Krung Thai Bank is driving King Mongkut's Hospital towards becoming an Innovative Hospital by providing funding and integrating financial technology within the hospital comprehensively. This initiative aims to establish the hospital as a research and development center for medical innovations to address the COVID-19 crisis and serve as a national public health hub, with a focus on sustainably improving the quality of life for Thai people, in line with the vision of Krung Thai Bank: "Standing with Thailand towards sustainability."

Prof. Dr. Suchatchavee Suwansawat, President of King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), revealed that KMITL plans to establish King Mongkut's Hospital (KMCH) under the supervision of the King Mongkut's Hospital Foundation under the Royal Patronage. This quality medical center will proactively serve in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and will focus on research and development (R&D) of medical innovations to prepare for future health crises, contributing to the advancement of the public health system and enhancing the quality of life for Thai people by increasing access to modern treatment innovations, reducing reliance on imported medical technologies, and developing innovations for commercial export. The institute anticipates that the construction of the hospital will be completed and ready to serve the public by 2024. Recently, it has also received support for a Digital Healthcare Platform from Krung Thai Bank to enhance comprehensive services within the hospital.

However, the key focus of the research and development of medical innovations by KMITL researchers will be on utilizing AI (Artificial Intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), and the high-performance supercomputers from CMKL University (a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University and KMITL), to develop innovations to combat COVID-19 and support telemedicine, thereby increasing access to rapid medical care. This includes emergency ventilators, closed sterilization systems, negative pressure containment units, and AI for detecting COVID-19 variants. Recently, KMITL researchers developed a 'High Flow Oxygen Delivery System' equipped with remote monitoring capabilities for COVID-19 patients using IoT technology, designed to perform comparably to foreign technologies at a cost 3-4 times lower than imported alternatives. KMITL plans to produce 1,000 units of this device and distribute them to over 400 hospitals and public health agencies by August 2021.

Mr. Payong Sriwattanachai, President of Krung Thai Bank, stated that Krung Thai Bank, as a state-owned commercial bank, is committed to leveraging technology to enhance the quality of life for its customers, particularly in health and medical care, especially given the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases and the limited availability of hospital beds and medical equipment. The bank recognizes the challenges and sees KMITL as one of the organizations continuously innovating in medical technology to assist COVID-19 patients. Therefore, it has provided funding to KMITL to establish King Mongkut's Hospital as a comprehensive research and development center for medical tools for all Thai people. The bank is ready to support KMITL's operations to meet the needs for comprehensive medical innovation development, which is a new S-Curve for the industry driving the country's economy, including new proactive healthcare approaches.

Krung Thai Bank and KMITL have been long-standing partners. The collaboration to advance King Mongkut's Hospital into KMC Innovative Hospital represents a synergy that combines the strengths of both organizations to exchange technology and connect healthcare projects that Krung Thai has been continuously implementing, alongside KMITL's excellence in research and innovation. This partnership is expected to drive medical innovations and facilitate data exchange, analyze issues to meet the needs of doctors and nurses in treating patients and service users, aligning with the health and medical care plans that are one of the bank's five main ecosystems, contributing to improving the quality of life for citizens while considering overall societal development and sustainability, in line with the vision of "Krung Thai Bank: Standing with Thailand towards sustainability."

Additionally, the bank supports the integration of technology into comprehensive hospital services through the Krung Thai Digital Platform, by establishing a payment system linked to the hospital's financial management system, aiming to become a Smart Hospital. It will implement Self-Payment machines to verify and utilize healthcare rights in one device, allowing payments for medical services through various electronic channels offered by the bank, including QR Code Cross Bank and credit/debit cards, while connecting to the hospital's Health Information System to check eligibility and submit claims to various agencies. The Health Wallet service on the Paotang application allows citizens to check and book health rights under the National Health Security Office (NHSO), such as flu vaccinations, as well as an e-Donation system for donations to the hospital foundation, facilitating donors to receive electronic donation receipts via email and helping staff manage data efficiently, enhancing convenience and reducing risks and complexities in cash management for the hospital.