Chiang Mai Ram Bill

[naammanow]

Took my wife to the Chiang Mai Ram hospital yesterday, she had a kidney infection. One to two hours later she had blood/urine tests done to confirm. Had a UV drip and medication, antibiotics etc. after which I took her home. Bill . . just under 10,000 Baht. Normal or what? Seems pretty steep to me and wonder if Thais that are there can afford all this?

But wait, after being a not to happy bloke and asking them if this is real, and yes getting a bit stroppy, the bill got reduced to 6,660 Baht. Still steep in my eyes.

[tigerbeer]

Took my wife to the Chiang Mai Ram hospital yesterday, she had a kidney infection. One to two hours later she had blood/urine tests done to confirm. Had a UV drip and medication, antibiotics etc. after which I took her home. Bill . . just under 10,000 Baht. Normal or what? Seems pretty steep to me and wonder if Thais that are there can afford all this?

But wait, after being a not to happy bloke and asking them if this is real, and yes getting a bit stroppy, the bill got reduced to 6,660 Baht. Still steep in my eyes.

hope they get fined for adding between 50% to 100% extra for medications sold at their pharmacy. which everyone is forced to pay for.

TB

[sceadugenga]

It's hard I know but it's probably best to keep away from this type of thing if your wife is Thai, the presence of a Farang tends to inspire imaginative billing.

[colino]

my wife has a med card and gets treatment really cheaply i thought all thais had these card,s

at the local hospital near me when i had my accident they charged me 150 baht to clean and dress 4 wounds daily, and when i had xrays on my foot shoulder and hand and 14 days of antibiotics and painkillers 350 baht ,this was not a main hospital

[eek]

i was charged 2,848 baht at Ram for:

Outpatient Medication (238.00)

Lag Inves. & Pathology (1,250.00)

Ultrasound Diag Imaging (960.00)

Nursing Service (50.00)

Hospital Service (50.00)

Physical Evaluation (300.00)

Thought it seemed fair enough.

Out of curiousity does anyone think it isnt a good price, and would a Thai be asked to pay much less?

(I also will have to pay just about the same again for a follow up soon too)

[Loaded]

I've got national insurance and don't pay a sausage

[eek]

think i may look into some kind of insurance actually, although will have to be private. Good point Loaded.

[PeaceBlondie]

I'll guess the prices are cheaper at the big government hospital that's almost next door, Maharaj. For everything. And I'll guess that the doctors are at least as good. And if the Thai wife doesn't want to pay 350 baht for a specialist's opinion, she can probably wait in the long queues and eventually get it for free.

[Eifuku]

Took my wife to the Chiang Mai Ram hospital yesterday, she had a kidney infection. One to two hours later she had blood/urine tests done to confirm. Had a UV drip and medication, antibiotics etc. after which I took her home. Bill . . just under 10,000 Baht. Normal or what? Seems pretty steep to me and wonder if Thais that are there can afford all this?

But wait, after being a not to happy bloke and asking them if this is real, and yes getting a bit stroppy, the bill got reduced to 6,660 Baht. Still steep in my eyes.

Chiangmai Ram's pricing habits evolved from habitual consumption of americans, aka inflation exponentializers.

Best thing for other nationals to do besides living in a country that is not likely to get whacked is to do an about turn when you see them in any establishment & instantly rack up a whopping 100-300% rate of return on your modest capital.

100k demanded in refund (they were not willing to give me back more than 40k -- for NO service delivered except for a 15-min. FREE consultation) -- sweet, nice talk had no effect; raising my voice for ALL to hear got me the ENTIRE 100k back within 20 minutes.

There is a superior alternative -- i.e. exactly the same doctors (these folk are not at fault), excellent staff, outstanding service, no Americans, i.e. 400% rate of return on your otherwise lost money.

Why is it unlikely Americans will never discover this place? Its not the kind of place that 5%-world-population-consuming-40%-of-its-resources -- would visit! Pertinent interpretation? ..... its inexpensive & has a modest appearance.

That's why the rest of us are guaranteed reasonable pricing for top-notch service for the duration.

[Eifuku]

Took my wife to the Chiang Mai Ram hospital yesterday, she had a kidney infection. One to two hours later she had blood/urine tests done to confirm. Had a UV drip and medication, antibiotics etc. after which I took her home. Bill . . just under 10,000 Baht. Normal or what? Seems pretty steep to me and wonder if Thais that are there can afford all this?

But wait, after being a not to happy bloke and asking them if this is real, and yes getting a bit stroppy, the bill got reduced to 6,660 Baht. Still steep in my eyes.

Chiangmai Ram's pricing habits evolved from habitual consumption of americans, aka inflation exponentializers.

Best thing for other nationals to do besides living in a country that is not likely to get whacked is to do an about turn when you see them in any establishment & instantly rack up a whopping 100-300% rate of return on your modest capital.

100k demanded in refund (they were not willing to give me back more than 40k -- for NO service delivered except for a 15-min. FREE consultation) -- sweet, nice talk had no effect; raising my voice for ALL to hear got me the ENTIRE 100k back within 20 minutes.

There is a superior alternative -- i.e. exactly the same doctors (these folk are not at fault), excellent staff, outstanding service, no Americans, i.e. 400% rate of return on your otherwise lost money.

Why is it unlikely Americans will never discover this place? Its not the kind of place that 5%-world-population-consuming-40%-of-its-resources -- would visit! Pertinent interpretation? ..... its inexpensive & has a modest appearance.

That's why the rest of us are guaranteed reasonable pricing for top-notch service for the duration.

One more thing:

a free cure for constipation -- worked for me.

They told me the price for some dental work! I laughed so hard that my rear end thought he'd had a lube job.

Dig this -- a thai dentist elsewhere did the work for one-fifth the RAM quoted charge. Was the work done well? Its 2 years later now and still looks good; not a complaint!!!

[meadish_sweetball]

Took my wife to the Chiang Mai Ram hospital yesterday, she had a kidney infection. One to two hours later she had blood/urine tests done to confirm. Had a UV drip and medication, antibiotics etc. after which I took her home. Bill . . just under 10,000 Baht. Normal or what? Seems pretty steep to me and wonder if Thais that are there can afford all this?

But wait, after being a not to happy bloke and asking them if this is real, and yes getting a bit stroppy, the bill got reduced to 6,660 Baht. Still steep in my eyes.

Chiangmai Ram's pricing habits evolved from habitual consumption of americans, aka inflation exponentializers.

Best thing for other nationals to do besides living in a country that is not likely to get whacked is to do an about turn when you see them in any establishment & instantly rack up a whopping 100-300% rate of return on your modest capital.

100k demanded in refund (they were not willing to give me back more than 40k -- for NO service delivered except for a 15-min. FREE consultation) -- sweet, nice talk had no effect; raising my voice for ALL to hear got me the ENTIRE 100k back within 20 minutes.

There is a superior alternative -- i.e. exactly the same doctors (these folk are not at fault), excellent staff, outstanding service, no Americans, i.e. 400% rate of return on your otherwise lost money.

Why is it unlikely Americans will never discover this place? Its not the kind of place that 5%-world-population-consuming-40%-of-its-resources -- would visit! Pertinent interpretation? ..... its inexpensive & has a modest appearance.

That's why the rest of us are guaranteed reasonable pricing for top-notch service for the duration.

Er, yes, sounds great, apart from your trollish dig at Americans. So where is it located, please?

[Donnyboy]

think i may look into some kind of insurance actually, although will have to be private. Good point Loaded.

eek, could you post back what insurance company you decided on and pricing. Im maybe interested in some sort of health insurance.

PS just updated the home and contents via AIG. for everything. Decided to add earthquake as well since the last jolt

[realthaideal]

".....So where is it located, please?"

Yeah, where is this great hospital and the where's the good dentist office ? Please share Eifuku.

[Jingthing]

Please do an attitude adjustment about rich Americans. Our dollars need viagra. As a people, the vast majority of us are getting much poorer, at home and abroad. Fair enough if you think this is our fault. I tend to agree.

Edited July 5, 2007 by Jingthing

[eek]

eek, could you post back what insurance company you decided on and pricing. Im maybe interested in some sort of health insurance.

PS just updated the home and contents via AIG. for everything. Decided to add earthquake as well since the last jolt

sure thing.

Did do a preliminary gander through the BUPA site, but got a bit fed up and lazy cuz so many options. There is expat, international and travel options. Im sure the TV site has some suggestions so when i get my bum in gear to look, and do some research ill post back any possible good pickings.

[Ulysses G.]

Dig this -- a thai dentist elsewhere did the work for one-fifth the RAM quoted charge. Was the work done well? Its 2 years later now and still looks good; not a complaint!!!

I just had a root canal done at RAM and I had to keep going back every week for about 3-4 months to romove the infection that was left in the tooth. There was no charge for this other than the initial charge for the root canal.

I'm sure that other dentists would have done it for less, but I'm pretty sure that they would have rushed the follow up to cut their costs.

[ThaiPauly]

What is the most important Doctors code of practice"

Answer: FIRSTLY DO NO HARM

My experiences at CMR have showed on more than one occassion that they do not practice this phylosophy.

[Rabbit]

My wife recently gave birth to our first child at the CMR hospital. We were both disgusted with the service.

1)While we were in the delivery room and my wife in labour they let 2 visitors in to see what was happening, who I quickly kicked out.

2)We had just about had to fight with them to get our son out of the nursery to be with us - he was healthy so no reason for this.

3)We had suspicions that there was 1 nurse there on yaba.

4)My wife would ring the bell and there was a prompt answer over the microphone however what ever service she asked for either took ages to come or was never received at the room even just for panadol.

5)They never came to help my wife with bathing even on the 1st day when they said they would.

6)There was a farang in the room next door smoking.

7)During getting our son circumsized the doctors mobile rang so she stopped attending to our son and started with her phone, I thought this was most unprofessional.

8)A came in the room and said it was time for our son to be fed, she just took him away from my wife and started feeding him, we basically had to beg the nurse to give him back to my wife so she could feed him, he wasn't into the breast at this stage. On the same occassion the nurse changed our sons nappy then continued to feed him without washing her hands first, where's the hygene?

Even though the price is cheap compared to my home country (OZ) we know for sure that we will be looking for somewhere else to welcome our child into the world.

[eek]

so guys, if not CMR, where do you recommend for good treatment in CM?

[cmsally]

Never had any problems at McCormick or private section of Suan Dokh

[ThaiPauly]

Suan Dokh is the best and fairest hospital in CM

If you value your health...give CMR a very wide berth

[richard10365]

I think a list of hospitals to avoid should be pinned at the top of the Chiang Mai forum. Chiang Mai Ram would be at the top of the list. Although their service might be good, they do have a habit of over charging farangs.

They did over charge me and I went to their accounting department and got a refund. Chiang Mai Ram will take any opportunity to cheat a foreigner.

Just do a search on Chiang Mai Ram on this website and you will see time after time of people complaining about Chiang Mai Ram and their accounting practices.

I think if there was an official investigation of the hospital, someone would go to jail. I bet the entire accounting department would go to jail. As well as some doctors, nurses, and anyone else involved in their billing activities.

Chiang Mai Ram's slogan should be, "Chiang Mai Ram, If we can't cheat you, then we can't heal you!"

[eek]

Its one thing paying through the nose for treatment, but another paying through the nose if the majority (from what tv members are saying of CMR) treatment is not good.

-----------

I will check out Suan Dokh as i need to get a follow up checkup on my blasted thyroid gland soon. - Tnx Pauly.

[likite]

My wife recently gave birth to our first child at the CMR hospital. We were both disgusted with the service.

1)While we were in the delivery room and my wife in labour they let 2 visitors in to see what was happening, who I quickly kicked out.

2)We had just about had to fight with them to get our son out of the nursery to be with us - he was healthy so no reason for this.

3)We had suspicions that there was 1 nurse there on yaba.

4)My wife would ring the bell and there was a prompt answer over the microphone however what ever service she asked for either took ages to come or was never received at the room even just for panadol.

5)They never came to help my wife with bathing even on the 1st day when they said they would.

6)There was a farang in the room next door smoking.

7)During getting our son circumsized the doctors mobile rang so she stopped attending to our son and started with her phone, I thought this was most unprofessional.

8)A came in the room and said it was time for our son to be fed, she just took him away from my wife and started feeding him, we basically had to beg the nurse to give him back to my wife so she could feed him, he wasn't into the breast at this stage. On the same occassion the nurse changed our sons nappy then continued to feed him without washing her hands first, where's the hygene?

Even though the price is cheap compared to my home country (OZ) we know for sure that we will be looking for somewhere else to welcome our child into the world.

Not a nice experience. About 18 months ago I paid a visit to Chiang Mai Ram and was equally not impressed (posted on TV).

Suan Dokh is better in many respects, although, I think my wife was overcharged there for some drugs. She had an operation there and they looked after her pretty well. Last time I was in Suan Dokh I waited at least an hour to see the doctor for the results of blood tests (which were showing a problem). When I finally got to talk to him he took 3 mobile phone calls in the space of 10 minutes all from his wife asking how/if he was picking the kids up from school, each time we had to start over - not very professional and frankly annoying.

The last place I'd want to go if ill is Chiang Mai Ram as they overcharge for what they provide, no service and their medical services which have already been discussed here on TV a number of occasions is not the best.

[PeaceBlondie]

I've only used CMR for one thing, shoulder surgery. It got infected, probably during the surgical procedure itself. I returned to the surgeon and he only put me on antibiotics which did nothing. Samitivej was worthless. Suan Dok's surgeon fixed it. Now you know why I prefer to find the Red Cross immunization clinic instead of going to CMR.

Maybe I'm wrong; maybe Chiang Mai Ram is better than Bumrungrad or Johns Hopkins. But I'm avoiding it.

[altman]

where is Suan Dok? this is the first i've heard of it. i was thinking of trying lanna.

[Ajarn]

I've had experience over the years at Lanna, Suan Dawk, Mcormick, and Ram 1 and 2.. and many others throughout the Kingdom. As for the 'cultural' differences, Like slow folks or non-treatment..

I think this mostly due to a lack of language understanding. You sometimes must ask questions and 'be alive'. Waiting just pisses me off, so maybe that's why I remain calm by speaking out politely, and the crap is rare and (mostly) tolerable to me...

The other type of complaints to be had mostly revolve around who your doctor is. I've had many bad experiences when I had lousy, overworked doctors, but good experiences when I've had good doctors. I've never had experiences with nursing bad enough to complain about, so maybe I'm lucky, but once I learned about what I had on the internet ( when possible) and had a decent doctor, I've had great service, (seemingly at a high price at Ram) and no complaints. It has amazed me what ram has done for me, personally. I hope everyone has this experience..

Edited July 17, 2007 by Ajarn

[PeaceBlondie]

where is Suan Dok? this is the first i've heard of it. i was thinking of trying lanna.

It is just outside the moat on Suthep Road, going toward Doi Suthep mountain. It is also called Maharaj, and is the teaching hospital for the medical faculty at CMU. It is a monstrously huge medical complex, but the special Sripat Clinic that many of us farang go to is in the white 15 story building facing the moat, with the huge blue emblem on the top two floors. The clinic is on the 13th floor; registration, cashier and pharmacy are on the first floor near the main road.

[eek]

Can someone please tell me if i went to the right place today?

I went to (i think) Suan Dok. It is inside grounds with a lot of medical buildings. The building i went to was around 2 buildings down from the main gate entrance on the left hand side. It had a lot of blue/grey glass on the outside, some steps leading up and a huge lobby area. A lot of songtaew were waiting around outside. I saw no signs in English, all in Thai, so i dont know if it was the correct place, can only assume it is. I was given a natural coloured slip of paper to fill out with new patient info and a piece of pink paper written in thai that i had to write my name on and sign along with it. As i had turned up in the afternoon the receptionist told me to come back early tomorrow morning as there was 300 people waiting to be seen upstairs! Wow!

So erm..well sorry for the brief discription..not sure what else to say, but ..is this the correct building?

[sleepyjohn]

Took my wife to the Chiang Mai Ram hospital yesterday, she had a kidney infection. One to two hours later she had blood/urine tests done to confirm. Had a UV drip and medication, antibiotics etc. after which I took her home. Bill . . just under 10,000 Baht. Normal or what? Seems pretty steep to me and wonder if Thais that are there can afford all this?

But wait, after being a not to happy bloke and asking them if this is real, and yes getting a bit stroppy, the bill got reduced to 6,660 Baht. Still steep in my eyes.

You have said nothing about exactly what tests were done and how much they should have cost. If you were only guessing you were overcharged why did you get stroppy? Would you have got stroppy in your home country? You chose the most expensve hospital yourself, one where I have been impressed by their speed of service. Just because they reduced the bill it doesn't mean that the original bill was wrong, unless you know something more than what you told us. Maybe they got fed up with you and buckled. In the same vein why is 6660 "steep in your eyes".

Perhaps you have omitted some information that justifies your position, I don't know. In case you're wondering why I'm getting on your case I know someone well who works in Ram who is in no way a zenophobe but she says farangs are quite often complaining and rude, and Israelis especially have a reputation for meanness. I find the health costs here amazingly cheap and I don't really like being thrown in this bag.

Edited July 17, 2007 by sleepyjohn