 April
• Disinfection in the hospital areas: All risk and non-risk areas of Srinagarind Hospital are being continually disinfected using ozone disinfection for 30 minutes to completely destroy pathogens.
• Teaching and learning: All course coordinators have already been advised to arrange online classrooms until further notice. We would like to ensure students that degree completion will follow the planned regular milestone.
• Proactive screening: Srinagarind Hospital will provide testing for non-MDKKU individuals who are considered at-risk and live in the same residential property as the index cases. Department of Community Medicine, together with primary care unit (PCU) team has already assessed the risk for all risk groups. Those considered at high-risk have been being called in for PCR testing and the moderate- to low-risk groups will be the upcoming priority. The testing is expected to be fully achieved for all risk groups within these two days and the result will be officially announced to public by then.

Associate Professor Songsak Kiatchoosakun, MD, Director, Srinagarind Hospital said that since two COVID-19 medical staff were admitted at Srinagarind Hospital, hospital services must be adjusted to maximize patients’ safety as follows:

1. Out-patients will be reduced to 50 percent.  Patients with stable symptoms and have enough number of home medication are recommended to come to the hospital after April 18, 2021 for repeat prescriptions.    Medical appointments can be postponed through the Line Official of the Faculty of Medicine, KKU, ID: @MDKKU.  Drug delivery is also available now.
2. For in-patients, elective surgery will be postponed, and extended hours clinic will be reduced between April 3 and 18, Only emergency surgery will be conducted.
3. Medical services at Queen Sirikit Heart Center of the Northeast will be available as usual. 

We, at Sringarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University would like to apologize for any inconvenience these changes may cause.  Popular social media contains much information and fast communication, however, personal opinions and information there are often inaccurate and unreliable.   Therefore, please kindly focus on  information from  official media sources of the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University (www.md.kku.ac.th or Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/medkku), and   COVID-19 announcements from  the Khon Kaen Provincial Health Office (https://www.facebook.com/kkpho.go.th).

March 30, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. – Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University held a press conference on the launching of the MDKKU CARE App at the Ground Floor of Galayanivadhananusorn Building, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University.

The “MDKKU CARE App – One App for all services” launching event was honored to have Dr. Somsak Jungtrakoon, Khon Kaen Governor to preside over with Assoc. Prof. Apichat Jirawutthipong, M.D., Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. After the opening ceremony, there were special talks as follows: “Khon Kaen, the Smart City” by Dr. Somsak Jungtrakoon, Khon Kaen Governor; “Srinagarind, the Smart Hospital” by Assoc. Prof. Songsak Kiatchusakul, M.D., Director of Srinagarind Hospital; “Smart Hospital and Smart OPD” by Assoc. Prof. Cholathip Pongsakul, M.D., Assistant to the Dean of Faculty of Medicine for the Excellence Center and Health Service Center; and “MDKKU CARE Smart Application” by Dr. Paitoon Pratiphanawat, M.D., Assistant to the Dean of Faculty of Medicine.

MDKKU CARE is an application developed from the collaboration between Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and the Siam Commercial Bank. The application is meant for upgrading the health care service of Srinagarind Hospital because a lot of patients make a visit to the hospital for different health care services. Due to the great number of clients, services could take a long time. This application will enable patients to have quicker access to treatment and health care.

Dr. Somsak Jungtrakoon, Khon Kaen Governor, gave talk on the development of Khon Kaen into a Smart City that this comprises 7 smart elements, namely, Smart Mobility, Smart Living, Smart People, Smart Economy, Smart Environment, Smart Government, and Smart Energy. However, it is necessary in the process to take into consideration the medical services involved in the provincial development.

“The design and development of the MDKKU CARE Application for the patients is very good, for it will make the people of Khon Kaen and people from cities nearby who come to the hospital receive efficient and quick services.  The work means the progress and success which is the optimal goal of Khon Kaen University’s international medical school,” Khon Kaen Governor said.

Assoc. Prof. Apichat Jirawutthipong, M.D., Dean of the Faculty of Medicine added that the MDKKU CARE Application has been designed and developed for 3 years, and is aimed at providing efficient health services to those coming to Srinagarind Hospital. It can be used to replace the patient’s identification card, show the patient’s health information, the appointment date and medication receiving queue. It can also check the treatment service 6 months before the present stage and the patient’s history of prescribed medication.

“The registration for MDKKU CARE App requires identification using the Hospital Number (HN), telephone number and the citizen identification number. After registration, the patient can verify his or her rights and pay through the application or the automatic cash machine. However, payment using QR code and Mobile Banking are still now under the process of service opening of the bank, in which a new version is being developed. The patients who have no HN card, but have applied to receive treatment at Srinagarind Hospital, can also pre-register. This service will indeed benefit the patients coming to Srinagarind,” the Dean of the Faculty said.

Assoc. Prof. Songsak Kiatchusakul, M.D., Director of Srinagarind Hospital   , explained about the upgrading of Srinagarind Hospital to a Smart Hospital, that the hospital provides service to an average of 1,000,000 outpatient cases and 45,000 inpatient cases per year. There are, therefore, a lot of patients coming to the hospital each day. MDKKU CARE App, besides lessening the workload of the medical officers, means these health professionals will have more time to spend on their patients. The objective is also for the patient to spend minimum time at the hospital with maximum benefits.

“In addition to this, Srinagarind Hospital also aims at providing all kinds of medical services, including: Smart Ems, which is being developed in order to make the health care and treatment quick and effective, with CCTV, GPS, Monitoring systems established so that the doctors can communicate with all officers abruptly at the point of incident, can make an order and give treatment directly and quickly; Smart ICU, another system that will follow up treatment closely;  and Smart OPD, for making appointment for special examination without having to wait for a long time. Now the efficiency of the Application is 70-80% and hopefully it will be 100% within this year,” Srinagarind Hospital Director said.

The development of MDKKU CARE Application will benefit the patients coming to the hospital as well as the health professionals at the hospital. Srinagarind Hospital is the first public hospital in the Northeast to develop this application, which will help lead the Faculty towards being an international medical school in the near future.

Patients can download MDKKU CARE App as the Playstore at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kku.mdkkucare

And App Store at: https://apps.apple.com/th/app/md-kku-care/id1558331307

For more information, please add LINE at LINE ID: MDKKU

Support content : https://kku.ac.th/10232

– 60-minute symposium led by Imperial College London’s Dr. Georgina Neve, Dr. Viral Thakerar, Dr. Renee Ewe and MBBS students

Wednesday 24th March at 09:00 GMT / 17:00 SGT

Digital health is rapidly transforming health care, however teaching on digital health in medical schools has not kept up with the pace of change. In this student-led symposium, we will explore what is needed from a 21st century medical curriculum on digital health, to prepare students for clinical practice in digitally driven health systems.

We will present an overview of the current and near future digital health landscape, and examples from the literature of how institutions have integrated digital health in their medical curricula. Students from Imperial College London will then present their vision for a digital health curriculum, covering five digital health themes: prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. We will then invite questions and discussion in this important and topical area.

Faculty

Dr. Georgina Neve – Honorary Clinical Research Fellow, Department of Primary Care

Dr. Viral Thakerar – Module Lead for Patients, Communities and Healthcare, Digital Theme Lead for MEdIC

Dr. Renee Ewe – Academic Clinical Fellow in General Practice

Students

Srinivasan, Sarvesh – 5th year Medical Student at Imperial College London

Drmota, Jan – 4th year Medical Student at Imperial College London

Jefferies, Petula – 5th year Medical Student at Imperial College London

Mahmud, Simran – 4th year Medical Student at Imperial College London

Harris, Isaac – 4th year Medical Student at Imperial College London

Ng, Kaa-Yung – 4th year Medical Student at Imperial College London

Register your free place here:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TbslNHCXS_G1ks3kpSCBCA

On March 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Bayasita Hotel. Khon Kaen University Foreign Affairs Division Organized an activity to strengthen the network of AI in Healthcare under the theme of “AI Khon Kaen, follow your dreams” to exchange ideas and experiences in operating AI in Healthcare among project participants, to promote human potential for artificial intelligence excellence (AI) by studying an online course Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare organized by the MIT Critical Data Team. Following the exchange of knowledge on this occasion, the participants presented management ideas about how to further implement AI operations for Khon Kaen University, namely the management and shared use of centralised information systems, having consulting agencies, continue to develop human resources in AI, as well as promote the integration across sciences. Develop AI courses to gain recognition both nationally and internationally etc.

In addition, this activity was honored by Assoc. Prof. Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, President of Khon Kaen University, who presided as chairman to congratulate the project participants, along with expressing the visions of Khon Kaen University on AI in Healthcare. The president said: “Khon Kaen University aims to provide courses in AI in Healthcare with the objective to produce graduates and qualified staff in AI in Healthcare in Thailand, including providing services and innovations. Innovation has pushed Thailand to be reputable on AI in Healthcare at international level.

Support content : https://iad.kku.ac.th/news.php?id=758&lang=en

March 3, 2021 – Assoc. Prof. Pattarapong Makornwes, M.D., Director of Queen Sirikit Heart Center told KKU news reporter that the Center has started to use the remote monitoring or the diagnosis and transfer of information of patients with heart diseases – the latest medical innovation. The innovation is based on the application and technology to follow-up the patients with a defibrillator, without the patients having to travel a long way to Sirikit Heart Center.

The technology used in the patient care and treatment can follow up the patient living in a province nearby, who can make a visit to a network hospital in his or her province. The doctor at the network hospital will use the remote monitoring to read the signal from the defibrillator in the patient. All of the information then appears on the tablet monitoring screen at the Center, enabling the doctor at the Center to follow up the treatment conveniently and fast just like the patient comes to the Heart Center.

The Director of Queen Sirikit Heart Center revealed that the Center is the first to use this remote monitoring technology, which is linked to the first group of network hospitals in 8 provinces, and then in this near future, it will be used in the other provinces in the Northeast.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pattarapong Makornwes added that the remote monitoring technology reduces the time and expense of a patient and his or her family who may otherwise have to travel to Khon Kaen. Moreover, it reduces the crowdedness at the Center at over 50%, which, under the surveillance of Covid-19, is good for all that are concerned.

Support content : https://kku.ac.th/10049

On February 18, 2021, Associate Professor Apichat Jiravuttipong, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Associate Professor Kamolwan Jenwiteesuk, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and other executive officers, represented the Faculty of Medicine in receiving laptop computers from KKU Library represented by Associate Professor Supat Sinawat, Director of the Khon Kaen University Library, and Associate Professor Pipatphong Kanla, Associate Dean for Administration Affairs, KKU Library.

Due to the increasing risk of COVID-19, education systems need to adapt for the safety of both students and teachers.   Future education will increasingly be on computer-based platforms.   To ensure students with limited computer access have equal learning opportunities, Khon Kaen University, has started a rental computer for learning project. The project will be managed by the Faculty of Medicine Library and MDKKU will become the first faculty to start this rental computer for education project.

All are invited to join USF Health International’s Global Health Conversation Series. The theme for Spring 2021 is The Impact of COVID-19 on Global Health Efforts.

Our next session will be held on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 from 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM EDT. The topic of Dr. Umakanth’s presentation is “Public-Private Partnership During a Pandemic – Experience in Udupi District of India.”

Register click here https://usf.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0MU2kHuCuxF9aGa

His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, King Rama 10, and Her Majesty the Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana, Queen of Thailand, presided at a ceremony on February 15, 2021, to award outstanding civil servants with the Dushdi Mala Medal of Honor. Professor Pisake Lumbiganon, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, was awarded the Dushdi Mala Medal of Honor at this ceremony, with six other professors from other Thai Institutes.

The Dushdi Mala Medal was created in 1882 and is the highest level of award for a Thai civil servant. It is divided in to 9 different fields 1) Humanitarian 2) Education 3) Art 4) Social Science 5) Science 6) Engineer 7) Medicine 8) Agricultural 9) Other field as the committee sees fit. The medal is only awarded to people who have made outstanding contributions to the development and growth of Thailand. Professor Pisake Lumbiganon was Dean for the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, between 2009 – 2013 and his national and international recognition includes:

• President, The Royal Thai College of the Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
• Technical advisor, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
• Technical Consultant, Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Reproductive Health, USA
• Member of the Steering Committee, Task Force for Epidemiological Research in Reproductive Health, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
• Member of the Editorial Board, WHO Reproductive Health Library, Geneva, Switzerland
• Member of the Core Committee on Perinatal Health, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
• Member of the Health System Research Task Force, The World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
• Maternal and Perinatal Health Near Miss & Preterm Birth Steering Committee, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, The World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
• And many other position internationally.

The Faculty of Medicine heartily congratulates him on this great auspicious occasion.

Written by: Natakon Naowarojna and Santipong Hongseangthai (programer and graphic designer)

International Relations Office, Research and International Relations Affairs

Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University

Three more Associate Professors from our  Faculty of Medicine, have  been promoted to full  professor  status, in the latest announcement from the Office of the Prime Minister on February 15, 2021. They  are:

1. Professor Somsak Tiamkao                       Department of Emergency Medicine
2. Professor Jintanaporn Wattanathorn       Department of Physiology
3. Professor Narong Khuntikeo                     Department of Surgery

The Faculty of Medicine  warmly congratulates them on this great acknowledgment of their outstanding  career achievements.