Jump to content



Why is Thailand so popular for medical tourists?


webfact

Recommended Posts

Why is Thailand so popular for medical tourists?

By The Thaiger

 

medical-tourism-ft.jpg

 

Considered to be one of the most popular destinations for contemporary medical tourism, Thailand continues to see a surge in patients seeking top quality, affordable care. From Bangkok to Chiang Mai and the beaches of Phuket, thousands visit annually, combining luxury travel with first-rate quality care, for the ultimate medical tourism holiday.

 

It appears convenience is one key component as to why patients keep returning for invasive and non-invasive treatment. Several international airports service this South East Asian hub with non-stop flights to locations across Thailand including Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai and Pattaya. Low-cost internal flights mean travelling around is cheap and easy. But this is only scratching the surface.

 

Significant financial injections from the Thai government has led to a genuine medical boom with major boosts to the country’s healthcare infrastructure. 

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/thai-life/why-is-thailand-so-popular-for-medical-tourists

 

 

thtthaiger.png

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2019-02-15
  
  • Like 1
  • Confused 3
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

Last year i went to hospital in Bangkok to get my shoulder looked at (dislocated cuff) after falling from a ladder and once the doc had done a quick examination he wanted me to have an MRI which was going to cost 25,000 tbh to which i quickly said no much to expensive for E and it cost 4,000 for consultation and pain killers to which i am still taking today 3 months after the visit simply because its costs to much for treatment here . I could have flowen back to Australia been treated there and flown back to Thailand for much less than this hospital wanted . I was quoted 25,000 to 35,000 by a hospital in Pattaya + all the extras to get a single cortizone injection with the Bangkok one quoting 7.000 + all the extras . my shoulder is getting much better and looking to going to the driving range quite soon so have saved probably 40,000 tbh which is more than my Pension payment plus just by waiting and exercising .

 

i pay the local government street clinic 500 baht per cortisol injection

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my experience, it pays to choose very wisely. My immediate family and I have had good experiences through general checkups and child births, after doing our homework on doctors and hospitals etc.  However, we cremated my father-in-law last week after a few student doctors opened him up several weeks ago to have a look around at what was causing his stomach pain. He was opened from his navel to mid chest and not sewn shut for 3 days - initially he was just bandaged and sedated until they "had time to arrange an x-ray". We were abroad at the time and had to rush back, but there was nothing to be done. Poor old bugger suffered badly for over a week and died early for no reason. The special blend of arrogance and ignorance shown by some of the so called 'doctors' has the family depressed and bewildered and me quite angry... he was one of the good guys, widely loved and admired. Sadly, it is accepted amongst the friends and associates (excepting those in 'medical' circles) that it's the way of things for the poor.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Somtamnication said:

.....because TAT marketing is telling them that Thailand is cheaper than at home. It is not!

Depends where home is.

I use government hospitals which on average cost me about 10% of my US healthcare using Medicare.

My full farang price is less than my Medicare copay. I have extensive experience, including major thoracic surgery which bankrupted me in the US.

The government hospitals could use some fresh paint, maybe. I do not go for the decor.

Helps if your in laws include a few nurses who are or have worked at the government institutions, or at least have a good interpretor along.

When I went for a reccomended class on diabetic nutrition my GF boiled it down for me... "You can eat water". ????

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

As for dentistry, well, a cap here costs half or 1/3 of the price in Oz. And well done too. The dental clinics in BKK are large & the dentists can therefore specialize, so you get a more professional approach than you would get in your usual one-person suburban dental clinic in Oz.

 

That has been my consistent experience now over the last 5 or 6 years.

I agree with you re dentistry in spite of my post above. I've had good experiences.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Trentham said:

I have posted this in an earlier forum on medical treatment....................

 

I do not want to sound alarmist but be very careful. Ten years ago I went to Bumrungrad for a simple headache that had been around for a few days. I was sent to a neurologist who diagnosed early onset Alzheimer's and sent me for an MRI at a cost of 30,000 baht. In addition he prescribed several drugs - Stilnox, Tranxeme which is used to treat anxiety, acute alcohol withdrawal, and seizures and a number of other drugs that I cannot remember which were extremely expensive. Obviously it was not Alzheimer's because I am able to write this story. 

 

I also had laser surgery on my eyes at Bumrungrad for acute angle glaucoma about 6 years ago. Upon returning home to Australia I was told by an eye specialist that the surgeon had done the operation the easy way, into the lower hemisphere of my eyes instead of the upper and therefore I now suffer with glare very badly. I then had to attend the hospital for checks - at first weekly, then monthly for a long time and finally every 3 months. That too was very expensive 3000 baht per visit.My Australian doctor told me that was a blatant rip-off because once laser surgery is performed no more than one check-up is necessary. A second eye specialist has since told me that I have never had glaucoma at all. 

 

In addition, I once had very bad shoulder pain and went to BNH Hospital and was put onto a neck stretching machine every day for a month at several thousand baht each day. It was diagnosed as a pinched nerve in my neck. They tried to talk me into an operation on my neck costing  300,000 baht. Thank God I declined. I subsequently found out, upon another trip home that it was indeed an injured rotator cuff in my shoulder.

 

One time I was staying at Khao Luk and wanted to extend for 2 days. Air Asia would not allow me to change my ticket without a medical certificate. So, fit as a fiddle I went to the local hospital and told the doc I had a bad virus in my throat and a head cold. She examined me and told me I had acute pharyngitis. There was nothing wrong with me.

 

Also at BNH I had been treated for reflux for many months and in spite of presenting myself at the hospital at 1 or 2 AM several times with extreme pain in my abdomen nothing was ever done apart from giving me reflux pills and once, a pill to push up my rear for constipation which I did not have. In 2010 I returned home and went to my doctor for some reflux pills and he refused them and sent me for a CAT scan. It was cancer in my pancreas and I was immediately operated on and I am one of the 3% who survive that disease.

 

I can relate other less dramatic stories that have happened to me and also friends of mine in Thailand. It seems to me that medicine in Thailand is not a health service but an industry devoted to making money.

 

I do not doubt that Thailand has some good doctors but Bumrungrad in particular seems to be only interested in making money. PLEASE BE CAREFUL.

 

 

 

 

One day, on a visit to the heart centre of KK University after a doctor in a private hospital told me I had a heart attack, the professor asked me, after hours of tests & all, what I was doing there.

I told him why, and his answer was of course he would say that.

Then he said, and I remember that very well, if you want to pay a lot of money, feel free to go to a private hospital, if you want the best possible care, you come to me.

Total cost of everything, 1729 baht.

If I need to see a doctor, I go to the state hospital or the uni hospital in the evening clinic, pay 250 baht extra on top of the normal fee.

Not busy, good service, doctor attentive, and all tests etc can be done "fast and furious".

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All the hospitals in Thailand have some very good doctors and some not so good ones. Fortunately I have a lot of close Thai friends , including a thai government doctor. They will always advise me which is the best doctor to consult for my medical problems. You should always insist on seeing a particular doctor, because if you don't, the hospital will send you to the least popular and probably the most incompetent. If you have to have a really expensive operation which you can barely afford you should go and have it done in India. I'm assuming you have no insurance because of your age, but if you do, Bungrumrad is tops. I have had a lot of treatment there in the last 20 years, but now they have increased the prices so much that I can no longer afford it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

past half year or so I have paid a number of visits to Siriraj in BKK.

A very large government hospital, also a Uni hospital I think.

 

prices OK I think

 

Am fairly pleased with the physicians. I reckon they are pretty good.

 

(not at all happy with customer service staff and nursing staff,

 pretty useless, rude, unhelpful)

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Some years ago, I'm talking 15 to 20, it was very much cheaper to have procedures here than privately in the UK.  I could even fly out, have a short holiday, have a procedure or tests and fly back, all for under what it would cost privately for the same in the UK.  The doctors at that time, at least in Bangkok, were often US trained and qualified. I have noticed the change, particularly in the last 6 years or so.  Prices have gone up dramatically and there is much more pressure to sell you more and more tests that may not be required. I'm not sure that it is any cheaper now and I am much more concerned about the level of expertise in the medical staff than I was, at least outside of the big Bangkok hospitals. I would no longer consider Thailand to be a place to come specifically  for medical services.  India seems to be much better bet. 

i do not know about india i have my doubts for everything coming from overthere, but i do know i used to pay 200  euro a month for my medicine in my homecountry (all bayer)

now i pay 30 euro for the same medicine for 3 months (all bayer )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.