Sheryl

In both the private and public systems, you can go direct to a specialist. (For foreigners, that is. Since, unless they are under Thai Social Security they have to pay full price in public system. Thais covered under the government "universal" system can go direct to some specialists but will be need a referral from a more general doctor for others in order to be covered .) GP care is weak in Thailand. There are virtually none who function the way UK GPs do, and (unfortunately) few that are very good. If you indicate where you are located, I can advise on this more specific to your location. In general Thai medical care is very specialized. It is also, definitely, hospital based and most outpatient services are provided in hospital outpatient clinics.better on that. With the notable exceptions of Chiang Mai and (to a lesser extent) Pattaya, stand-alone clinics are rare and best avoided except for things like simple medical certificate. Appointments can be made at private hospitals online and by phone. You can also just show up but, except in emergency situations, this is inadvisable - you will be directed to whatever doctor is least busy, and that is not a good sign; you may also be directed to the wrong type of specialist. Unless economically forced to use the public channel in a government hospital (in which case you have no choice on who you see, and most encounters will be with doctors in training) ,you should always do advance research and choose a specific doctor yourself. This can admittedly be hard in cases where you don't know what type of specialty you need. Feel free to post inqueries in this forum but be sure to specify your location when you do. Online appointment can also be made at the "after hours" clinics of some of the major government university hospitals . If wanting to instead use the public channel, you have to show up in person, as early as possible (queue sometimes fills up by as early as 8 AM, though it depends on the hospital). Should note that most medications requiring a doctor prescription in the UK are sold over the counter in Thailand (narcotics, tranquilizers and steroids being an exception) and pharmacists often double as a sort of GP. How well they do that varies greatly and many of the people behind pharmacy counters are not actually trained pharmacist. On the other hand, "real" fully qualified pharmacists can be quite good. For pharmacy recommendations, please check or post in this forum, again being sure to specify your location. There is therefore no need to see a doctor for a simple headache and the like unless you are concerned there is something more serious going on (in which case for headache you'd see a neurologist). Another important difference between health care here and under the UK NHS is that it is much, much, much less standardized. The UK NHS is a type of "managed care" system with very detailed, cookbook-typed steps and protocols for just about everything. The result is that any 2 doctors, if even basically competent, will treat a problem pretty much the same way. (Even if they think you need something else, they will often be unable or afraid to deviate in any way from protocol). Not at all the case in Thailand, making the choice of specific doctor particularly important. Even in the public channel of government hospitals, there is considerable variability in what different doctors will do at the same hospital, and there is complete latitude in the private hospitals for a doctor to use their own personal judgement. A big mistake foreigners often make is to think that the care they got from one doctor at a hospital is what that hospital, as an institution, does and that any other doctor there will do the same. Not at all true. Treatment will vary considerable by doctor. So may cost as, in private hospitals, doctors set their own fees.

No here is what will affect board members the most. As always the devil will be in the details, likely have to await police order to know what those are.

I doubt that. Most illegal workers don't have a passport (expensive to get in Cambodia). And the main factors in illegal migrants from neighboring countries are :(1) ample availability of work that Thais don't want to do and (2) very expensive and cumbersome processes to come here legally.

Confuding since Cambodia and Laos already have visa free entry albeit gorr a shorter dtay (14 days). Are they really going to give them 60 days now?

You need to see a dermatologist. A Where are you located? Don't go too far down the rabbit hole on this particular diagnosis unless it is confirmed. Self-diagnoses in my expetience are wrong much more often than not.

I think your choice may be between travelling a bit to get less expensive brand or paying more to get it closer to home. I checked a number of online pharmacies but none had local generic brand listed.

I think your choice may be between travelling a bit to get less expensive brand or paying more to get it closer to home. I checked a number of online pharmacies but none had local generic brand listed.

Flaminf/bickering posts and incomprehensible posts removed.

That list is of no practical use as the MoPH guidelines are pretty universally ignored. What you see there is not indicative of actual charges. That said, government hospital would certainly cost much less. But take longer/ involve more red tape. And would usually need to go to a higher level hospital. Ideally a university one.

Proctoseydl is also available, without prescription, in Thailand. He mentioned he is already using a topucal medications. Sometimes medications alone do not suffice.

It is also used, in nasal spray form, for a variety of allergic/inflammatory nasal conditions.

Registered post might expose the drops to high temperatures. Most need to be kept cool. Should use a courier able to assure air conditioned storage throughout....but that will cost much more. Also if he is totally without medication a 7-10 day wait is inadvisable.

Dr. Greechart is an excellent plastic surgeon. He trained in Canada and his English is excellent. But his staff may not speak much. I don't know if he does virtual condultations or not. Yanhee is usually a good bet. They will provide virtual consultation at no charge form is in their website.

Have you reviewed the locations of the pharmacies in the link I sent?

This requires a doctor prescription in the US which is whete he us. He does not need an eye exam. He just needs re-supply of an ongoing medication prescribed by his opthalmologist back home. Many GPs would be comfortable providing that. He has been given alternatives that would likely cost the equivalent of about 2,500 baht (for getting the script...med cost will be additional and in US, often quite high.... This will prove to be an expensive oversight. )

All of the doctors listed at INZ are opthalmoligists. One has a sub-specialty in oculoplastics. You really want a plastic surgeon for this. Dr. Greechart now has his own clinic/small hospital. https://www.miladahospital.com/home-eng.html Make sure to have this done under local, not general, anesthetic unless fone in large hospital.

72 year olds vary greatly in their state of health. Many can and do undergo surgeries and invasive procedures with prompt recovery. My mother had 2 major surgeries in her 80's. Walked out of the hospital 24 hours later just fine in both cases. People in thei 70's and 80's, and sometimes even their 90's -- - undergo major surgery all the time. Not unusual these days, thanks to improved surgical and anesthetic techniques. Conversely there are much younger people who, due to obesity and/or chronic health conditions, are poor surgical risks. However no indication at this point that OP needs surgery. Sounds like he hadn't even gotten a diagnosis yet. And we don't know anything about his overall state of health.

Both higher and lower hermiated disk herniations can affect either the left or right side - or neither; disk herniations can be asympyomatic. It depends on whether the disk presses on a nerve root and if so, on which side. Both sides are equally possible.

He has to pay for some sort of doctor consultation to get the script, yes. But it can be about half what he was quoted if he uses telemedicine. That would not work if he needed a diagnosis, but for a routine med refill for an already diagnosed chronic condition should be possible. Will be important for him to make the situation clear when he enters initial info e.g. "Traveller to US forgot medication at hime. Need prescription for ongoing glaucoma eye drops. Already diagnosed and on ths medication long term" not "glaucoma treatment".

Herniated disk can cause pain on either side, just depends on where the disk bulges. There are other causes of back pain as well, not just herniated disk. Spinal operations are done in multiple Bangkok hospitals both public and private. But it is far from clear the OP needs surgery. We don't know how long the pain has been present nor its cause. Sounds like he has not had a proper diagnosis.

The forum search function does nto work well. Use google instead and add "site:aseannow.com" https://aseannow.com/topic/1259087-good-dentist/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1317720-dental-clinics-in-pattaya-area/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1314023-recommend-a-dentist-in-pattaya-2023/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1279818-pattaya-dental-treatment-any-recommendations/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1051472-german-dentist-on-thappraya-road/

There are at least 3 Thai brands. See this thread for details of large pharmacies in Chiang Mai. Dara Pharmacey and Peera pharmacy in particular are recommended. https://aseannow.com/topic/1047628-best-chiang-mai-pharmacy/ Boots is not really a pharmacy in Thailand, sells mainly cosmetics and tolietries. Never a good choice. Stick to large Thai pharmacies like Peera and Sara and others mentioned in the above thread.

Best to inquire at the hospital. Different hospitals may do different things.

I think he is talking about the cost of seeing a doctor to get a prescription. But indeed, should look at GoodRx to reduce cost of the med itself.

Look into cost of telemedicine as suggested in my prior post.