Recommendations For A Family Doctor In The Jomtien Area

[CangguSurfer]

There’s already a thread by this title but it’s 12 years old.  Moving to Pratumnak and want to find a WELL REGARDED family doctor / GP.  

 

Looking for a doctor who knows his stuff, is able to think “out of the box”, listens and cares about his patients, and doesn’t just reach for his Rx pad.  

 

A doctor with a real understanding of nutrition would be gold!  We are a Vegan family.

 

If you have a GP / Family doctor you can recommend, I’d appreciate it.  Prefer Pratumnak or Jomtien, but Central Pattaya is fine too.

[tontraveller]

Doctor Olivier on Thepprasit might be your choice..

 

[GeKoSc]

9 minutes ago, tontraveller said:

Doctor Olivier on Thepprasit might be your choice..

 

I understand you well ... I went through this several times.... Dr. Oliver is eager to sell you pills...never let me finish my explanations...but he is a better bet than those I have been aware of...please let me know in case you will find a suitable doctor...I also need one...

[CangguSurfer]

I am surprised to see so few responses to my request.  Surely there must be at least one family doctor in the Pattaya area who is highly regarded by ThaiVisa members.  When I moved to Chinag Mai I posted a similar request and was overwhelmed by replies, and one physician in particular kept being mentioned.  She turned out to be outstanding. 

 

By that I simply mean that she was well-read in the latest medical knowledge, and had an abiding interest in the relationship of nutrition to general health.  "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food”  is what Hippocrates said over 2500 years ago, and it is still one of the greatest medical prescriptions ever offered!

 

She was more concerned with guiding her patients towards a healthy lifestyle than waiting for them to get sick, and when you were sick, she would seek to find the underlying cause, rather than just treat the symptoms with a prescription.  It is indeed rare to find this type of doctor which is why I am posting my request here.  Hopefully, someone reading this will have something helpful to say.

 

In my search through the Pattaya ThaiVisa forum thread I have indeed heard Dr. Olivier mentioned frequently.  I am a little dubious though after looking at his website.  I won't go into it except to say he is not the type of MD I'm looking for.  I am simply looking for a family physician that is pro-active in health maintanance, not just a pill-pusher, or one of those physicians who latches onto the latest profitable health trend.

 

 

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, CangguSurfer said:

I am surprised to see so few responses to my request. 

I'm not. GPs working in their own small surgery simply dont seem to be very common in Thailand. Everyone here seems to use clinics or hospitals.

 

I know that when I have had minor complaints here that I would have seen a GP about in Europe I just went straight to Pattaya International Hospital, where they have several general doctors working and seeing walk-ins for a fairly small sum. Of course they also have the advantage of having specialists on call if something is beyond their remit.

[CangguSurfer]

50 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

I'm not. GPs working in their own small surgery simply dont seem to be very common in Thailand. Everyone here seems to use clinics or hospitals.

 

I know that when I have had minor complaints here that I would have seen a GP about in Europe I just went straight to Pattaya International Hospital, where they have several general doctors working and seeing walk-ins for a fairly small sum. Of course they also have the advantage of having specialists on call if something is beyond their remit.

It seems a shame.  My view of a medical professional is someone who keeps their patients healthy through preventative medicine, rather than someone you only turn to when you have a medical complaint. 

 

As they say, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".  I strongly believe in this for my family, and having a good family doctor that works proactively with their patients to assure a healthy lifestyle is a huge part of this. 

[KittenKong]

Just now, CangguSurfer said:

It seems a shame.  My view of a medical professional is someone who keeps their patients healthy, rather than someone you only turn to when you have a medical complaints.  As they say, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

Well, I do get an annual health check done for around 3500B at Phyathai hospital in Sri Racha. I suppose that's preventative.

[CangguSurfer]

23 hours ago, GeKoSc said:

I understand you well ... I went through this several times.... Dr. Oliver is eager to sell you pills...never let me finish my explanations...but he is a better bet than those I have been aware of...please let me know in case you will find a suitable doctor...I also need one...

Yep, took a look at his website.  He seems to be in the "anti aging" game.  Not too impressed by that at all, if you know what I mean.  Hopefully somebody here on ThaiVisa will chime in with a "good" family MD who practices proactive preventative family medicine, and not just another pill-pusher for Big Pharma.  

[HauptmannUK]

First experience of Dr Oliver was via my wife going to him with a minor ailment. She came away with a bag of about half a dozen medications - ibuprofen, paracetamol, antibiotics, antiseptic cream etc.  I wasn't too impressed.

I have not so far encountered a GP of the sort the OP is looking for...

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, HauptmannUK said:

First experience of Dr Oliver was via my wife going to him with a minor ailment. She came away with a bag of about half a dozen medications - ibuprofen, paracetamol, antibiotics, antiseptic cream etc.  I wasn't too impressed.

In his defence (and I have never met the man) that is the sort of medical treatment that most Thais seem to prefer. If they dont come away from a doctor with a list of medicines as long as their arm they seem to feel cheated.

[CangguSurfer]

8 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

In his defence (and I have never met the man) that is the sort of medical treatment that most Thais seem to prefer. If they dont come away from a doctor with a list of medicines as long as their arm they seem to feel cheated.

In reality most MD's these days are more concerned with their bottom-lines than with the health of their patients.  That's the problem.  I have an issue with that.

[KittenKong]

3 minutes ago, CangguSurfer said:

In reality most MD's these days are more concerned with their bottom-lines than with the health of their patients.  That's the problem.  I have an issue with that.

In all countries I have lived in apart from Thailand, medicines are purchased from pharmacies not from doctors. So prescribing more or less should not affect their bottom line.

[Rimmer]

Some off topic posts have been removed, topic is about:

Recommendations For A Family Doctor In The Jomtien Area

 

 

 

[ivor bigun]

First experience of Dr Oliver was via my wife going to him with a minor ailment. She came away with a bag of about half a dozen medications - ibuprofen, paracetamol, antibiotics, antiseptic cream etc.  I wasn't too impressed.
I have not so far encountered a GP of the sort the OP is looking for...

Went to him once ,that was enough

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[soloseaview]

22 hours ago, KittenKong said:

In his defence (and I have never met the man) that is the sort of medical treatment that most Thais seem to prefer. If they dont come away from a doctor with a list of medicines as long as their arm they seem to feel cheated.

Tried him once, will not do so again.

 

[bbi1]

On 2/16/2019 at 5:10 PM, GeKoSc said:

I understand you well ... I went through this several times.... Dr. Oliver is eager to sell you pills...never let me finish my explanations...but he is a better bet than those I have been aware of...please let me know in case you will find a suitable doctor...I also need one...

How much commission does he make on each pill he sells?