Government hospitals, having to wait

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, elgenon said:

This was in Thailand?

Yes sir, in Bangkok.  I gave 2 examples, if you wanted to search newspaper archives over many years you will find many more.

 

A different example in Chiang Mai at a so called 5 star, Thai customer indicated quickly to the cashier that she would buy the medicines outside. The patient is a respected Thai professional woman, speaks perfect English, always very polite but she's nobodys' fool and she stands her ground and she knows who to contact at high levels if needed,

 

Cashier instantly said 'this hospital doesn't allow that'.

 

Patient 'Your hospital have to allow it, it's the law of Thailand which applies to all hospitals'.

 

Cashier talks to someone and then says 'You have to apply in writing 7 days in advance to have that service' Patient says 'not true' it cannot be like that, not logical'  and she calls someone, a couple of minutes later a senior person from the health ministry calls back, asks for details, and confirms all hospitals must allow the patient to buy the medicines anywhere'.

 

More senior admin' person from the hospital now tells the health ministry lady 'but we have our own rules on that subject and we don't allow it and by the way the patient didn't ask for permission from the doctor involved in the consultation to buy the medicine outside'.

 

Patient has already insisted that the admin. lady put her phone on speaker phone, Health ministry lady says very clearly to the admin. lady 'Your not listening, you cannot make your own rules on this, your hospital must obey the law'. She then says to the patient' please take a smartphone photo of all the people from the hospital and all the documents, in a few minutes I will send you my e.mail address, and please don't leave the hospital.

 

A few minutes later a director of the hospital arrives quickly on the scene full of apologies and tells the patent 'of course you can buy outside and I will tell my driver to personally take you to an outside pharmacy to buy your tablets'.

 

Patient by this stage pretty pissed off and she speaks to the many other people waiting to pay their bills 'The hospital has a free car service to take everybody to a local pharmacy....'

 

Director now put on the spot ushers the patient away and tells her that her bill is all cancelled, and quickly assigns a junior admin. clerk to take the lady to her car and help her to get out of the carpark. Running two steps behind is another junior with a bag of scripted medicines free.

 

______________________________________________________________

 

Well government hospitals are government hospitals and I can guess which CM hospital your referring to and yes it's way too big and efficiency suffers.

 

However there are many government hospitals in Thailand where things are much better organized and in any many cases easy enough to find good English.

Edited March 23, 2019 by scorecard

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

Why post nonsense about doctor doesnt understand 80%, you know, i know that is absolute BS.

Every doctor in Thailand can speak/ understand English, they have to pass English before they can become a doctor.

All medical terms etc are in English, so they have to understand English.

Before you or any other starts telling me i am wrong, the surgeon at the government hospital who put me back together told me that.

 

I have dealt with many doctors here who cannot speak English or understand spoken English, especially (but not only)  in the provinces. Just a few months ago found this to be true in 2 different government hospitals in Bangkok as well. Only after referral to the senior most supervising doctors was anyone able to  understand a word of English encountered. None of the primary doctors spoke a word.

 

Their reading ability is better (true of most Thais)  and showing a key  word written down often helps, especially if it is a medical term. This is also true when dealing with pharmacists. The way they pronounce what, in writing, is the same as an English term will be very different and they will often not recognize the English pronounciation.

 

If you examine a Thai medical text or article in a Thai medical journal you will see that it is all Thai except for medical terms here and there, as most medical terms do not have a Thai translation. They are, however, spoken in a Thai way that may be hard to understand. And Thai speakers will usually not recognize these terms when an English speaker says them, unless they are a Thai who is unusually fluent.  And, of course, when you talk to a doctor you need to say more than a few technical medical terms.

 

Using government hospitals, especially upcountry, one does need to be able to speak at least basic Thai or have a Thai speaker along. Occasionally you'll happen on a doctor whose English is fluent but that is by no means the norm. And of course, before getting to such a person you need to make your way through clerks, nurses etc, sill out forms in Thai, etc etc.

 

Before going to a government hospital, I often type out the key things i need to say, using google translate, Thai dictionary etc and checking the back translation to be sure it is clear.  Exception being if I am sure I know how to say what needs to be said in Thai.

 

As I have spent a lot of time in government hospitals I am already pretty familiar with the routines and what questions will be asked, which helps, first few times were quite daunting despite speaking Thai fairly well.

 

I would add that, while it is better in private hospitals, the English speaking among non-physicians in those is not great either, even among the staff in "international relations" office in "international" hospitals. They have a limited repetoire of phrases and as soon as you go off those, comprehension is often minimal. Doctors in private hospitals in Bangkok, CM and other locations with large numbers of foreigners do all speak English and well, much better than one finds in government hospitals. But in a private hospital in an area with few farangs, even those in private hospitals may not have much English.

 

It is a good idea to have a printed paper with key facts like your medical history, medication taken, any allergies to bring with you on hospital visits and give them.   Leave a space at the top for current problem and fill that in as needed so that it takes you just a few minutes to tailor it to your situation. While it is good if you can put the categories ("Medical history" "medications taken" "allergies" etc) in Thai it is not essential as they will usually be bale to figure it out when written down - just don't be wordy in the English, stick to the minimum words needed.

[Tomahawk21]

2 hours ago, gmac said:

I frequently used Sirikit hospital in Sattahip for an eye problem.  

 

I had regular appointments which were always shown as 8-9am, but despite the appointment time it was still first come first served and I would get seen around 1-2pm as all the local Thais seem to arrive well before opening time.  I ended up going in at 11.30-12.00 for the same 8-9.00 appointments and the wait wasn't so bad. One of the nurses even got to the point where she was amending my appointment sheet by hand adding 'before 12' as she knew how bad the system was. 

 

It's not just a lack of doctors that causes the problem it seems to be a refusal by those in charge to give any sort of consideration to their patients.  All they need to do is stagger the appointment times but that would require a bit of thought I suppose. 

i dont suppose it helps as when Thai people get as much as a head ache or tummy ache there straight off to the hospital.............. babies.

[Aforek]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

Why post nonsense about doctor doesnt understand 80%, you know, i know that is absolute BS.

Every doctor in Thailand can speak/ understand English, they have to pass English before they can become a doctor.

All medical terms etc are in English, so they have to understand English.

Before you or any other starts telling me i am wrong, the surgeon at the government hospital who put me back together told me that.

You speak of your own experience, may be you go to hospitals which are used to deal with foreigners

For two years, I go every 70 days for a prescription in the same government hospital, I never see the same doctors, which means I have seen several, only two of them speak English 

for speaking with the rest of staff ( nurses ), you have to speak Thai; it's true that I am always the only farang here, so they see very rarely a western person 

in general, upcountry, you have to speak Thai for everything  , it's true where I live 

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, Happystance said:

I went to a government hospital in CM, was told tickets were given out for appointments at 8am.

So I arrived at 7:30 am and got in a long line. Turns out I was in the wrong line because all announcements we're in Thai and all signage was in Thai and the guard sent me to the wrong line.

 

Got in the right line, waited an hour and got an appointment for 2 hours later. Went to appointment room filled with at least a hundred people. Waited an hour to eventually be told "no doctor for 3 hours."

 

Came back later, waited 2 more hours, eventually was told doctor still didn't show up. Kept waiting.

Thai patients coming and going, I am the only falang, kept waiting.

 

3pm I am told to get in another line with a handful of unhappy Thais. Doctor shows up. 4:30 pm I am finally called in.

 

Doctor speaks little English and doesn't understand 80% of what I say. Eventually he orders a blood panel- that can't be done today, you understand, it's too late and that department is closed.

 

I'm given another appointment for the next day, and told to go pay.

 

Go to pay and get number 212. They are now serving number 61.

Took another hour to pay.

 

With transit time, a 10 hour day. To get a blood test ordered. 

But it only cost 50 baht.

 

Next day, 1/2 hour wait for blood test and 1/2 hour to pay bill. Had to schedule another doctor appointment for a week later to get results. 

800 baht for the test and 50 baht for the next appointment for results, which were communicated in poor English and took 1 1/2 hours to get.

 

Next time I went to the private hospital. Made an appointment over the phone the day prior. Showed up early but had to wait 20 minutes later. Blood test ordered and done in 15 more minutes. Results in 2 hours.

Paid bill in another 10 minutes. Perfect English spoken by everyone I encountered. Whole process took 2 1/2 hours.

2200 baht.

 

You decide what your time is worth.

 

I would say that the above is a very accurate description.

 

And shows why, for outpatient care, unless someone is really short of funds and has plenty of time, it does often make sense to use a private hospital. Provided there is a reasonably good one where you live -- often nto the case in upcountry locations.

 

But I would add that it is very important to carefully choose your doctor as in private hospitals they have a completely free hand to do whatever. If you happen to get a not very competant one -- or worse get an unscrupulous one - can waste a  lot of money and may get substandard or unnecessary treatment. Sometimes egregiously so.  Choosing the right doctor makes all the difference.

 

When it comes to inpatient care the cost savings between public and private become huge and IMO no uninsured person should be admitted into a private hospital here. Even if it is for something you can afford, complications may occur and quickly lead to bills you cannot pay and things get really unpleasant at that popint.

[The Fugitive]

12 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

I have dealt with many doctors here who cannot speak English or understand spoken English, especially (but not only)  in the provinces. Just a few months ago found this to be true in 2 different government hospitals in Bangkok as well. Only after referral to the senior most supervising doctors was anyone able to  understand a word of English encountered. None of the primary doctors spoke a word.

 

Their reading ability is better (true of most Thais)  and showing a key  word written down often helps, especially if it is a medical term. This is also true when dealing with pharmacists. The way they pronounce what, in writing, is the same as an English term will be very different and they will often not recognize the English pronounciation.

 

If you examine a Thai medical text or article in a Thai medical journal you will see that it is all Thai except for medical terms here and there, as most medical terms do not have a Thai translation. They are, however, spoken in a Thai way that may be hard to understand. And Thai speakers will usually not recognize these terms when an English speaker says them, unless they are a Thai who is unusually fluent.  And, of course, when you talk to a doctor you need to say more than a few technical medical terms.

 

Using government hospitals, especially upcountry, one does need to be able to speak at least basic Thai or have a Thai speaker along. Occasionally you'll happen on a doctor whose English is fluent but that is by no means the norm. And of course, before getting to such a person you need to make your way through clerks, nurses etc, sill out forms in Thai, etc etc.

 

Before going to a government hospital, I often type out the key things i need to say, using google translate, Thai dictionary etc and checking the back translation to be sure it is clear.  Exception being if I am sure I know how to say what needs to be said in Thai.

 

As I have spent a lot of time in government hospitals I am already pretty familiar with the routines and what questions will be asked, which helps, first few times were quite daunting despite speaking Thai fairly well.

 

I would add that, while it is better in private hospitals, the English speaking among non-physicians in those is not great either, even among the staff in "international relations" office in "international" hospitals. They have a limited repetoire of phrases and as soon as you go off those, comprehension is often minimal. Doctors in private hospitals in Bangkok, CM and other locations with large numbers of foreigners do all speak English and well, much better than one finds in government hospitals. But in a private hospital in an area with few farangs, even those in private hospitals may not have much English.

 

It is a good idea to have a printed paper with key facts like your medical history, medication taken, any allergies to bring with you on hospital visits and give them.   Leave a space at the top for current problem and fill that in as needed so that it takes you just a few minutes to tailor it to your situation. While it is good if you can put the categories ("Medical history" "medications taken" "allergies" etc) in Thai it is not essential as they will usually be bale to figure it out when written down - just don't be wordy in the English, stick to the minimum words needed.

Very comprehensive advice Sheryl! Thank you so much.

[The Fugitive]

31 minutes ago, Tomahawk21 said:

i dont suppose it helps as when Thai people get as much as a head ache or tummy ache there straight off to the hospital.............. babies.

Not only Thai's. I have a relative in UK who has a lifelong hobby of going to his GP and A/E Departments. Total waster of NHS time and services. Unfortunately, there are many such resource wasters when everything is free. Most of us would agree that in a civilised society health care should be provided according to need, not ability to pay. However, where it is proven time after time over a lifetime that someone is abusing the NHS, they should be made to pay the cost of their GP's time, A/E admissions and associated examinations and investigations.

Edited March 23, 2019 by The Fugitive

[yuiop]

On 3/21/2019 at 7:52 PM, cardinalblue said:

Yes, private hospital costs are excessive.....much of the profit is medicine mark ups....you can ask your doctor for a prescription and get at your local pharmacy.....doctors do get pressure to add unnecessary medicines....

 

still going to go to a CM private hospital for certain disciplines like GI eye and skin....good previous experiences....have a private GP for internal medical issues like blood urine work.....wanted me to return in 3 months for follow-up but I said 6 just to manage costs better....

Is it ok to do so or it's seen as rude?

Have a follow up at Bangkok hospital in a few days and I'm very tempted to ask for a prescription.

Last time I was there I paid 750 baht for the specialist and 3700 baht for medicines.

[Happystance]

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

Why post nonsense about doctor doesnt understand 80%, you know, i know that is absolute BS.

Every doctor in Thailand can speak/ understand English, they have to pass English before they can become a doctor.

All medical terms etc are in English, so they have to understand English.

Before you or any other starts telling me i am wrong, the surgeon at the government hospital who put me back together told me that.

Yeah right pal, who am I going to believe:

You, or my lying first-hand experience! ????????????

 

Bwahaha, because somebody 'told you so'

????????????

Dude, if you knew how ridiculous and "counter-intuitive" you sound...

You should think twice before posting such refuse. Seriously stop embarrassing yourself. 

 

I'm describing exactly what I experienced.

 

Did the doctor know medical terminology in English? Yes, some. Could the doctor speak fluent English or understand the basics of symptoms I was describing?

Not even close, and it took a nurse as interpretor.

 

 

 

[colinneil]

28 minutes ago, Aforek said:

You speak of your own experience, may be you go to hospitals which are used to deal with foreigners

For two years, I go every 70 days for a prescription in the same government hospital, I never see the same doctors, which means I have seen several, only two of them speak English 

for speaking with the rest of staff ( nurses ), you have to speak Thai; it's true that I am always the only farang here, so they see very rarely a western person 

in general, upcountry, you have to speak Thai for everything  , it's true where I live 

You think staff /doctors at the local Banphai hospital are used to dealing with foreigners

I was at Banphai hospital on wednesday, young doctor who saw me had perfect English.

Now i go to that hospital every 3 weeks, have done now for 5 years, in that time i have only seen 1 farang there.

[Thaiwrath]

2 hours ago, Happystance said:

I went to a government hospital in CM, was told tickets were given out for appointments at 8am.

So I arrived at 7:30 am and got in a long line. Turns out I was in the wrong line because all announcements we're in Thai and all signage was in Thai and the guard sent me to the wrong line.

 

Got in the right line, waited an hour and got an appointment for 2 hours later. Went to appointment room filled with at least a hundred people. Waited an hour to eventually be told "no doctor for 3 hours."

 

Came back later, waited 2 more hours, eventually was told doctor still didn't show up. Kept waiting.

Thai patients coming and going, I am the only falang, kept waiting.

 

3pm I am told to get in another line with a handful of unhappy Thais. Doctor shows up. 4:30 pm I am finally called in.

 

Doctor speaks little English and doesn't understand 80% of what I say. Eventually he orders a blood panel- that can't be done today, you understand, it's too late and that department is closed.

 

I'm given another appointment for the next day, and told to go pay.

 

Go to pay and get number 212. They are now serving number 61.

Took another hour to pay.

 

With transit time, a 10 hour day. To get a blood test ordered. 

But it only cost 50 baht.

 

Next day, 1/2 hour wait for blood test and 1/2 hour to pay bill. Had to schedule another doctor appointment for a week later to get results. 

800 baht for the test and 50 baht for the next appointment for results, which were communicated in poor English and took 1 1/2 hours to get.

 

Next time I went to the private hospital. Made an appointment over the phone the day prior. Showed up early but had to wait 20 minutes later. Blood test ordered and done in 15 more minutes. Results in 2 hours.

Paid bill in another 10 minutes. Perfect English spoken by everyone I encountered. Whole process took 2 1/2 hours.

2200 baht.

 

You decide what your time is worth.

I went to Khon Kaen Government Hospital yesterday, for my 4 month regular check up with the spine specialist.

Being a regular, I arrive at 6.30am, and do not mind waiting around, as I can use my internet on my phone. I am also aware that the doctors usually arrive after doing their rounds of the wards to assess the inpatients, so, an hour later than expected, the doctor arrived at 9.25am.

I was second in the queue, and after seeing the doctor, he gave me my prescription for my usual painkillers for 4 months, and arranged my next appointment in July. I was away from the hospital by 10.00am, having paid my total bill of 170 baht.

I also have the LINE details of the specialist, and he told me after my ACDF surgery, that I was able to contact him via LINE anytime, and soon after my operation, he had to go to Germany to attend seminars for a few weeks. Whilst he was in Germany, a small problem arose, so I contacted him in Germany, and after contacting his colleagues at the hospital, he arranged for me to be re admitted the following day, when the problem was quickly sorted.

I also attend weekly physiotheraphy at the hospital, at a time suitable to me. No waiting time, ultrasound, electrolysis, heat pack and time in the exercise room, all for the sum of 180 baht per week.

Never had a problem there in nearly 15 years, and every doctor I have seen has spoken more than satisfactory English.

[colinneil]

4 minutes ago, Happystance said:

Yeah right pal, who am I going to believe:

You, or my lying first-hand experience! ????????????

 

Bwahaha, because somebody 'told you so'

????????????

Dude, if you knew how ridiculous and "counter-intuitive" you sound...

You should think twice before posting such refuse. Seriously stop embarrassing yourself. 

 

I'm describing exactly what I experienced.

 

Did the doctor know medical terminology in English? Yes, some. Could the doctor speak fluent English or understand the basics of symptoms I was describing?

Not even close, and it took a nurse as interpretor.

 

 

 

Another nonsense post, you believe what you want.

No member on here has anything near my experience of government hospitals here.

Almost 300 days in, on 7 separate occasions.

Seen by many different doctors, now when i was in Khonkaen hospital for 7 months, some doctors would not speak to me, i complained to my surgeon, after that every doctor spoke to me in English.

[Happystance]

9 minutes ago, yuiop said:

Is it ok to do so or it's seen as rude?

It's totally fine to ask for an RX. Those doctors understand the huge markups at private hospitals and furthermore often work at multiple facilities themselves.

 

I had a doctor at a private give me an RX without even asking and recommended I go to a govt pharmacy as it would cost a fraction.

 

 

[scubascuba3]

I went to Memorial, had to wait an hour, certainly not efficient. 2nd Appointment i tried Pattaya City, got seen within an hour but half the price, so Pattaya City if i need to in future for basic stuff

[The Fugitive]

8 minutes ago, Happystance said:

Yeah right pal, who am I going to believe:

You, or my lying first-hand experience! ????????????

 

Bwahaha, because somebody 'told you so'

????????????

Dude, if you knew how ridiculous and "counter-intuitive" you sound...

You should think twice before posting such refuse. Seriously stop embarrassing yourself. 

 

I'm describing exactly what I experienced.

 

Did the doctor know medical terminology in English? Yes, some. Could the doctor speak fluent English or understand the basics of symptoms I was describing?

Not even close, and it took a nurse as interpretor.

 

 

 

Accents/dialects can be a massive problem. A lady was asked to help translate because she had qualified in American English. She tried listening to what I was explaining but said she couldn't understand my Northern English accent at all.

[bluesofa]

5 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Another nonsense post, you believe what you want.

No member on here has anything near my experience of government hospitals here.

Almost 300 days in, on 7 separate occasions.

Seen by many different doctors, now when i was in Khonkaen hospital for 7 months, some doctors would not speak to me, i complained to my surgeon, after that every doctor spoke to me in English.

How come they wouldn't speak to you, and why the change after complaining?

Was it the same doctors who later spoke English, or were there different doctors afterwards?

[colinneil]

Just now, bluesofa said:

How come they wouldn't speak to you, and why the change after complaining?

Was it the same doctors who later spoke English, or were there different doctors afterwards?

I was told the reason for not speaking to me was because they were shy/ scared of making mistakes.

After i made the complaint, same doctors started speaking to me in English.

A very good friend of mine who sat at my bedside monday to friday every week for 8 weeks, asked a lady doctor a question, and in perfect English she said and i quote...... Shut up you talk to much.

[bluesofa]

9 minutes ago, colinneil said:

I was told the reason for not speaking to me was because they were shy/ scared of making mistakes.

After i made the complaint, same doctors started speaking to me in English.

A very good friend of mine who sat at my bedside monday to friday every week for 8 weeks, asked a lady doctor a question, and in perfect English she said and i quote...... Shut up you talk to much.

An impeccable bedside manner!

 

[The Fugitive]

13 minutes ago, colinneil said:

I was told the reason for not speaking to me was because they were shy/ scared of making mistakes.

After i made the complaint, same doctors started speaking to me in English.

A very good friend of mine who sat at my bedside monday to friday every week for 8 weeks, asked a lady doctor a question, and in perfect English she said and i quote...... Shut up you talk to much.

That was how things used to be everywhere if you remember Colin? Doctors were in charge, you must do as you are told and only speak when you are spoken to. Nowadays it is accepted that decisions on your health care should be joint and you are permitted, or even actually encouraged to ask questions. 

Edited March 23, 2019 by The Fugitive

[Happystance]

13 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Another nonsense post, you believe what you want.

No member on here has anything near my experience of government hospitals here.

Your limited experience in one hospital is irrelevant to the enormity of Thailand. 

It's so nice that they found some English speaking doctors for you. Good for you. We get it that you were treated by some doctors who spoke English, thanks for sharing.

Your knowledge on the subject ends there.

 

To argue with others about what they experienced is petty, useless, childish, and makes you look like narrow-minded. You might wanna reconsider how you engage people if you desire credibility.

 

Those in the know about medical credibility on this forum, understand that Sheryl is a definitive source of information in the field, and the enormity of her experience in Thailand runs circles around your little adventure.

Clearly you didn't bother attempting to comprehend what she's posted on the topic. 

 

I suggest you try listening to the pros here. If you aren't careful you might learn something.

[colinneil]

Just now, The Fugitive said:

That was how things used to be everywhere if you remember Colin?Doctors were in charge, you must do as you are told and only speak when you are spoken to. Nowadays it is accepted that decisions on your health care should be joint and you are permitted, or even actually encouraged to ask questions. 

You are spot on mate, when my wife came after work, my friend told her what had gone on, my wife was horrified he had the nerve to ask a doctor questions, you listen to the doctor, not question them.

[Sheryl]

28 minutes ago, yuiop said:

Is it ok to do so or it's seen as rude?

Have a follow up at Bangkok hospital in a few days and I'm very tempted to ask for a prescription.

Last time I was there I paid 750 baht for the specialist and 3700 baht for medicines.

 

 Most drugs do not need a prescription as such and the few that do (mainly opioids, pysch meds and steroids) you can't usually get at a pharmacy. So you do not  need a prescription. You just need to know the name and dose of the drug(s)  and how to take it.

 

You should certainly be finding out from your doctor, before you leave the consultation, exactly what treatment s/he plans to prescribe, side effects/contraindications and  how it should be taken. Even if you were planning to pay for meds from the hospital, you should still know all this, otherwise you have not been properly informed and the doctor has nto done his/her job right IMO.

 

So when you arrive at cashier you should already know all this. At which point I find it simplest to just say that I "already have" the medication and do not need it, and have them take it off the bill. BTW do not be surprised if one or more additional, no value added., meds never discussed by the doctor have made their way in e.g. paracetemol, vitamins etc.  It will even happen that the doctor told you no treatment was necessary but when you rrive at the cashier, there is a medication or two of this type that you are asked to pay for.

 

You can try telling the doctor that you plan to get the medication yourself at a pharmacy and ask him/her to write it down but some hospitals put considerable pressure on doctors not to do this.  I suggest rather than place your doctor in what may be a difficult position you just take out pen and paper (if you need it to remember) and carefully write it all down yourself.  Then do as outlined above. It will take a few minutes longer at the cashier but otherwise works fine.

 

Don't bother trying to tell the cashier etc that you are  invoking your right to not buy medication from them and will get at an outside pharmacy. It will just make things harder and the people you are talking to have no say in the hospital policy so a waste of breath. They are not unaware of what "I already have it" really means in most cases. But it is a face saving way of easing the situation. And your doctor, having ordered a medication(s) as hospital admin wants him to do, is also in the clear; not his/her fault you declined it at the cashier.

 

 

[colinneil]

4 minutes ago, Happystance said:

Your limited experience in one hospital is irrelevant to the enormity of Thailand. 

It's so nice that they found some English speaking doctors for you. Good for you. We get it that you were treated by some doctors who spoke English, thanks for sharing.

Your knowledge on the subject ends there.

 

To argue with others about what they experienced is petty, useless, childish, and makes you look like narrow-minded. You might wanna reconsider how you engage people if you desire credibility.

 

Those in the know about medical credibility on this forum, understand that Sheryl is a definitive source of information in the field, and the enormity of her experience in Thailand runs circles around your little adventure.

Clearly you didn't bother attempting to comprehend what she's posted on the topic. 

 

I suggest you try listening to the pros here. If you aren't careful you might learn something.

You were caught out with your post saying i  had no experience about hospitals here, now please stop with your rubbish, trying to make me look stupid. 

[Sheryl]

Please keep it civil.

 

Hardly unusual for different people to have had different experiences at different places.

 

 

[scubascuba3]

 

 Most drugs do not need a prescription as such and the few that do (mainly opioids, pysch meds and steroids) you can't usually get at a pharmacy. So you do not  need a prescription. You just need to know the name and dose of the drug(s)  and how to take it.

 

You should certainly be finding out from your doctor, before you leave the consultation, exactly what treatment s/he plans to prescribe, side effects/contraindications and  how it should be taken. Even if you were planning to pay for meds from the hospital, you should still know all this, otherwise you have not been properly informed and the doctor has nto done his/her job right IMO.

 

So when you arrive at cashier you should already know all this. At which point I find it simplest to just say that I "already have" the medication and do not need it, and have them take it off the bill. BTW do not be surprised if one or more additional, no value added., meds never discussed by the doctor have made their way in e.g. paracetemol, vitamins etc.  It will even happen that the doctor told you no treatment was necessary but when you rrive at the cashier, there is a medication or two of this type that you are asked to pay for.

 

You can try telling the doctor that you plan to get the medication yourself at a pharmacy and ask him/her to write it down but some hospitals put considerable pressure on doctors not to do this.  I suggest rather than place your doctor in what may be a difficult position you just take out pen and paper (if you need it to remember) and carefully write it all down yourself.  Then do as outlined above. It will take a few minutes longer at the cashier but otherwise works fine.

 

Don't bother trying to tell the cashier etc that you are  invoking your right to not buy medication from them and will get at an outside pharmacy. It will just make things harder and the people you are talking to have no say in the hospital policy so a waste of breath. They are not unaware of what "I already have it" really means in most cases. But it is a face saving way of easing the situation. And your doctor, having ordered a medication(s) as hospital admin wants him to do, is also in the clear; not his/her fault you declined it at the cashier.

 

 

Last 2 times I've asked the doctor to write the drugs down with dose, remember their Thai accent doesn't always make it easy to write down drugs you've never heard of. Anyway at the cashiers both times i had the medication taken off. They didn't say cannot, but balked a fair amount.

 

Another classic of the cashier is to tell you what the whole bill is, you pay and then give you the medication detail after. So if someone is getting medication from a hospital see what meds they've sneaked in there before you pay

 

[Sheryl]

Off-topic and bickering posts have been removed.  ????

 

 

[scorecard]

21 hours ago, Tomahawk21 said:

i dont suppose it helps as when Thai people get as much as a head ache or tummy ache there straight off to the hospital.............. babies.

In fact that was one of the initial problem areas when Australia started free Medicare, and especially with clinics, doctors highly encouraged patients to come back again and again because the doctors got a payment from Medicare for every visit.

 

And yes Thailand needs to fix these 'bumps'.

[scorecard]

20 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Last 2 times I've asked the doctor to write the drugs down with dose, remember their Thai accent doesn't always make it easy to write down drugs you've never heard of. Anyway at the cashiers both times i had the medication taken off. They didn't say cannot, but balked a fair amount.

 

Another classic of the cashier is to tell you what the whole bill is, you pay and then give you the medication detail after. So if someone is getting medication from a hospital see what meds they've sneaked in there before you pay

 

Agree, in fact in my post #64, a smaller point, the doctor had prescribed 2 stronger pain killers plus 30 Tolenol tabs (3 times per day for 30 days). 

 

The lady patient I spoke of mentioned this to the senior hospital manager who had come into the discussion, mentioning:

 

- The doctor asked me 'do you have any pain'.

- Patients answer 'none at all'

 

Nevertheless the doctor prescribed 3 pain killers, plus 4 other medications.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2019 by scorecard

[scubascuba3]

Agree, in fact in my post #64, a smaller point, the doctor had prescribed 2 stronger pain killers plus 30 Tolenol tabs (3 times per day for 30 days). 
 
The lady patient I spoke of mentioned this to the senior hospital manager who had come into the discussion, mentioning:
 
- The doctor asked me 'do you have any pain'.
- Patients answer 'none at all'
 
Nevertheless the doctor prescribed 3 pain killers.
 
 

Doctors are just taking advantage of the sick, disgraceful really. At the very least they should be discussing and justifying the medication

[KiChakayan]

I chose to get treated/followed at Bumrungrad for various reasons, some of which would be definitely "off topic" here ????. They are indeed amazingly greedy and I would recommend that no one accept any major treatment without a second or third opinion. Two years ago I had a prostate MP/MRI that revealed  very small suspicious lesion (PI-RADS 3) This was subsequently confirmed to be a Gleason 6, of about 0.3 to 0.4 cc. The doctor didn't even mention Active Surveillance, he proposed Radical Prostatectomy, or Radiotherapy right away. After some arm twisting he conceded that AS was indeed an acceptable thing to do for the time being. Interestingly I had a repeat MP/MRI this January and the doctors there went into some panic, as my cancer became "not to be seen anymore". I'll have another MRI next January.  Now to come back closer to the topic, as far as I am concerned a Government Hospital is a bit my local market, while Bumrungrad would be Siam Paragon. I like the cosyness, and my Insurance can afford it.