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THAILAND’S IMPROVING HEALTH CAREDr Boonruang Triruangworarat of the Ministry of Public Health strives to cement the Kingdom as an international medical hub while focusing on preventive measures and extending access to all facets of Thai societyW hen he was young, Boonruang Triruangworarat, now director-general of the Department of Health Support Services, Ministry of Public Health, and certified by Johns Hopkins University, never wanted to be a medical doctor,despite the prestige of the profession in Thai society.“I always wanted to study engineering, because I love the idea of buildingsomething and creating a system,” Dr Boonruang said, in an interview with Elite+. “Yet my parents weren’t convinced. In my day, engineering was associated with reckless vocational students, and my parents wanted me to get a prestigious and secure job like becoming a doctor.”As it turned out, he enjoyed medical school and university life at Khon Kaen University. In his free time he participated in development camps, giving him the opportunity to learn more about the health problems of poor people. This was an eye-opener for young Boonruang, who came out of his cosy shield at Assumption College, the prestigious boys’ school in Bangkok.The ideals of public service and utilitarianism have been embedded in him ever since. Although he became a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Boonruang never hesitates to visit local communities, no matter how inconvenient or dangerous. When he worked as a ministry inspector in 2009 and 2010 in the dangerous provinces of Yala, Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat, he regularly visited areas where bombs had gone off.The best “Dr Boonruang had opportunities to earn more money and work comfortably. Over three decades ago he was wooed by private hospitals. He turned them down. “The salary at the ministry was much less. But working in public health helped me realize my dream of helping poor people.”“Helping” for medical doctors mostly involves providing treatment, performing surgery or prescribing drugs. But Dr Boonruang prefers to focus on people’s health before they get ill.medicine is having good health.In reality, 95% of the public health budgetis used for building hospitals in cities and buying technology and“The best medicine is having good health. Most in the medical field know that the best way to fight disease is eating right and exercising regularly. So if the country wants to improve the state of public health, it should invest in proactive measures. In reality, 95% of the public health budget is used for building hospitals in cities and buying technology and expensive equipment. Very little has been spent on preventive campaigns that educate people on how to eat right and stay healthy so they don’t have to come to hospital.”+ Elite 21expensive”equipment