Title: An analysis of the healthcare informatics and systems in Southeast Asia: a current perspective from seven countries

Authors: Q.T. Nguyen, R.N.G. Naguib, M.K. Abd Ghani, R.K. Bali, I.M. Marshall N.H. Phuong A.B. Culaba N.S. Wickramasinghe M.H. Shaker R.V. Lee

Addresses: Biomedical Computing and Engineering Technologies Applied Research Group (BIOCORE), Coventry University, UK. ' Biomedical Computing and Engineering Technologies Applied Research Group (BIOCORE), Coventry University, UK. ' Biomedical Computing and Engineering Technologies Applied Research Group (BIOCORE), Coventry University, UK. ' Biomedical Computing and Engineering Technologies Applied Research Group (BIOCORE), Coventry University, UK. ' Biomedical Computing and Engineering Technologies Applied Research Group (BIOCORE), Coventry University, UK. ' Centre for Health Information Technology (CHIT), Ministry of Health, Vietnam. ' Centre for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research (CESDR), De La Salle University, Philippines. ' Center for the Management of Medical Technology (CMMT), Illinois Institute of Technology, USA. ' Ecology and Environment, Inc, USA. ' Ecology and Environment, Inc, USA; School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, SUNY, Buffalo, USA

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the healthcare systems in Southeast Asia, with a focus on the healthcare informatics development and deployment in seven countries, namely, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam. Brief geographic and demographic information is provided for each country, followed by a historical review of the national strategies for healthcare informatics development. An analysis of the state-of-the-art healthcare infrastructure is also given, along with a critical appraisal of national healthcare provisions.

Keywords: healthcare informatics; telemedicine; telehealth; electronic health records; EHR; hospital management systems; decision support systems; DSS; e-healthcare; electronic healthcare; Singapore; Cambodia; Malaysia; Thailand; Laos; Philippines; Vietnam; healthcare infrastructure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEH.2008.019792

International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, 2008 Vol.4 No.2, pp.184 - 207

Published online: 31 Jul 2008 *

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