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medical expertise to be on par, if not better than my own experience in the US.How are you preparing for the AEC? Could the increased mobility of health care professionals in ASEAN cause a brain drain among doctors and nurses?Generally the top doctors can go anywhere they want, and Bangkok remains an attractive destination for them. With their families, practices and the infrastructure here, it’s not necessarily more attractive to go to neighbouring countries.We view the AEC as an opportuni- ty for the hospital, as this will drive growing affluence within the region. Typically people focus more on seeking higher quality medical care as living standards rise, and we are well poised to meet this demand. Also we are seeing the average age of Asians rise as birth rates become more moderate. This along with a shift towards more Western foods and lifestyle has resulted in a growing population of patients who ultimately require more medical care.Corporate social responsibility has become an important feature of many of organizations. How does BH get involved in the community?Bumrungrad has been focused on giving back to the Thai people for several decades now. Our BI (Bumrungrad International) Mobile clinic has served over 280,000 patients over 14 years. This is a service provided to people who don’t have good access to health care. Another programme, Rak Jai Thai (Healing Thai Hearts), ongoing for more than 10 years, has saved more than 700 children and adults who have critical heart conditions and lack the means to receive treatment. Giving back to the community is a strong part of the culture at Bumrungrad and we plan to sustain these efforts.‘The Thai Rak Jai programme has saved the lives of more than 700 Thai children and adults’In which direction will Bumrun- grad move in the next few years?Bumrungrad will continue to build on the strengths of what has made us successful – to continue to invest in the top talent of doctors, nurses and support staff while pushing the frontiers of medicine. Innovation and anticipating the future of medicine are key. For example, the management team at BH had the foresight in 2002 to become the first JCI-accredited hospital in Asia, using an American standard for certification to validate the systems and practices in the hospital to ensure high standards for patient safety.And this focus on innovation continues. Last year we joined with the Mayo Clinic and Memorial Sloan Kettering to be the first hospital outside the US to partner with IBM Watson for oncology. This platformintegrates patient information with up-to-date literature and expert opinions, and provides state-of-the-art treatment recommendations to our physicians and their patients.By continuing to invest in human talent and focused innovation, Bum- rungrad will continue to maintain its status as one of the top private hospitals in Thailand, and remain relevant in the region and the world.How do you like living in Thai- land so far?Thailand has so much to offer, from the outstanding food and fresh produce to the positive attitude of the people. After adjusting to living here over more than eight years, the feeling I have when I return from a trip abroad is one of coming home.Elite+ 33