Abdominal CT scan price

[Sheryl]

Abdominal CT almost always involves use of contrast media which increases the cost. 

 

For this a price of 14k is usual even for a Thai (if paying privately).. Many private  hospitals  would charge considerably more.

 

Nowhere in Thailand does a CT with contrast cost just 5k. Not even at a government hospital.

 

At most you might  be able to save about 2-3k by going to a government hospital but there would be long wait for it and you'd have to start all over with consultation etc. In fact waits are so long that many  Thai patients opt to ho to private imaging centers and pay out of pocket.

 

The prices you mention in Ukraine etc must be  heavily subsidized. Or could you be confusing a CT with contrast and a simple Xray?

[Hellfire]

24 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Abdominal CT almost always involves use of contrast media which increases the cost. 

 

For this a price of 14k is usual even for a Thai (if paying privately).. Many private  hospitals  would charge considerably more.

 

Nowhere in Thailand does a CT with contrast cost just 5k. Not even at a government hospital.

 

At most you might  be able to save about 2-3k by going to a government hospital but there would be long wait for it and you'd have to start all over with consultation etc. In fact waits are so long that many  Thai patients opt to ho to private imaging centers and pay out of pocket.

 

The prices you mention in Ukraine etc must be  heavily subsidized. Or could you be confusing a CT with contrast and a simple Xray?

 Before the war, Ukraine had some of the cheapest prices for the medical services in the world. I have no idea why exactly, but that was definitely not because of some kind of subsidy. 
Here I made a screenshot right now. Ct with contrast - around 70-80 usd (2325 uah). I am not Ukrainian citizen. But if I visit this clinic now - this is the price that I will pay. Even now, during the war. Compare to 500 usd for the tourists in Thailand. And no war. Russian prices may be 2 times higher those in Ukraine.

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by Hellfire

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, Hellfire said:

 Before the war, Ukraine had some of the cheapest prices for the medical services in the world. I have no idea why exactly, but that was definitely not because of some kind of subsidy. 
Here I made a screenshot right now. Ct with contrast - around 70-80 usd (2325 uah). I am not Ukrainian citizen. But if I visit this clinic now - this is the price that I will pay. Even now, during the war. Compare to 500 usd for the tourists in Thailand. And no war. Russian prices may be 2 times higher those in Ukraine.

 

14k baht is 380 dollars not 500. And as I tried to explain this is not a "foreigner" price. A Thai payjng privately would pay just as much or more..since as also mentioned this is a comparatively low price.

 

The 3 tier pricing thing you quoted refers only to government hospitals. And is  not widly followed.  Majority of govt hospitals charge same for Thais and foreigners. Though of course most Thais are under govt health. scheme. 

[lopburi3]

9 hours ago, Hellfire said:

I suppose you are new to Thailand. Let me educate you a bit.

I am not new to Thailand and well aware that few if any public hospitals are actually using such a system - yes authorized but as many such things not required and not being used - some have more expensive direct contact with specific doctors (open to all) at a higher price and a handful will charge foreigners a higher price.  But in general everyone pays the same price if not covered by free treatment.  And I am also aware that many Thai patients paying for treatment will provide items in appreciation of service (which most foreigners will not be doing).

[internationalism]

Ups, i have confused (also others) a ct with ultrasound.

that one is  5-10x cheaper than CT. Somebody has mentioned 750b for half abdomen, so full should be 1500b. 
i have asked a dr for an ultrasound for cancer. She said its limited and I should do CT instead. As her english was not great I did not ask her further questions. 
I went to another hospital and radiologist also said it has use for detecting cancer only at few larger internal organs. 
ask your dr if ultrasound would be sufficient for you. 
if somerhing not right you can do CT as the next step, to confirm findings. 
in a sense a CT is more invasive, Chest CT equals 100-800 ordinary xrays. 
As i read only one xray is recommended per year (i had already 7 this year - that is due to pneumonia iand separate covid infections)..
radiation from chest xray stays in the body 10 days. With CT it stays for 2 years. 

here some quote "The typical CT radiation dose is 10 to 20 millisieverts (mSv), which is associated with a lifetime risk of fatal cancer of approximately one per 2,000 CT scans.". 

Another link mentioned 30k excess deaths in the USA yearly due to CT. 
So you are trying early cancer detection, at the same time getting a very high dose of cancerous radiation. 

Edited July 23, 2022 by internationalism

[Cardano]

13 hours ago, Hellfire said:

Your logic is kinda strange. They robbed you for 25 k and since then it has became your fair price measure.

It seems you're the one whose logic is somewhat off kilter. They didn't rob me, nothing was done against my will. I agreed to pay what I considered a fair price for the level of service and use of latest technology.

[SidJames]

21 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Yanks and Japs! It's not 1943!

Septics & Rusties

[Lorry]

23 hours ago, Sheryl said:

The prices you mention in Ukraine etc must be  heavily subsidized.

You can get a CT scan in the US for a couple of hundred dollars,  if you pay cash on the spot.  You can get the same CT scan for a couple of thousand dollars,  if you pay through a foreign insurance company. 

 

I am not at all surprised about Ukrainian prices. 

BTW  the machine may be from Soviet times,  reading may not be included and may be useless, anyway. 

 

Just google "CT abdomen price in India" and you find lots of prices in the Ukrainian price range, some even much cheaper.  Certainly not subsidized.

[Sheryl]

23 hours ago, Lorry said:

You can get a CT scan in the US for a couple of hundred dollars,  if you pay cash on the spot.  You can get the same CT scan for a couple of thousand dollars,  if you pay through a foreign insurance company. 

 

I am not at all surprised about Ukrainian prices. 

BTW  the machine may be from Soviet times,  reading may not be included and may be useless, anyway. 

 

Just google "CT abdomen price in India" and you find lots of prices in the Ukrainian price range, some even much cheaper.  Certainly not 

India is cheap due to volume. The cost driver for scans is the cost of the machine itself which has to be recovered within just a few years as these quickly become obsolete.  India's large population means they can do a high volume of scans and this greatly lowers the price. Scans in Thailand are comparatively costly for opposite reason...small population, low volume.

 

I suspect low prices in Ukraine etc are indeed due  to usage of old,  outdated equipment. Possibly even bought old and used. All those outdated scanners replaced by newer ones are going somewhere....

[Hellfire]

35 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

India is cheap due to volume. The cost driver for scans is the cost of the machine itself which has to be recovered within just a few years as these quickly become obsolete.  India's large population means they can do a high volume of scans and this greatly lowers the price. Scans in Thailand are comparatively costly for opposite reason...small population, low volume.

 

I suspect low prices in Ukraine etc are indeed due  to usage of old,  outdated equipment. Possibly even bought old and used. All those outdated scanners replaced by newer ones are going somewhere....

The difference between old and new equipment is not really that drastic (like 10-15 % accuracy).The price difference is indeed drastic (like 100- 500 % more).

 

 

Edited July 24, 2022 by Hellfire

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, Hellfire said:

The difference between old and new equipment is not really that drastic (like 10-15 % accuracy).The price difference is indeed drastic (like 100- 500 % more).

 

 

10-15% accuracy can mean a lot especially for a potentially serious condition. Older machines also expose to more radiation.

[The Hammer2021]

On 7/23/2022 at 8:30 AM, internationalism said:

Ups, i have confused (also others) a ct with ultrasound.

that one is  5-10x cheaper than CT. Somebody has mentioned 750b for half abdomen, so full should be 1500b. 
i have asked a dr for an ultrasound for cancer. She said its limited and I should do CT instead. As her english was not great I did not ask her further questions. 
I went to another hospital and radiologist also said it has use for detecting cancer only at few larger internal organs. 
ask your dr if ultrasound would be sufficient for you. 
if somerhing not right you can do CT as the next step, to confirm findings. 
in a sense a CT is more invasive, Chest CT equals 100-800 ordinary xrays. 
As i read only one xray is recommended per year (i had already 7 this year - that is due to pneumonia iand separate covid infections)..
radiation from chest xray stays in the body 10 days. With CT it stays for 2 years. 

here some quote "The typical CT radiation dose is 10 to 20 millisieverts (mSv), which is associated with a lifetime risk of fatal cancer of approximately one per 2,000 CT scans.". 

Another link mentioned 30k excess deaths in the USA yearly due to CT. 
So you are trying early cancer detection, at the same time getting a very high dose of cancerous radiation. 

You might need a PET Scan.

[martin81]

I paid around 10K baht for chest CT with contrast in private hospital in smaller town in northern Thailand.

Just for you to compare.

[internationalism]

@Hellfirecomparable to CT price is MRI at 14.4k plus optional contrast 2.5k.

That laboratory below has a branch in bang na, nothing around chonburi.

I know it's completely different scan, but has no radiation. It's a newer technology, so possible has many advantages over CT.

Looks, like no doctors order to perform this scan is needed. 

But also it's not clear, if they would do interpretation of scan and if they have doctors to give diagnosis. Probably they will only print out results

https://www.mrithailand.com/en/online-booking/

 

[lopburi3]

22 minutes ago, internationalism said:

@Hellfirecomparable to CT price is MRI at 14.4k plus optional contrast 2.5k.

That laboratory below has a branch in bang na, nothing around chonburi.

I know it's completely different scan, but has no radiation. It's a newer technology, so possible has many advantages over CT.

Looks, like no doctors order to perform this scan is needed. 

But also it's not clear, if they would do interpretation of scan and if they have doctors to give diagnosis. Probably they will only print out results

https://www.mrithailand.com/en/online-booking/

 

In no case would advise use of contrast outside of hospital as if adverse reaction time is critical.  No information on type of MRI machine or size.  Be aware MRI have advanced along with CT so what was used yesterday is not what is expected today.  Also be aware that you may be in a very confined space for an extended period of time (mine are almost 3 hours) so new machines with larger area are preferred if more than 80-90 kilo.  Some people will not be able to tolerate such enclosure for any period of time, that is an advantage of CT where time is much shorter.  Suspect most people should consult doctor first - and he can determine if CT or MRI is the best choice for symptoms.

[Hellfire]

11 hours ago, martin81 said:

I paid around 10K baht for chest CT with contrast in private hospital in smaller town in northern Thailand.

Just for you to compare.

At the end, I made it for 13500 at Memorial Pattaya (with contrast)

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Hellfire

[mania]

on April 5th 2016 I paid 12,079 Baht for a CT scan with contrast dye of kidneys at Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai

So I don't think your price quoted is unreasonable at all

Edited July 28, 2022 by mania

[ThaiPauly]

On 7/22/2022 at 6:45 PM, Cardano said:

My CT scan for abdomen and chest at Simitivej hospital in Bangkok 25K THB. so 14K seems pretty reasonable to me, providing they are using up to date machine and technology.

I paid the same price (25k) for the same procedure at Rajevej hospital in CM

That's a government hospital and I reckon I was at least double charged

[lopburi3]

5 minutes ago, ThaiPauly said:

I paid the same price (25k) for the same procedure at Rajevej hospital in CM

That's a government hospital and I reckon I was at least double charged

From our experience many years ago there is not that much difference between government hospital and lower priced private hospital for MRI/CT scans as cost is equipment costs rather than people payments - the equipment is expensive and service life is short.

[Sheryl]

12 hours ago, ThaiPauly said:

I paid the same price (25k) for the same procedure at Rajevej hospital in CM

That's a government hospital and I reckon I was at least double charged

Rajavej is private not government. 

[ThaiPauly]

16 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Rajavej is private not government. 

My bad

[ThaiPauly]

On 8/20/2022 at 2:39 PM, ThaiPauly said:

My bad

Although the fact that they did not have any soap in the bathroom in the ER room did make me think it was a public hospital  I suppose

[Lorry]

6 hours ago, ThaiPauly said:

Although the fact that they did not have any soap in the bathroom in the ER room did make me think it was a public hospital  I suppose

So did they flush the toilets in the meantime?

Last time i checked they hadn't.