Health

[tonybuxton2]

The prices charged by hospitals in Thailand for medicine is scanderlous. Sometimes as much as 12 times the list price in a pharmacy. When you go to pay your bill at the hospital tell them that you do not want any medicine and demand the prescription. Then go and buy the medicine outside. In Bangkok there are 5 wholesale pharmacies where they sell drugs at about 75 percent of the list price. There is also one in Chiangmai. But beware fancy looking pharmacies in tourist areas, they also overcharge, but nothing like the hospitals. Boots is very pricey too.

Neither the BGH or Bangrumrod object, when I tell them I dont want medicine and they give me the prescription. I dont know about the other hospitals. Also when the doctor explains your medication and gives you a prescription just ask him to prescribe for a few days and tell him you will get more outside. I find them quite receptive to this. Doctors get a commisssion on the profit from drugs and some prescribe huge quantites of expensive medicine especially when you leave hospital. My worst experience was The Ram in Chiangmai some years back. I left the hospital with nearly 15,000 baht worth of medicine and saw my GP the next day and he told me to throw nearly all of it away.

[chemist]

I personally and many of my friends have the same experiences as tonybuxton2.

The doctors in many private hospitals also often try to persuade you to have some expensive extra tests done, tests that in many cases are totally unnecessary (but how would you know if you don't know anything about medications or treatments?).

An example: Some years ago I had a bad case (but I could still walk ) of "Bangkok stomach", and went to a big private hospital in northern Bangkok (because that hospital was close to where I live). The doctor I met wanted to test my sh1t and blood(!) so that he could pin down the exact strain of bacteria that was causing the illness (I wonder what those tests would have cost). Since I know some stuff about medicine I told him that would not be necessary; just give me an antibiotic that, in your experience, usually works in this part of the world. A few minutes later I left the hospital with the antibiotic (norfloxazine) and a big BAG full of extras (antacids, pills against nausea (which I didn't have), etc etc) that I really didn't need (except for some bags with "electrolyte powder", containting sodium chloride, potassium chloride, etc). Total cost for the visit to the doctor + the medications: 1.500 baht. (I wonder what the cost would have been if those tests had been performed...) Three days later I was fully recovered.

I later checked the price for the same amount of norfloxazine (that I had received at the hospital) at the nearest Tesco pharmacy department: 24 baht. Not that I recommend self-medicating, but still... (And I must admit that nowadays if I on some rare occasion get sick like that again, I just go to the local pharmacy and buy a strip of norfloxazine.)

On another occasion I got sick like that in Isaan, went to the local hospital and was charged 150 baht for the doctor visit and the medicine (norfloxazine again). No suggestions of any tests there...

So are the big private hospitals overcharging their patients? In many cases yes, but I have no proof that this is consistently being done. Do they have special "farang rates"? I don't know, but I suspect they do. Any other experiences out there?

Finally, to some of you that think that the tests mentioned above should be done to lower the overall risk of resistance to antibiotics: I can assure you that such tests very seldom are performed even in more "responsible" contries (like for example my home country Sweden) in cases like this. Besides, if the powers that be in Thailand are worried about resistance, maybe they should remove the antibiotics from the OTC list...

[Prakanong]

Yes the hospital drugs are more expensive.

I have found though that if you let them know you are an informed patient they do not prescribe as many drugs.

I had a good Dr last year at Bumrungrad (2 out of 4 was not bad) who when told who I worked for (big pharma) prescribed one of ours for 1 day when i told him I would get them from a Dr at the office.

I accept what the OP is saying though - get the script and go to a reputable pharmacy - sometimes though when ill or injured you just do not get around to this as you are not well enough - you should see my medicine box from Raffles in Singapore and Bumrungrad.

PS: As you can see they do it Singapore too plus here the GP dispenses so its costly but my company pays

[taxexile]

the large pharmacies opposite siriraj hospital car park ( on the street down to the pier) in bangkok noi are as cheap as any.

siriraj pharmacy

fasino pharmacy

phetcharat pharmacy.

if anybody know of any other pharmacies , please post details.