Cancer care in Bumrungrad

IBM’s Dr Watson will revitalise the hospital’s oncology department.

Thailand’s premier international hospital has partnered with medical tech pioneer IBM Watson to provide better cancer patient care and research.
When Bangkok-based Bumrungrad International Hospital was pondering how it can become the leading healthcare provider in Thailand and Southeast Asia, it chose medical technology as its path for competitive advantage. Bumrungrad had developed a strong reputation among international patients as a trusted treatment facility for cancer and other serious conditions, so the hospital focused on gaining even more expertise in these areas by
partnering with IBM Watson.

In late 2014 Bumrungrad announced that it will be working with IBM Watson to integrate the latter’s cognitive computing technology for cancer care known as IBM Watson for Oncology. Bumrungrad is the first medical institution outside of North America to use IBM Watson for Oncology, and be trained by leading cancer center Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) – an initiative the hospital expects will raise the quality of patient care and research.

“We attract the best doctors and we need to equip them with the best technology,” says Dr. Num Tanthuwanit, Chief Executive Officer of Bumrungrad.
“IBM Watson is part of our overall hospital strategy. It has been on our radar, and we just waited for it to reach the mature stage where it is applicable for healthcare.”

The Watson partnership is crucial as Bumrungrad looks to attract even more international patients and become a top destination for global medical tourism. Currently, half of the over one million patients Bumrungrad serves annually come from almost 190 countries outside of Thailand. Given the same number of patients this year, Bumrungrad’s share will represent more than 15% of the estimated three million international patients that will visit
Thailand.

One of Bumrungrad’s core international markets are families from the Middle East and emerging Asia economies that travel to the hospital for advanced treatment of cancer and other serious conditions. Bumrungrad believes IBM Watson for Oncology will help doctors plan the most effective treatments for cancer patients.

Under the system, the hospital and its doctors will compile the patient’s profile and existing medical evidence. The hospital then feeds this information to IBM Watson for Oncology’s cognitive computing technology, which consequently delves into myriads of other factors that could affect treatment
recommendations such as published medical research, MSK’s extensive clinical expertise and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. After analyzing all of these facts, the system presents a summary of findings relevant to each patient case. Bumrungrad’s treating doctors
will theoretically receive the best and the most carefully considered treatment options for each of the patient.

“It is like having a capable and knowledgeable colleague who can review the current information that relates to my patient,” said Dr. James Miser, Bumrungrad’s Chief Medical Information Officer of the new system when the IBM Watson partnership was announced late last year.

Personal research assistant

Tanthuwanit emphasises that doctors have their hands full these days, with more patients to look after and more knowledge to consult, not to mention other medical positions they might be holding. At the very least, the IBM Watson for Encology system serves as a “personal research assistant” that helps doctors keep up with what can sometimes become an overload of information, and at most it can propose effective treatment options that a doctor might overlook.

“Medical knowledge is increasing very fast and cancer care is particularly complex. Oncologists race against time to find the best treatment for their patients. How does one take into account all the latest clinical research? How do you find what doctors elsewhere have learned from treating a patient like yours?” says Tanthuwanit.

“Watson makes it possible. Our physicians will have a more powerful tool to help them make treatment decisions, ultimately improving our care and increasing patients’ lifespans.”

The system also significantly increases the speed of formulating proposed treatment plans. Tanthuwanit asserts that the system can suggest a treatment plan in as fast as a few minutes compared to days or months through traditional diagnostic methods. This increased speed can have a palpable impact on treatment outcomes. As an example of how the whole process will work, Tanthuwanit narrates that a patient is referred to Bumrungrad’s oncology center also known as the Horizon Center. He says the treating oncologist would begin by logging the patient’s data into the system, after which IBM Watson computers would match that person’s demographics with similar situations in the past, as close to that patient’s profile as possible.

Then the data is matched with available literature, which then enables the system to forward recommendations and suggested medications to the doctor. Tanthuwanit says IBM Watson’s computing system helps integrate different arms of the oncology department such as the medical,
radiological and surgical, resulting in a more seamless patient process.

The partnership generates process efficiencies not in patient care but also in medical research. “Operationally, Watson will be very helpful in the research aspect to monitor and see whether this helps or not. It can also be a support system. Watson helps organise and integrate information into electronic medical records. It can actually be an extension of the electronic medical records,” says Tanthuwanit.

International expansion

Bumrungrad is betting big that the IBM Watson partnership will help the hospital gain competence on Big Data, and lead in forming applications beyond what IBM Watson for Oncology was developed for, namely lung, breast and colorectal cancer. Liver cancer could be one of these new applications, according to Tanthuwanit. Bumrungrad already holds the distinction of being the largest private facility in the region, but if it manages to develop groundbreaking applications to IBM Watson for Oncology, it can edge out other facilities in Thailand and Southeast Asia.

The hospital is expanding its capacity in order to accommodate a strong stream international patients – the hospital a robust first half of 2014 and anticipates what could be its highest patient level year in history – and a spurt of arrivals following the IBM Watson upgrades. Two plots of land have been approved for Bumrungrad, says Tanthuwanit, where the hospital plans to construct an extension that is within walking distance from the original campus.