Why is Thailand so popular for medical tourists?

[webfact]

Why is Thailand so popular for medical tourists?

By The Thaiger

 

 

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

 

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2019-02-15

  

[Pilotman]

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. 

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes 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'd agree with you for the prices I checked India much cheaper.  Only thing I would worry about is the large number of infections from Indian hospitals.  My Thai doctor has not raised his prices in 5 years so the only increase I see is for testing - up about 500 for cholesterol and other stuff he wants to look at every quarter.  

[keith101]

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 .

 

Edited February 15, 2019 by keith101

[bluesofa]

20 minutes ago, webfact said:

thousands visit annually, combining luxury travel with first-rate quality care, for the ultimate medical tourism holiday.

More recently it has started purely as tourism and ended up as medical - for quite a few Chinese anyway.

[roo860]

More recently it has started purely as tourism and ended up as medical - for quite a few Chinese anyway.

[emoji16]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[brokenbone]

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

[madmitch]

Just an advertising article posing as news. Look at the sentence below the article

 

Are you considering a medical procedure abroad? With Thaiger Medical you can research hospitals and doctors, choose a destination in Thailand or abroad, and book an appointment today.

[BritManToo]

Gotta say, I don't want Thai doctors poking around inside of me, unless it was a dire and immediate life threatening emergency. Beyond sewing up an open wound after an accident, forget it.

Not to mention the foreigner x5 or foreigner x10 prices in many hospitals.

 

I'd go almost anywhere else first.

Edited February 15, 2019 by BritManToo

[ebean001]

the cost of medical for me in Chiang Mai has sky rocketed. Also, everyone I talk to agrees with me. You have to be very selective in hospitals here or your paying a big medical bill.

[bkkbudddy]

Greetings, 

 

555555555555555555, not now it's getting too expensive! 

[Trentham]

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.

 

 

[Somtamnication]

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

[justinnsamui]

Coz it's cheap..

Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[mfd101]

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.

[RasiMike]

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.

[Bill Miller]

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". ????

 

[Trentham]

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.

[nobodysfriend]

Thai private hospitals are just ' money making machines ' .

The doctors job is to make money for the hospital , not to cure you .

They do not want you healthy , they want you sick ...

I remember the story of an american who went to a famous ' world class ' CM hospital for just a check up ... he was diagnozed with some rare disease and prescribed very expensive medicine before his operation ...  he panicked and flew back to the states to have his operation done there ... but the US doctors found nothing ... he was in perfect health .

 

 

[hansnl]

19 hours 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 .

 

Next time try a state hospital or a state university hospital, or a police or military hospital.

Cheaper and same or better treatment.

[Rawairat]

20 years ago yes , My recent experiences at Bangkok Phuket poor diagnosis and expensive, much more than Singapore or Australia. My son spent a night in a wheel chair with a broken arm because the missus did not have B50,000 cash and I was away working. When they finally set the break they missed a second fracture, ignoring my sons constant complaints over a week until they figured the bruising must mean something else was wrong. 

No apology’s, I just got blank looks from the doctor and the “International Assitance” who admitted that BPH was expensive and substandard. Management are too busy counting money and checking out the Mercedes catalogue to attend.

i feel sorry for the Thais who have no quality private options. The rest of us can go elsewhere.

[gamini]

17 hours ago, brokenbone said:

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

that's also what i pay

[hansnl]

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".

[sammieuk1]

The question should be how is Thailand so popular with medical tourists ????

[gamini]

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.

[melvinmelvin]

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)

 

 

[spidermike007]

It depends on the hospital. Avoid Bumrungrad at all costs. They are good, but they are overpriced. Bangkok Hospital is also expensive. But for a typical visit, for an opinion, or x-rays, etc, it costs me under 2000 baht. Not bad. And some of the local clinics are decent for minor ailments. Have some friends who have done more significant procedures at the public hospitals. One had a hernia operation, total cost was around 12,000 baht with all treatment and the cost of the room. So, if you pick and choose, the medical care here can be quite good, and inexpensive. 

 

A good example. A friend of mine got in a horrible motorbike accident. Nearly lost his leg. The doctors wanted to amputate. He said no. After the first procedure (he had 11 surgeries), he was quoted 1,400,000 baht for the second procedure at BH. He decided to move from Samui to Bangkok for treatment. Went to one of the private hospitals. They quoted him 460,000 baht. In the interim he befriended the surgeon, as he was also a medical professional, and I guess they had alot to talk about. He said he would get him a quote at a public hospital he also worked at. Next day, came back with a quote of 47,000 baht, total. Needless to say he got the operation there, and the work was good. In the interim, he contacted a friend, who is an orthopedic surgeon in San Diego. Asked him for a quote, since he knew all of the medical terminology. Next day his doctor friend called him. $960,000 with cash discounts, and no followup treatment. 

[keith101]

22 minutes ago, gamini said:

that's also what i pay

Is it full strength or is it a reduced strength injection ?

[xylophone]

9 minutes ago, Rawairat said:

20 years ago yes , My recent experiences at Bangkok Phuket poor diagnosis and expensive, much more than Singapore or Australia. My son spent a night in a wheel chair with a broken arm because the missus did not have B50,000 cash and I was away working. When they finally set the break they missed a second fracture, ignoring my sons constant complaints over a week until they figured the bruising must mean something else was wrong. 

No apology’s, I just got blank looks from the doctor and the “International Assitance” who admitted that BPH was expensive and substandard. Management are too busy counting money and checking out the Mercedes catalogue to attend.

i feel sorry for the Thais who have no quality private options. The rest of us can go elsewhere.

Agree with the general gist of what others have said, because I've only ever met one or perhaps two doctors here who have been anywhere near proficient.

 

One particular case which annoys me is when I had a UTI (from urine retention) and the urologist kept giving me different antibiotics every two or three weeks when I went back to see him, and I must have tried just about every antibiotic known to man, despite me asking him to culture one of my samples because I was feeling very sick and nothing was improving.

 

However he kept on prescribing more antibiotics and the upshot was that I contracted E. coli ESBL (not sure if it was from the cystoscopy which was rather clumsily performed, or from the repeated antibiotics) and I was very sick indeed. So much so that I had to visit the infectious diseases specialist and was prescribed one of only three or four rare antibiotics that might be able to treat this and these had to be done intravenously on a daily basis.

 

Because this was an outpatient procedure, I could not claim on insurance and overall the whole lot would have cost me around 50,000 baht.

 

A guy I know was diagnosed with bladder cancer by this very same urologist and told that the urologist and the surgeon would remove his bladder because that was the treatment they prescribed, however he wasn't keen on this so went back to Australia and had a small cancerous lesion in his bladder treated with radiotherapy (I think) and has been fine for a few years now.

 

And I could go on because I know of quite a few "stuff-ups" here, all of which now make me pretty sure that if I had some ailment which needed surgery, then I would go back home to NZ to get it done privately.

 

The occasional minor complaint is fine, mainly because they don't usually become life-threatening, but trusting doctors and surgeons here with anything other than something very basic is one hell of a gamble.

 

Dentistry on the other hand, no complaints with that which I have received so far.

 

Whilst Thailand may well have become the "medical tourism centre" for some, I believe it is because of their experience with regards to "transgender" type surgery, so, many tourists come here for the likes of boob implants, tummy tucks, nose jobs, facelifts and so on, however in the main these people are healthy when they come here, but entrusting doctors and surgeons to do anything like diagnosing and operating here is not something I would personally recommend. 

[wazzupnow]

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 )