Abstract

 Thailand continues to grapple with the persistent issue of health inequality, particularly among individuals with disabilities, the underprivileged, and those residing in remote areas. While numerous agencies are striving to enhance access to medical devices and expand the utilization of digital health platforms to address these challenges, several key implementation hurdles must be overcome. These hurdles include establishing effective government financing mechanisms that connect producers, payers, and consumers, improving regulations and the procurement system, fostering technological development and innovation, ensuring quality education in biomedical engineering, and adequately training and producing medical personnel to meet the growing demands.

This study aims to present an in-depth analysis of the current state of access mechanisms for medical devices and digital platforms in Thailand, with the goal of reducing health inequality. It examines the key stakeholders involved, identifies limitations and challenges, highlights success factors, and assesses the impact of these access mechanisms on reducing disparities. Additionally, the study offers policy recommendations for scaling up efforts and showcases successful case studies that have effectively increased access to medical devices and digital platforms, thereby reducing health inequality in Thailand.