Are Bangkok Hospitals Really That Expensive?

[Mobi]

There is little doubt that the major private hospitals in Thailand that cater to farangs and ‘medical tourists’ have definitely cranked up their charges in the past year or so, but at the end of the day how do current charges compare to similar charges back home in Europe or USA?

Before I moved permanently to Thailand some 4 ½ years ago, I regularly consulted specialists for a variety for chronic complaints for many years in London – in and around the Harley Street area, where the major specialists have their practices, so I have a fair idea of their charges.

Yesterday I went to Bumrungrad and had a round of appointments with 3 specialists: a cardiac specialist, a diabetic specialist and an ophthalmic surgeon. I also had a large number of blood tests – in fact so may that they had to take two lots of blood, half an hour apart, and had extensive tests using high-tech machines in the EENT centre, which tested my field of vision, photographed my retinas, amongst other things, to check the progress of my glaucoma and diabetic retina damage. All three doctors spoke fluent English, were extremely caring and I was able to discuss my various problems with them and come to mutual agreement about changes in medication and adjustments to diet, lifestyle etc.

Total cost for the day – including all lab tests and medication – just over 11,000 Baht or 160 quid in English money.

Now, if I had a similar day in England, (but of course I would never have a similar day because I would never be able to get all that done in on day - even the blood tests take at least 48 hours to get results back from the lab, so I would probably spend a week doing what I did in a day in BKK)), using five year old prices, it would probably cost me as follows:

3 consultations at 350 pounds each, lab tests, say around 800 pounds, ophthalmic tests say 500 pounds, medication free (NHS).Total cost in the region of 2350 pounds or 162,150 Baht. Allowing for inflation I bet my bill at today's rates would be well over 200,000 Baht.

So IMHO, not only did I receive superior and certainly more convenient treatment at Bumrungrad, but it cost me around 5% of what it might have cost in the UK.

Not bad – even in these days of medical price inflation in LOS.

[Erwin1011]

You're making the mistake of comparing prices with external conditions. Europe (UK) versus Thailand.

If you compare cost internally, Bum or any other in the same category, to the ones that are not focusing on foreigners, you will see serious price differentials.

[Mossfinn]

Total cost for the day – including all lab tests and medication – just over 11,000 Baht or 160 quid in English money.

Now, if I had a similar day in England, (but of course I would never have a similar day because I would never be able to get all that done in on day - even the blood tests take at least 48 hours to get results back from the lab, so I would probably spend a week doing what I did in a day in BKK)), using five year old prices, it would probably cost me as follows:

3 consultations at 350 pounds each, lab tests, say around 800 pounds, ophthalmic tests say 500 pounds, medication free (NHS).Total cost in the region of 2350 pounds or 162,150 Baht. Allowing for inflation I bet my bill at today's rates would be well over 200,000 Baht.

So IMHO, not only did I receive superior and certainly more convenient treatment at Bumrungrad, but it cost me around 5% of what it might have cost in the UK.

The cost appears very reasonable, however my one question is Mobi, the quality of treatment?

Are the test results and investigation up to the necessary standard for a proper review, if they are and you appear very pleased and you are the man on the ground as such, I am a little more at ease with the treatment I and my family might receive after I finally make the plunge, in whatever year.

Good Luck

Moss

PS

Erwin, at a bit of a loss to understand your reasoning, the OP stated clearly that it was a straight comparison without the subjective values of other criteria making it an impossible judgement to make any form of comparison, which I thought was the intention.

Moss

[PeaceBlondie]

Mobi, I agree that some of the prices in Thailand's best hospitals are cheap by any Western standard. I pay 250 to 300 baht for each appointment to see an ophthalmic surgeon, a neurologist, heart specialist, etc. But whilst I haven't been amongst the English physicians, the most I ever recall paying for a consultation with a specialist surgeon in the US was about $250, which is now 125 pounds sterling.

I am not convinced, however, that the physicians in Thailand, even those with multiple residencies in the West, have the diagnostic skills or the technical backup of expertise in the lab, to do the job. My buddy here who fears he has ALS is being shifted from pillar to post, month after month, and most of the neurologists don't even bother to look at all the expensive tests. He finally found one who actually looked at all the tests and determined that one was poorly administered and as a matter of fact, I think that doctor was at Bumrungrad

But Mobi, I'm not arguing that Bumrungrad is cheaper than Sloan-Kettering in New York City or the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. For those of us farang who don't have the dosh to jump on the next plane for a $3900 round trip to London or Houston, it's almost beside the point. Besides, we can't all get to Bumrungrad, even, and if the body slingers who run 'ambulance services' here manage to throw my carcass into their pickup truck, I'll be blessed if I get another professor of medicine checking me out in the emergency room....did I tell you about the deep infection I got at the best private hospital in northern Thailand, which couldn't even be diagnosed by the best experts in Bangkok?

[lazeeboy]

Mobi, I agree that some of the prices in Thailand's best hospitals are cheap by any Western standard. I pay 250 to 300 baht for each appointment to see an ophthalmic surgeon, a neurologist, heart specialist, etc. But whilst I haven't been amongst the English physicians, the most I ever recall paying for a consultation with a specialist surgeon in the US was about $250, which is now 125 pounds sterling.

I am not convinced, however, that the physicians in Thailand, even those with multiple residencies in the West, have the diagnostic skills or the technical backup of expertise in the lab, to do the job. My buddy here who fears he has ALS is being shifted from pillar to post, month after month, and most of the neurologists don't even bother to look at all the expensive tests. He finally found one who actually looked at all the tests and determined that one was poorly administered and as a matter of fact, I think that doctor was at Bumrungrad

But Mobi, I'm not arguing that Bumrungrad is cheaper than Sloan-Kettering in New York City or the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. For those of us farang who don't have the dosh to jump on the next plane for a $3900 round trip to London or Houston, it's almost beside the point. Besides, we can't all get to Bumrungrad, even, and if the body slingers who run 'ambulance services' here manage to throw my carcass into their pickup truck, I'll be blessed if I get another professor of medicine checking me out in the emergency room....did I tell you about the deep infection I got at the best private hospital in northern Thailand, which couldn't even be diagnosed by the best experts in Bangkok?

if you compare hospitals to the price of housing ,restaurants ,transport to other countries ,yes thailand is exspensive .......

[Mobi]

Erwin1011 Posted Today, 2007-07-03 17:18:59

You're making the mistake of comparing prices with external conditions. Europe (UK) versus Thailand.

Sorry, I just don't follow your reasoning. I'm comparing the top, most expensive specialists in Thailand against the top, most expensive specialists in London. Surely that is a legitimate comparison. I did that, because that is my experience.

Another comparison could be the cost of the average Thai hospital against a public hospital in the UK. The Thai hospital would come out more expensive, because the public hospitals in the UK are free, to UK nationals - but there again it Thai medical care is only 30 Baht to Thai nationals - and you could go on and on...

I am talking a farang, with reasonable financial resources using specialists in Bangkok vs those in London. I am talking the costs at the Samitivej's, BNH's and Bumrungrads of this world, because that is where most of us farangs go, if we can afford it, and there have been quite a number of threads on TV complaining about the rising costs at these establishments and I was trying to put it in perspective. That's all. OK?

PB, because all my medical expenses were paid for by my employer in London, I used the very best - indeed my diabetic specialist lectures all over the world, and my cardiologist is often quoted by by the media. They were good and I was very happy with their attention and treatment, but I can put my hand on my heart and say that I have had equally impressive consultations at Bumrungrad.

I don't really want to 'blow their trumpet' but they do seem to attract the cream - the pick of the crop- at that hospital, and although others may have had cause to complain, I really am extremely satisfied with everything Bumrungrad have done for myself, my wife and friends.

Many's the farang who has been initially treated and diagnosed in other 'nameless' hospitals in Thailand, and then been subsequently 'rescued' by the folks at Bumrungrad. Mind you, you have to study their doctor lists and make sure you select the best, as I'm sure there's some duds there if you're not careful.

[PeaceBlondie]

Mobi, I'm trying to agree with you. Bumrungrad may, indeed, rank up with some of the best hospitals in the world. I'm not so sure even about that, never having been there. But my experiences at Samitvej were disappointing. One hospital hardly makes an extensive network of care for farang with reasonable but limited resources scattered around 76 provinces. Houston has some of the best hospitals in the world - Arab shieks jet in for eye surgery, for example - but you can also walk into specialist offices where their opening remark is "I can't help you."

[Mobi]

I think we agree with each other on this.

I too am not too sure about Samitivej, although every hospital - even the dreaded one in Pattyaa that shall remain nameless - undoubtedly has some good, caring doctors.

Unfortunately it is often the admin staff and the rules that make a hospital good or bad.

[chokdeekrap]

i just decided to get my lasik (actually PRK) done here at home in canada.

i am coming back to LOS in the fall & was considering doing it in Bangkok... thinking it would be cheaper done there. however i was surprised to find that i could get the procedure done here at home at one of the two highest recommended clinics for cheaper (by about 10-20k baht). if i decided to go to one of the more cheaply priced franchised type clincs the savings would be much more! but hey we all only get one set of peepers so i am going to the best, & it is still going to cost me less than what it would in BKK.

i can't compute why. the doctors doing the surgery may be equivalent but all of the other costs surely should be cheaper in LOS... nurses doing the eye exams, admin staff, office space, etc. so why does it cost more in BKK?

i feel more at ease to be honest getting this procedure done at home here in canada so i am actually happy it turned out to be the cheaper alternative. i just made the mistake of thinking it WOULD be cheaper in LOS.

go figure!

Edited July 4, 2007 by chokdeekrap

[Sheryl]

Prices at the "international" hosps have indeed gone up. To my mind, outpatient care is still good value for the money...and good quality if you take the time to review qualifications and select the doctor carefully. The inpatient costs tho are through the roof. Granted not as bad as in the US, but then, nobody in the US pays for inpatient care out of pocket (nobody could afford to!) and part of that high price is the middle-man's profit (insurance companies, HMOs). Whereas in LOS many people do have to pay their own hospital bills.

What is most annoying is that these prices (the ones in LOS I mean) are in part subsidizing things like valet parking and sumptuous lobbies...

But what to do? Costs at government hospitals are very reasonable, but unless it is an emergency admission this is offset by having to literally spend days registering and running a gauntlet of interns and medical students before seeing a specialist. And you can't choose your doctor. There are smaller less "farang" oriented smaller hospital;s popular with the Thai middle class which are fine for routine things but seldom have the top specialists.

Bottom line: get hospital insurance.

[Mobi]

Sheryl, I think your post sums up the situation admirably

[Old Man River]

I have been going to Bamrungrad for many years. The view around Bangkok is that you can find medical care cheaper, but if you have something serious, you can't find better doctors than at Bamrungrad.

[orchis]

I was diagnosed as having a polyp and prescribed colonoscopy and removal of the polyp,

the quotation in Bangkok was 97.000 thb (incl one nt in the hospital)

I doublechecked with my GP while in Europe (20 Euro) who send me to an internist (40 Euro).

the internist said it wasn't necessary to move what she thought was an irregularity but not a polyp.

The two procedures aren't comparable, but off course I was happier with the second diagnosis and cost.

[Irene]

I was diagnosed as having a polyp and prescribed colonoscopy and removal of the polyp,

the quotation in Bangkok was 97.000 thb (incl one nt in the hospital)

I doublechecked with my GP while in Europe (20 Euro) who send me to an internist (40 Euro).

the internist said it wasn't necessary to move what she thought was an irregularity but not a polyp.

The two procedures aren't comparable, but off course I was happier with the second diagnosis and cost.

You are right only if your second diagnosis is right!

[tangoll]

Just for price comparison sake, I had a colon cleansing/hydrotherapy done at YanHee Hospital for baht 800. In Hong Kong, a similar procedure at a private clinic (non medical) would cost a bit over baht 2,000 (HK$500 or so). But the Yan Hee colon cleansing section is open seven days a week, 8 am - 7 pm, walk in/no appointment necessary basis. You wouldn't get that in Hong Kong.

[ding]

I've been going to Bunrungrad for about 15 years. It's a lot more expensive now, but I'm used to the insanity, shadyness and sketchy care of the US medical system.

Maybe I'd prefer something like knee reconstruction done in America, BUT...

I went to 7 Dr's, a dermotologist, and even a naturopath in the states. None could diagnose my simple problem let alone cure it.

The first Dr I saw at Bumrungrad several years on diagnosed it and it was cure in 2 weeks.

Still, I can't even relate my experiences with fellow Americans. They refuse to even hear me out, shaking their head as I speak. They just can't accept that the US medical care system is not superior in every way to a "3rd world country".