Good Value Health Check (or Lab) in Bangkok

[2009]

Can anyone recommend a good value place to go for routine health check up (blood work etc. etc) in Bangkok?

 

Or at least just a lab clinic? If not a hospital.

 

Thanks 

[Sheryl]

What is your age and medical history?  There are s number of labs that can do blood tests but you might need other tests as well. 

[2009]

6 hours ago, Sheryl said:

What is your age and medical history?  There are s number of labs that can do blood tests but you might need other tests as well. 

In my30s

 

No problems yet.

 

Thanks 

[UKJASE]

one i used in hua hin was called Health Lab.....  i think they have branches in many cities.  I was impressed by the service and results came back vey quickly

[Dirk Z]

The value of these health checks are greatly overrated. If you are in your 30-s and have no health complaints it is not going to get you anywhere, provided you have a healthy life style. Everybody knows what that is these days, or should know. Sometimes a minor flaw is found leading to unnecessary extra investigations, having its own risks etc. This is my honest opinion as an MD.

[internationalism]

Red Cross is cheap, but each test is done in different building, so full day. Around 600b.

St Luis on Sathorn, only slightly more expensive, but fast 1h.

Also 8 locations in Bkk https://www.pathlab.co.th/individual-blood-tests/ - I don't know prices, not listed on website. For cancer markers they have 8 tests.

also Briatest at Ladprao, for cancer they have 11 tests, no price, I have send them mail asking cancer markers.

Also RSU Healthcare - very expensive in comparison to the government hospital

 

 

 

[internationalism]

very fast reply from Bria Test at Ladprao, within 1h.

Looks like they are cheap, walk in possible. Some 11 cancer tests for 4k (special price), can be lowered by exclusion of some tests, if not needed.

Path Lab is over 2x more expensive (slightly cheaper than RSU), and they do only 10 tests.

CA19-9: 950.- AFP: 600.- CEA: 600.- HCG: 700.- HGH: not available CA 153: 950.- f-PSA: 1,200.- PSA: 950.- NSE: 1,200.- CA 125: 950.- Ferritin: 1,000.-

[Letseng]

8 hours ago, internationalism said:

Red Cross is cheap, but each test is done in different building, so full day. Around 600b.

St Luis on Sathorn, only slightly more expensive, but fast 1h.

Also 8 locations in Bkk https://www.pathlab.co.th/individual-blood-tests/ - I don't know prices, not listed on website. For cancer markers they have 8 tests.

also Briatest at Ladprao, for cancer they have 11 tests, no price, I have send them mail asking cancer markers.

Also RSU Healthcare - very expensive in comparison to the government hospital

 

 

 

St. Louis you can't get a test anymore without seeing a doc first. Husband's recent experience. St Louis is not so cheap. Bangkok Christian for your purpose is would be my recommendation.

[Sheryl]

9 hours ago, internationalism said:

very fast reply from Bria Test at Ladprao, within 1h.

Looks like they are cheap, walk in possible. Some 11 cancer tests for 4k (special price), can be lowered by exclusion of some tests, if not needed.

Path Lab is over 2x more expensive (slightly cheaper than RSU), and they do only 10 tests.

CA19-9: 950.- AFP: 600.- CEA: 600.- HCG: 700.- HGH: not available CA 153: 950.- f-PSA: 1,200.- PSA: 950.- NSE: 1,200.- CA 125: 950.- Ferritin: 1,000.-

Majority of these "cancer tests"  are not suitable for screening purposes. 

[Sheryl]

17 hours ago, 2009 said:

In my30s

 

No problems yet.

 

Thanks 

RSU Healthcare on Sukhumbit would be good choice. https://rsu-healthcare.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral

[internationalism]

14 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Majority of these "cancer tests"  are not suitable for screening purposes. 

which of them I should definitely exclude?

 

I have done afp, psa, cea, occult blood 2x, abdomen ultrasound. All clear.

Primary government hospital refused me any cancer tests (bar occult blood), even they forgot about psa. Also refused ultrasound, colonoscopy.

Secondary doesn't offer more than those I have mentioned.

As waiting time for a specialist doctor is 2.5 month, I would prefer to get private results before seeing him.

At the rock bottom price of 4000b (divide by 11 tests so 360b per test) I got probably a better deal than the government hospital would offer. 

Also saving myself time begging the government hospital for any tests.

I would think that those "not suitable" tests would give doctor some better picture if any of those "suitable" turn borderline/positive.

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

8 hours ago, internationalism said:

which of them I should definitely exclude?

 

I have done afp, psa, cea, occult blood 2x, abdomen ultrasound. All clear.

Primary government hospital refused me any cancer tests (bar occult blood), even they forgot about psa. Also refused ultrasound, colonoscopy.

Secondary doesn't offer more than those I have mentioned.

As waiting time for a specialist doctor is 2.5 month, I would prefer to get private results before seeing him.

At the rock bottom price of 4000b (divide by 11 tests so 360b per test) I got probably a better deal than the government hospital would offer. 

Also saving myself time begging the government hospital for any tests.

I would think that those "not suitable" tests would give doctor some better picture if any of those "suitable" turn borderline/positive.

 

 

 

Everything except the occult blood and PSA. And colonoscopy if you are over 45.

 

If a current or former smoker then low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) might be indicated, see https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/lung-cancer-screening

 

The other tests you mentioned have no utility at all for screening purposes and will not help doctor in any way. Negative results rule nothing out, and positive results can have so many possible causes (most of them benign) as to be useless - and apt to lead to unnecessary additional tests.

 

There are only a few cancers for which there are useful screening tests.

[Lorry]

8 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Everything except the occult blood and PSA. And colonoscopy if you are over 45.

 

If a current or former smoker then low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) might be indicated, see https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/lung-cancer-screening

 

The other tests you mentioned have no utility at all for screening purposes and will not help doctor in any way. Negative results rule nothing out, and positive results can have so many possible causes (most of them benign) as to be useless - and apt to lead to unnecessary additional tests.

 

There are only a few cancers for which there are useful screening tests.

Correct.

And even the usefulness of the PSA test for screening purposes is contested.

[2009]

On 8/10/2022 at 11:22 PM, Sheryl said:

RSU Healthcare on Sukhumbit would be good choice. https://rsu-healthcare.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral

Thanks 

 

11 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Everything except the occult blood and PSA. And colonoscopy if you are over 45.

What would you recommend in addition to this?

 

Standard blood and urine tests? 

 

All of places offer abdomen ultrasound and chest x-ray too with these packages.

 

Anything else?

[Lorry]

13 hours ago, 2009 said:

Thanks 

 

What would you recommend in addition to this?

 

Standard blood and urine tests? 

 

All of places offer abdomen ultrasound and chest x-ray too with these packages.

 

Anything else?

Ultrasound is useless.

Chest x-ray only if you hail from a TB infested place, like sub-saharan Africa.

 

Standard blood test may be useful (blood sugar, creatinin, CBC...) but you are really too young for this. 

 

Urin analysis is useless. 

[2009]

36 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Ultrasound is useless.

Chest x-ray only if you hail from a TB infested place, like sub-saharan Africa.

 

Standard blood test may be useful (blood sugar, creatinin, CBC...) but you are really too young for this. 

 

Urin analysis is useless. 

How are ultrasounds useless?

 

A standard chest x-ray is useful for showing others things too.

 

I know a guy who ended up being diagnosed with lung cancer and it all started with the chest x-ray he had to have done for his retirement visa medical.

Edited August 12, 2022 by 2009

[Lorry]

3 minutes ago, 2009 said:

How are ultrasounds useless?

 

A standard chest x-ray is useful for showing others things too.

 

I know a guy who ended up being diagnosed with lung cancer and it all started with the chest x-ray he had to have done for his retirement visa medical.

Sheryl explained it very well: 

Negative results rule nothing out, and positive results can have so many possible causes (most of them benign) as to be useless - and apt to lead to unnecessary (and possibly harmful) additional tests. 

 

If a chest x-ray would be a good way to screen people for lung cancer ( i.e. the benefits are bigger than the disadvantages) wouldn't you think that all those countries with socialized medicine would do this? But they don't - because it would bring more harm than good. 

If you screen millions of perfectly healthy people with chest x-rays you expose them to unnecessary radiation and you may end up with more cases of cancer than without the screening.  More important,  the follow up of suspicious results includes invasive procedures that do harm (perfectly healthy) people. So it is better not to screen. 

 

[Sheryl]

14 hours ago, 2009 said:

Thanks 

 

What would you recommend in addition to this?

 

Standard blood and urine tests? 

 

All of places offer abdomen ultrasound and chest x-ray too with these packages.

 

Anything else?

Depends on your age and medical history, family history

[2009]

7 hours ago, Lorry said:

If a chest x-ray would be a good way to screen people for lung cancer ( i.e. the benefits are bigger than the disadvantages) wouldn't you think that all those countries with socialized medicine would do this? But they don't - because it would bring more harm than good

No, it's about GPs not wanting to waste their budget sending people who are statistically unlikely to have cancer up the the hospital for x-rays and blood tests when they know that most cases will come back clear and it'll be a waste of the national health budget.

 

Yet, I personally know (in my family, friends, and extended family) almost a dozen people whose cancer symptoms were written off by the GP as "nothing to worry about" and they were later diagnosed as a much more advanced stage.

 

Yet, my aunt a hospital nurse for 4 decades disagrees with the GPs' cavalier approach in the UK.

 

She was literally on her knees begging the GP to send her husband for a simple chest x-ray and basic blood tests cos she knew from decades of experience something was seriously wrong. The GP reluctantly agreed. It turned out to be lymphoma. He got lucky.

 

With my friend's lung cancer, the professor doing his 10 year case study, shook his head in shame when he heard the symptoms the UK GP had ignored for years. He'd had cancer in the lung for 5 years before being diagnosed and it was a simple routine chest x-ray (in Thailand, no less) that showed something wrong and started the investigation.

 

The GPs just don't like sending patients to the hospital and wasting money. I know a lady who had a heart attack for 5 days and during that time she went to the GP twice who said it was just her asthma and maybe a chest infection, gave her antibiotics. 5 days later she was in the ER, heart failure. The cardiologist there said it could have all be different for her had the GP been more proactive.

 

The doctors in hospitals have a very different mentality than GPs in countries with socialist healthcare and it is ironically to do with money. The GP, as the primary care doctor, has a budget or quota that is affected every time they send someone up to the hospital. They worry about that and they use statistical probabilities to decide who to send.

 

It ain't about you being exposed to harmful radiation from x-rays. It ain't like you'd realistically be going up to the hospital ever week for screenings. Maybe an extra few in a lifetime (in the latter half of your life).

 

 

[internationalism]

On 8/11/2022 at 10:17 PM, Sheryl said:

Everything except the occult blood and PSA. And colonoscopy if you are over 45.  
...

The other tests you mentioned have no utility at all for screening purposes and will not help doctor in any way. Negative results rule nothing out, and positive results can have so many possible causes (most of them benign) as to be useless - and apt to lead to unnecessary additional tests.

 

There are only a few cancers for which there are useful screening tests.

After the last check up (that one was only for psa, afp and cea), doctor mentioned my hep B infection as first from my afp result.
I did not make the other basic blood test at this hospital, as i did them a month earlier in another governmental hospital, which is primary and don't do any blood cancer markers. 
So  it looks this marker was worth to have, even to make doctor aware i had hep B in the past. 
I don't think this hospital had access to my records from the primary hospital, which probably done hep B test as part of a basic check up. Possibly they had access to my sirirach hospital 2 check ups in the previous years, as they are affiliated (but, again, sirirach doctor never mentioned my hep B, as i recollect now).

So in a month time I have consultation with a specialist, which happen to deal with liver issues (i have checked this doctor name on google and she published some research). 
Having hep B and being a carrier has up to 400x increased risk for liver cancer. 
 

can you mention for which cancers and what tests are usufull?

Edited August 13, 2022 by internationalism

[internationalism]

On 8/12/2022 at 6:33 AM, Lorry said:

Correct.

And even the usefulness of the PSA test for screening purposes is contested.

I think psa supposed to be compared to fpsa, to give more certain result. 
That test is only fraction more expensive (or plain average 360b in a package I have mentioned).

Possibly a series of psa-fpsa tests should be carried over time to give a better picture how they change and correlate. 
 

Even ca19 and hcg can be indication of prostate. 
 

also psa/fpsa can be indicative in liver, lung and pancreas cancers.   
When compared to the other markers and tests they might give some indication 

Edited August 13, 2022 by internationalism

[scubascuba3]

I started doing these lab tests regularly 2 years ago around 50, i find them very useful, even better to start much younger, cholesterol, blood sugar, HbH1c, etc all useful to check you're on the right track with diet. Walk around Buakhao and you'll see most farang are overweight, too many fatty fried breakfasts.

 

Pattaya has a good lab, lifecare lab

[Lorry]

16 hours ago, 2009 said:

No, it's about GPs not wanting to waste their budget sending people who are statistically unlikely to have cancer up the the hospital for x-rays and blood tests when they know that most cases will come back clear and it'll be a waste of the national health budget.

 

Yet, I personally know (in my family, friends, and extended family) almost a dozen people whose cancer symptoms were written off by the GP as "nothing to worry about" and they were later diagnosed as a much more advanced stage.

 

Yet, my aunt a hospital nurse for 4 decades disagrees with the GPs' cavalier approach in the UK.

 

She was literally on her knees begging the GP to send her husband for a simple chest x-ray and basic blood tests cos she knew from decades of experience something was seriously wrong. The GP reluctantly agreed. It turned out to be lymphoma. He got lucky.

 

With my friend's lung cancer, the professor doing his 10 year case study, shook his head in shame when he heard the symptoms the UK GP had ignored for years. He'd had cancer in the lung for 5 years before being diagnosed and it was a simple routine chest x-ray (in Thailand, no less) that showed something wrong and started the investigation.

 

The GPs just don't like sending patients to the hospital and wasting money. I know a lady who had a heart attack for 5 days and during that time she went to the GP twice who said it was just her asthma and maybe a chest infection, gave her antibiotics. 5 days later she was in the ER, heart failure. The cardiologist there said it could have all be different for her had the GP been more proactive.

 

The doctors in hospitals have a very different mentality than GPs in countries with socialist healthcare and it is ironically to do with money. The GP, as the primary care doctor, has a budget or quota that is affected every time they send someone up to the hospital. They worry about that and they use statistical probabilities to decide who to send.

 

It ain't about you being exposed to harmful radiation from x-rays. It ain't like you'd realistically be going up to the hospital ever week for screenings. Maybe an extra few in a lifetime (in the latter half of your life).

 

 

You may be right about the UK. (The medical system there has a terrible reputaion)

I was thinking of countries with a good health system: Scandinavia, Switzerland, France...

[2009]

Does the Red Cross offer a general check up?

[internationalism]

On 8/10/2022 at 12:06 PM, internationalism said:

Red Cross is cheap, but each test is done in different building, so full day. Around 600b.

St Luis on Sathorn, only slightly more expensive, but fast 1h.

Also 8 locations in Bkk https://www.pathlab.co.th/individual-blood-tests/ - I don't know prices, not listed on website. For cancer markers they have 8 tests.

also Briatest at Ladprao, for cancer they have 11 tests, no price, I have send them mail asking cancer markers.

Also RSU Healthcare - very expensive in comparison to the government hospital

 

 

 

yes, red cross does offer, if you have full day to spare.

Come early morning, to take your number. 

If you come 9-10am might be too late.

No online or phone booking system.

Each governmental hospital does for some 1800b, that's at their vip wing (if yours has one) and pretty fast (special line).

You can request additional tests, for example several cancer markers, ultrasound, ecg.

You might also think about 3 stool exams for blood

Edited August 28, 2022 by internationalism

[2009]

1 hour ago, internationalism said:

yes, red cross does offer, if you have full day to spare.

Come early morning, to take your number. 

If you come 9-10am might be too late.

No online or phone booking system.

Each governmental hospital does for some 1800b, that's at their vip wing (if yours has one) and pretty fast (special line).

You can request additional tests, for example several cancer markers, ultrasound, ecg.

You might also think about 3 stool exams for blood

Cheers

 

Which Red Cross location is it?

[internationalism]

1 hour ago, 2009 said:

Cheers

 

Which Red Cross location is it?

Each location follow the same rules. I think there is only one RC in bkk, that one on rama 4

Edited August 28, 2022 by internationalism

[2009]

On 8/28/2022 at 1:10 PM, internationalism said:

yes, red cross does offer, if you have full day to spare.

Come early morning, to take your number. 

If you come 9-10am might be too late.

No online or phone booking system.

Each governmental hospital does for some 1800b, that's at their vip wing (if yours has one) and pretty fast (special line).

You can request additional tests, for example several cancer markers, ultrasound, ecg.

You might also think about 3 stool exams for blood

So, at the Red Cross, it's just the blood tests for 600? Is that correct?

 

What blood tests are covered?

 

 

[2009]

What do yous think of this check-up (for men aged 40 plus)at Mission Hospital for 10,900? 

Edited September 13, 2022 by 2009

[Sheryl]

A lot there that a healthy perdkn in their 30's does  not need. Including a few things not suitable for  routine screening at any age.