Because every minute in the emergency room matters, the Chulalongkorn University Design for Society Center (CUD4S), in collaboration with the Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital of the Thai Red Cross Society, has launched ER-VIPE (Emergency Room – Virtual Interprofessional Education), an innovative medical education platform designed to enhance teamwork, communication, and patient safety in critical care.

Immersive Training for Life-Saving Teamwork

Leveraging virtual simulation technology, ER-VIPE provides doctors, nurses, pharmacists, radiologic technologists, and other healthcare professionals with realistic emergency scenarios that sharpen non-technical skills and interprofessional collaboration. Built on the TeamSTEPPS framework (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety), the system allows healthcare teams to practice decision-making, communication, and coordinated action under pressure—without putting real patients at risk.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Khuansiri Narajeenron, Director of Academic Affairs, Emergency Medicine Department, and Project Leader, described ER-VIPE as a “Med-Edutainment Technology” merging:

• Heart – inspiring film content,

• Head – structured medical knowledge via MOOC, and

• Hand – interactive, simulation-based gameplay.

“Patient care doesn’t depend on who is the most skilled—it depends on how well the team works together. Most medical errors occur not from lack of knowledge, but from breakdowns in teamwork,” said Dr. Narajeenron.

Tackling a National Healthcare Challenge

Thailand records over 400,000 cases annually of unsafe medical care, leading to more than 9.6 billion baht in economic losses. Globally, deaths from medical errors exceed those from airplane crashes by over 10,000 times. ER-VIPE addresses these alarming statistics by offering healthcare teams a safe, virtual environment where they can practice, receive feedback, and improve performance.

Research findings show ER-VIPE training can:

• Reduce medical errors by 3.5 cases per month,

• Prevent 2.3 patient deaths per month, and

• Increase patient satisfaction by nearly 1% per month.

National Expansion and “Zero Harm 2030” Vision

CUD4S Director Dr. Tatsawan Preedawiphat stressed that design extends beyond architecture: “ER-VIPE represents a social enterprise model that integrates healthcare, education, and technology to solve systemic patient safety issues.”

Piloted in five hospitals, ER-VIPE has already demonstrated:

• 28% improvement in communication,

• 38 fewer critical errors in ER scenarios, and

• A measurable reduction in staff burnout.

The August 4, 2025 launch event included the academic forum “ER-VIPE: Developing Healthcare Teams for Sustainable Patient Safety” and gathered leaders from nine major health professional organisations, including the Medical Council of Thailand, Nursing Council, Pharmacy Council, and Healthcare Accreditation Institute. Together, they endorsed national adoption of TeamSTEPPS and Interprofessional Collaboration (IPC) principles, with pathways to integrate ER-VIPE into:

• Health service plans,

• Professional training curricula,

• Hospital Accreditation (HA) standards, and

• Continuing education credits.

Toward a Safer Future

The forum marked the first collective call to scale ER-VIPE nationwide under the “Zero Harm 2030” vision, urging government support for policies and resources to strengthen patient safety and healthcare workforce resilience.

As Thailand positions itself at the forefront of innovative medical education, ER-VIPE stands as a pioneering step toward safer, smarter, and more sustainable healthcare.