Asking The Doctor For Less Medicine So You Can Buy Cheaper Elsewhere?

[steffi]

So today I come back from the hospital and as usual there's a total for 4 medicines rather than each itemized.

Anyway, despite one of them being an antibiotic my wife's mother (who thinks she knows everything) told me that you should ask for 2 days instead of the 5 days prescribed and that way you can buy the rest you need elsewhere cheaper.

I for one find it very unlikely the any doctor is going to prescribe you a lower dose of medicine than you need to correct the problem. Especially an anti-biotic. This is why for example most bacteria in Thailand is already resistant to Amoxycillin because anybody can walk into a pharmarcy and buy capsules of the street.

So, is it typical for people to ask for lower doses so they can source it elsewhere?

I reckon even if I asked for a lower dose I'm still going to be paying the same amount otherwise they would have clearly showed me what I'm paying for each in the first place instead of hiding it all in one total for medicine.

Note: doctors service charge was 200 thb which I consider to be pretty reasonable.

[Luckydog]

Yes they will hike up the price in Hospitals for Farangs if you let them get away with it.

So I ask the Doctor for a prescription and go to Fascino Pharmacy here in Pattaya where the medicine is much cheaper.

[steffi]

Yeah i'm not sure how willing the doctor will be to fill out a prescription if they know you aren't going to buy the medicine at the hospital's pharmacy. Since their service charges are so low you figure they are making their money thru the medicine.

Yes they will hike up the price in Hospitals for Farangs if you let them get away with it.

So I ask the Doctor for a prescription and go to Fascino Pharmacy here in Pattaya where the medicine is much cheaper.

[taxexile]

ask the doctor for the names and dosage of the drugs and buy at a regular pharmacy.

a good hospital or pharmacy should provide you with quality assured drugs , the tablet will contain the stated dose of the active ingredient , and the tablet will have been manufactured to the correct specification so that the absorption rates are correct for the drug.

its no good if the tablet dissolves in the stomach , and the active ingredient is destroyed by the stomach acids , some drugs should be absorbed after the tablet leaves the stomach , i.e. it should be able to pass through the stomach without being fully dissolved so that by the time it reaches the small intestine , the active ingredient is ready to be released from the tablet or capsule.

cheaper drugs may not be absorbed efficiently.

[lopburi3]

Higher price for farang? I don't really think so; but you should not give anyone ideas.

I use Vejthani and find there price reasonable but doctor always asks if we want to buy there or not so it surly is not a requirement that you buy from hospital (although some dugs will not be available at outside pharmacy). If you want breakdown you have to ask for it; which is true of hospitals worldwide I believe (in US you ask for insurance receipt - most here don't understand that or the word itemized but will understand "detail receipt").

[samran]

the perscription stuff, I stick to what the doctor gives me in the dosage they recommend and I won't try and get it elsewhere. But, if he/she tries to give me other stuff like that I can get over the counter at a pharmacy I'll tell them "I've got plenty of that at home, I don't need anymore".

[steffi]

Today the doctor I saw wanted to give me a narcotic derivative of morphine but I declined. I generally don't think I need narcotics in my condition.

the perscription stuff, I stick to what the doctor gives me in the dosage they recommend and I won't try and get it elsewhere. But, if he/she tries to give me other stuff like that I can get over the counter at a pharmacy I'll tell them "I've got plenty of that at home, I don't need anymore".

[steffi]

So after spending most of lunch arguing why it's not a good idea to prescribe less anti biotic dosage than is necessary and how it's important for the doctor to see you before you take anti biotics what does the mother do?

She tells her daughter to bring the medicine the hospital prescribed for me that is after examining me - ie seeing me in person, to the pharmacy so she can buy the same stuff for herself because the daughter (my wife) has a sore throat.

So I have a respritory infection and my wife has a sore throat so now she should take anti biotics without first seeing a doctor.

Then when we come home I'm asked to open the gate which I do but the mother who made the request gets out herself and opens the gate herself after I've already gotten out to do it (Should I pissed when this happens?)

We buy two fans at Lotus and they keep changing checkout lanes because each time they think they've found a shorter line it isn't and by the same they come back the line there were originally in was grown. It's the same reason why when we park a car easy spaces are overlooked and we spend a much longer time look for the perfect space usually having gone around in circles at least once already.

Soemtimes you just have to wonder.

I just wish that my daughter would sometime question her mothers decision because most of the time they are just flat wrong.

Advice: If you marry a Thai make sure you can stand the mother because if you can't it doesn't matter how easy going the daughter is you're going to be spending a lot of time with her mother and you will always be last in their priorities.

Today the doctor I saw wanted to give me a narcotic derivative of morphine but I declined. I generally don't think I need narcotics in my condition.

the perscription stuff, I stick to what the doctor gives me in the dosage they recommend and I won't try and get it elsewhere. But, if he/she tries to give me other stuff like that I can get over the counter at a pharmacy I'll tell them "I've got plenty of that at home, I don't need anymore".

[taxexile]

sounds like you should be on valium , not antibiotics.

[steffi]

Well I'm beginning to realize that for the benefit of my own health it would be better to spend as little time with her mother as possible.

sounds like you should be on valium , not antibiotics.

[Old Man River]

So today I come back from the hospital and as usual there's a total for 4 medicines rather than each itemized.

Anyway, despite one of them being an antibiotic my wife's mother (who thinks she knows everything) told me that you should ask for 2 days instead of the 5 days prescribed and that way you can buy the rest you need elsewhere cheaper.

I for one find it very unlikely the any doctor is going to prescribe you a lower dose of medicine than you need to correct the problem. Especially an anti-biotic. This is why for example most bacteria in Thailand is already resistant to Amoxycillin because anybody can walk into a pharmarcy and buy capsules of the street.

So, is it typical for people to ask for lower doses so they can source it elsewhere?

I reckon even if I asked for a lower dose I'm still going to be paying the same amount otherwise they would have clearly showed me what I'm paying for each in the first place instead of hiding it all in one total for medicine.

Note: doctors service charge was 200 thb which I consider to be pretty reasonable.

Assuming you are going to one of the bigger hospitals, just ask the cashier for the details of what you are paying for and she will give you a print out itemizing the medicines. If you don't ask, they won't give it to you.

I don't know of any pharmacy in Bangkok that requires a doctor's prescription before they will sell drugs to you. If they have it, they will sell it. If they don't, another drugstore probably does.

While there is no question that drugs are cheaper outside, most medical insurance companies won't pay for drugs not dispensed by the doctor whose certificate you need in order to file the claim. If the receipts don't match it becomes expensive for the insurance companies to process the claim.