Development of a Smart Hospital - Based Reception and Blood Collection Service at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Institute Diseases

Abstract

          This research aims to 1) study the problems and obstacles in the blood collection and specimen receiving service system, 2) reduce waiting times for specimen collection and patient blood collection, and 3) increase patient satisfaction at Bamrasnaradura infectious diseases institute, develop a service system using the Smart Hospital process, and evaluate the impact of the new system on service efficiency and risk incidence. This descriptive study was conducted between October 2024 and November 2025. Data were collected on number of patients, risk incidence, waiting times, and operational processes before and after the system update. Supporting technologies were also implemented, including a KIOSK system for automatic queue management, an automatic blood vessel labeling machine, and a Laboratory Information System (LIS) to verify patient identity and increase accuracy in the pre-analysis process. All of these technologies align with the Smart Hospital concept, which emphasizes speed, error reduction, and enhanced patient safety.
           The results revealed that prior to the system development, there were several errors in the reception process: 230 incorrect queue identifications, 245 incorrect labeling, 45 incorrect blood sample tubes collected, 95 incomplete blood draws, and 5 wrong blood draws. Furthermore, the original six-step service process resulted in delays and redundancy. After the system was developed and reduced to just three steps, the incidence of risk was significantly reduced, with most errors reduced to zero, except for incomplete blood draws, which were reduced to only two. Meanwhile, the overall waiting time for patients decreased from 70.9 minutes to 34.86 minutes, a 50.8% reduction. This reflects improved efficiency in terms of accuracy, speed, and safety.
            In conclusion, the application of Smart Hospital principles and automation technology to front-line laboratory services can reduce errors, increase data accuracy, reduce congestion, and wait times, and effectively support the hospital's transformation into a Smart Hospital in accordance with the Ministry of Public Health's policy.