Picture courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

Thailand’s hospital industry is bracing for the impact of a sluggish economy in the latter half of this year, driven by global uncertainties, according to Bangkok Hospital, part of Bangkok Dusit Medical Services.

 

Economic pressures stem from geopolitical conflicts such as tensions in the Middle East, particularly the Israel-Iran situation, and the effects of US trade policies under President Trump. These factors are expected to further strain Thailand's economy, noted Dr Kriengkrai Hengrussamee, director of Bangkok Hospital.

 

With the Thai economy slowing, consumer spending is becoming more cautious. Dr Kriengkrai anticipates that the hospital sector will begin to feel the effects of the stagnation from July onwards.

 

Moreover, Bangkok Hospital is monitoring the territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, though its 200-bed facility in Phnom Penh, focused on non-complex treatments, has not yet been affected.

 

Despite a new trend in some Middle Eastern countries to encourage domestic healthcare, Bangkok Hospital has not experienced significant repercussions. Instead, the hospital is shifting its focus to attract patients from China, India, and the Nordic nations, seeking to capitalise on these growing markets.

 

Dr Kriengkrai highlighted that the patient ratio at Bangkok Hospital is currently 130 Thai to 50 foreign patients, with Thai patients contributing 55% to the total revenue. The hospital aims to increase its revenue by 10% by 2025, leveraging its specialised cancer and heart treatment services.

 

Recently, the hospital introduced advanced surgical techniques for heart disease, aiming to enhance its service offerings. Last year, Bangkok Hospital reported earnings of 16 billion baht, underscoring its significant role in Thailand's healthcare landscape.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-06-18

 

 

Oh no! The horror. The filthy rich private hospital owners won't be making as much money. Guess they'll have to up their charges.

Hospitals should not be a for-profit industry.

2 hours ago, Ohyesuare said:

Hospitals should not be a for-profit industry.

 

Don't you ever see their "you may have cancer" ads on Facebook. I do all the time.

2 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Guess they'll have to up their charges.

 

And up the number of diagnoses.

3 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Dr Kriengkrai highlighted that the patient ratio at Bangkok Hospital is currently 130 Thai to 50 foreign patients, with Thai patients contributing 55% to the total revenue

So there are over 2 1/2 times as many Thai patients as there are foreigners, but they only contribute 55% of the revenues. That means that foreigners are paying a lot more per patient than Thais. Why should that be the case at a private hospital?

13 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

So there are over 2 1/2 times as many Thai patients as there are foreigners, but they only contribute 55% of the revenues. That means that foreigners are paying a lot more per patient than Thais. Why should that be the case at a private hospital?

Yeah, I was thinking that line of thought too, but then wondered about the sort of ailments the two groups have. I would guess much (or at least more) of the foreign biz is elective plastic surgery and does that have a higher profit margin? 

I would guess they are ripping off the locals proportionately similar to foreigners... 

5 star hotel with medical concessions. No thanks

If this were to have some kind of negative effect on public hospitals here I would be concerned, but I could not give one hoot over whether or not it affects the private hospital industry, which makes far too much profit as it is. 

"130 Thai to 50 foreign patients, with Thai patients contributing 55% to the total revenue" 

 

72% of patients contribute 55% of revenues. Sounds fair, doesn't it?

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand’s hospital industry is bracing for the impact of a sluggish economy in the latter half of this year, driven by global uncertainties, according to Bangkok Hospital, part of Bangkok Dusit Medical Services

When a hospital is all about profit rather than taking care of the sick...

7 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

When a hospital is all about profit rather than taking care of the sick...

When it's a private hospital...............

Jesus, it didn't take a week for them to start blaming all of their bad luck, incompetence and failure on the middle east, Israel and Iran! Jesus, take a look at yourself first, then maybe across to Cambodia .

17 hours ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

 

And up the number of diagnoses.

And the number of treatments!

1 hour ago, topt said:

When it's a private hospital...............

Correct, so are you suggesting profits come before affordable medical care?

1 hour ago, mikeymike100 said:

Correct, so are you suggesting profits come before affordable medical care?

Playing devils advocate who decides what is "affordable" .

For a private hospital, where the funds to put the hospital in place came from private shareholders  etc then normally they are being run as a business......Are you suggesting they should not be able to set their prices based on  whatever their business model is?

 

Arguably if you don't like their prices then you go to a government hospital. My understanding (could be wrong) is that the situation is even worse in the US?

 

For what its worth I do think the inflation in private hospital care has got extreme but it is what it is. 

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of scammers - I hope they go broke.

Deliberately charging Expats 2-3 times what they charge locals is disgusting and although illegal, is allowed.

Most hospitals were setup to attract foreigners in the 90s - by being cheaper than USA, Japan and Korea.

Prior to that they were for the wealthy Thais and those with insurance - in the 90s the numbers jumped bigtime.

But like all things in Thailand they have rested on their laurels and have not modernised or upgraded. 

While the medical world has moved forward in many ways Thailand has not.

India is now more modern and also cheaper - and they all speak English.

 

Won't catch me shedding a tear for BDMS. Greedy b*stards.

4 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

India is now more modern and also cheaper - and they all speak English.

Good point. Thanks for reminding me of that. I recently got a five-year tourist visa for India, so the next time I need a hospital for anything significant, I will just pop over there.

On 6/18/2025 at 6:37 PM, Ohyesuare said:

Hospitals should not be a for-profit industry.

Private Hospitals are an elective option. 

If Government Hospitals were eliminated I would then agree with you.

 

8 minutes ago, 0ffshore360 said:

Private Hospitals are an elective option. 

If Government Hospitals were eliminated I would then agree with you.

Foreigners used to pay the same as Thais at government hospitals. Ten years ago I paid 9,000 baht at a government military hospital for a procedure that required me to spend three nights at the hospital. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that foreigners now have to pay much more than Thais for treatment at government hospitals.

I like Bangkok Hospital, but rarely use it because it's about as expensive as Bumrungrad, though the doctors at BH don't try to run you through so many unnecessary tests to rack up the bill like they do at Bumrungrad. Anyway, anyone who's been to BH will have noticed how popular it is with Middle Easterners, particularly Shi'ite Muslims and their elderly. I doubt that what's going on in Iran would stop most from ME countries flying to Bangkok for treatment at BH though. Why?

10 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

Foreigners used to pay the same as Thais at government hospitals. Ten years ago I paid 9,000 baht at a government military hospital for a procedure that required me to spend three nights at the hospital. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that foreigners now have to pay much more than Thais for treatment at government hospitals.

My wife has been looking for a medical procedure at a specialty hospital (private). In English, on their Website, including one night stay, the price was 80k. On the same site (Thai language page) it was 60k, including one night.