I had a scooter accident about a year ago. Female Thai driver drove straight at me while she was texting on her mobile. I fell taking avoiding action, breaking my ulna. Clean break.

 

My GF drove me to the government hospital, after X'rays my arm was set in plaster. Given calcium tablets to help fusion. A couple of follow-up appointments.

 

The cost was completely covered by the 30,000 baht compulsory government insurance on the scooter. IIRC it was about 5000 baht.

 

IME the government hospital in Chiang Rai gives very good care, it's only the waiting times that can get tedious. Also much cheaper.

 

OTOH, when I had a check cystoscopy at a private hospital, it tried to overcharge me by 12,000 baht. Luckily I had signed off on a written quote for the procedure. 

17 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

 .... and previously banned trolls returning with new accounts ........

not banned my good fellow.

On 9/15/2025 at 11:39 AM, BritManToo said:

Why bother with a 200bht X-ray when a 10,000bht CT scan will do?

X'rays detect bone damage.

 

CT scans detect soft tissue trauma, which in the case of head injuries assumes some importance.

I think quoted costs are just an estimate.

 

Similar to a car repair, they quote an usual amount, but if the repair takes longer then expected or there are other issues the final cost can increase. If you decline an increase you can tow it away.

 

In a hospital scenario, a revised estimate is given at the conclusion, not as the treatment is happening, since it's a health issue. I don't think they can intern you in the hospital for non payment. Isn't it a civil dispute?

 

66k baht is not a lot in that situation if the rest was covered. I would consider that fortunate. That's the deductible I had on my insurance before I would be treated at all.

34 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

How?

Trust is not required in most transactions, not required at all if you have the product/service before you pay for it.

 

What dealings/transactions do you have in Thailand that are based on trust?

You are right 100%. Trust is useless and today its non-existent. Arrogance normally brings in results.

Whatever floats your boat...

To be treated in a Thai hospital, whether be it private or public (yeah, good luck with the latter) considered a privilege,

they do you a favor for treating you' and derive a great pleasure in sticking you with a huge bill, way out any proportions

to any other place you have treated before in your life, but hospitals in Thailand are nothing but some kind of a cartel.

On 9/14/2025 at 7:33 PM, Yellowtail said:

I have been to quite a few hospitals here over the last 25 years and have generally been very happy with the care I received and the prices I paid. 

 

My wife went to a government hospital in Bangkok and I was pleasantly surprised. The biggest difference from the US was how nice the nurses were. Completely different from the unionized beasts at US hospitals. 

I do believe the OPs original story though, and have had similar experiences with the veterinarians here.

Off topic bickering posts removed

On 9/14/2025 at 9:02 PM, Dan747 said:

 I had a stomach pain problem that would not go away several years ago and decided to have it checked out in BKK. I went to the #1 hospital in Bangkok that usually most if not all expats go to, I will not name due to liability issues. After being processed through out-patient department's which took, all morning, I finally arrived at the gastroenterologist clinic. A nurse said I needed an MRI, my pain level was at 4 to 5 out of ten, and I was determined to find out what was going on. Ask my wife, what she thought, and she said do it.  The MRI was around 1,300 USD, and the nurse kept asking me if I could afford it as I kept saying "YES!" My visa paid and cleared me for the MRI, and it was done with a consult with a Doctor in the next morning at 9 AM. The next morning, my wife and I met with a Doctor who told me I had a hiatal hernia and needed surgery as soon as possible. The Doctor wanted to get me in right away for the surgery that day. I was kind of traumatized as of what to do and decided to go back to the hotel to kind of let the dust settle and make an educated decision. We decided to leave Thailand and get a second opinion in the USA. Left the next day, took three days to see a surgeon which required another MRI and was told the hiatal hernia was not that bad (small tear) and would heal on its own and did not require surgery.  Thank God, I did not go through the surgery in Thailand that the hospital was pushing. Lessons learned: Always get a second opinion and maybe a third.  Good Luck to all.

I'm in Chiang Mai, used the 2 largest hospitals here for an MRI of the knee given a badly torn or completely broken ACL.  Each MRI and the DR evaluation ran about $185 USD not 1.5 yrs ago.  $1,300 is robbery.

On 9/16/2025 at 11:29 PM, Lorry said:

I see them 

Well done, you've seen some accidents. What did you conclude? Is riding a motorcycle a death wish?

On 9/13/2025 at 1:08 PM, Bannoi said:

Reading these story's makes me thankful for the NHS.

From my experiences, and that of one on my kids  NHS is just as bad

55 minutes ago, actonion said:

From my experiences, and that of one on my kids  NHS is just as bad

Worse. Thai wife had Schwannoma tumours in one leg. Previously had them in the other leg and surgically removed. Doctor at Regional Government Hospital Tumour Clinic told us the options are; 1) Leave them alone (because they are benign) or, 2) I can remove them. However, be warned they grow attached to the nerves so there may be loss of sensation which may either be temporary or permanent. My wife opted for surgery. All went well (for the second time). In UK I believe the NHS wouldn't have given her the option of surgery.

On 9/13/2025 at 11:46 AM, Daniel4 said:

I’m looking for a bit of advice and experiences here, facts not thoughts please. I would be particularly interested in any native Thai’s experiences. It’s a long story but I’ve tried to be concise while containing the main parts. There are many other facets to it involving meeting with police and the guilty party but my big gripe here is with the  (hospital name removed by Moderator)  their standards, greed and tactics to extort

 

I was in a bad motorcycle accident, crossing a clear roundabout when a pick up truck came into my path at a fairly rapid speed. Of course death comes to mind instantly but somehow I was able to break and swerve to have a side impact with the pick up’s passenger door and front faring. Somehow I survived the accident with just a severely fractured collarbone, a few bumps and scrapes and a limp. The Gods were on my side, I was rushed to a local military hospital by ambulance.

 

My motorcycle insurers investigator was quick in getting to me in hospital checking my condition and confirming everything will be ok for my motorcycle and my medical treatment. He was in discussions with the police, saw the CCTV footage and scattered motorcycle. Both he and the police confirmed that the pick up driver was in total violation and that the motorcyclist had take the correct steps in approaching and entering the roundabout etc.

 

I was patched up after Xrays, CT scans etc and released from hospital with a surgeon consultation the following Monday. At the consultation the surgeon informed me of my injury, a severely fractured collarbone, and explained they do not have the capabilities to operate on me and that if I had insurance then I should go to a nearby private hospital, (hospital name removed by Moderator) . Failing that he suggested cheaper options with good private facilities within two hours drive at Phetchaburi and Ratchaburi provinces.

 

I travelled up to (hospital name removed by Moderator) and consulted a surgeon. He asked my medical history, and if I had insurance cover, I complied fully with his requests. He conformed a figure in the region of ฿250,000 which I felt my combined insurance would cover adequately. Back home one hour later I receive correspondence from the Cashier s Dept with an estimated treatment cost of ฿270,000 - ฿300,000. I queried this and asked for this figure to be checked thoroughly because the difference is as much as 20% in the space of one hour, No one called me back, In hindsight I should have walked away at this point. Pain bearing down on me changed my mind along with the importance of the urgent need for correctional surgery.

 

The hospital cashier sent an email asking for all my insurance cover policies, police report, passport and couple of other items. Everything was sent over by email. I then received a call soon afterwards telling me they have all the documents required and my insurance cover is up to ฿330,000 so I am fully covered for the operation. I was then invited to make a hospital submission for operation. I stated that they had to deal with the compulsory vehicle insurance from the guilty party towards the cost of treatment. This was ignored as the police report was not detailed enough in their view. This was morally wrong but I had little time to argue and I stupidly agreed knowing the likelihood that the (hospital name removed by Moderator)would push estimate levels to greed levels.

 

I was submitted to hospital one day later and went through the operation successfully. The whole hospital experience was less than I had expected, disappointing really and the end result, just despicable.

 

Moving on to discharge day after a one night stay in hospital. Surgeon visited me in my designated room, asked how I felt etc. I said surprisingly good but of course I was jacked up with all sorts of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and painkillers nevertheless I felt ok but very tired from the constant nursing interruptions during the night. He stated OK we can discharge you today but rest for the next two hours when the cashier will contact you about discharging and settlement, you will be able to go home at 1pm, no problem I said. I got no rest there were nine nursing and domestic interruptions within the next hour and I lost count after that, just disgraceful.

 

After 12pm noon I received a visit from the cashier asking me a few questions about hypertension and how the accident occurred. I explained you have the police report and full medical history, your nurses have taken my blood pressure on more than twenty occasions over the past 24 hours nevertheless I will write down the lead up to the accident. She thanked me and stated I have to stay in the room for the next 60-90 minutes while they tie everything up. OK, I felt nervous, like they thought I was lying. 3pm passes (three hours later not 90 minutes) and I wander one floor down to the Cashiers office. Nurses attempted to stop me leaving the floor I was on, I told them to not treat me like a penned animal, open the security door or i’ll find a way through it. They opened it. Incarceration came to mind at this point and I was raging. I stepped into the cashiers office to find they had not yet completed finalisation on one of my insurance policies. I told them to hurry up I wanted to go home and as I cannot drive I need to arrange for my wife to come and pick up our parked car to take me home.

 

4pm passes and still no word, I see the incarceration plan and now fully expect there to be a twist. I take my bags and clothes and again wander down to the Cashier’s Office without security door interruption this time. I tell them I am going home if things are not finalised now. They are holding me against my will and they will not get far doing that. At this point they tell me the final insurance policy from which they were subtracting ฿66,000 had questions about my health and they want me to pay this amount to be discharged. I explained you have had all my health and accident documentation for around 72-96 hours now, you checked prior to inviting me to the hospital for treatment, or did you? Who has been irresponsible? as someone has been? I refused to pay, I didn’t have the funds to pay and had I the funds I still would not have paid. You could have rejected my hospital submission and I could have gone to another cheaper private or indeed public hospital. You now have the problem as you advised me everything was good. If you have done your jobs correctly perhaps this would not have occurred. The guilt on all three of their faces led me to believe they knew they’d made a huge mistake. I mentioned there bowed heads and lack of understanding over humiliating me. I told them you pay for your own mistakes or you sue the other insurer for false information. It’s really that simple.

 

I told them I stayed twenty minutes drive away, they can visit me at home but I’m leaving this building now, no one will stop me, I am being incarcerated against my will. The nursing staff outside the Cashier’s Office obviously felt the commotion next door was fun as they were all laughing loudly. I told them to shut up and open the goddam security door. I am a powerfully built guy and when the little security guards attempted to whisk me back into the building I told them to back off and step aside or I would contact the police.  They indeed backed off.   I dumped my stuff in my car and painfully drove home.

 

An utterly horrible experience at the hands of (hospital name removed by Moderator). When I got home I complained bitterly to the lead Cashier office management. 18 or so hours later I have head nothing from them. They’re a despicable organisation. I would very much appreciate any similar instances anyone has faced. I am worn out tired, in severe pain and just want to nail these charlatans to the floor for their behaviour.

 

Where do I stand, what, if anything, have I done wrong, where do I go from here?

You're wrong to lose your temper and insulting them.

Bad example of a farang.

(Advice: don't take a scooter but car).

I suppose your Thai(?) wife would handled the situation much better.

On 9/13/2025 at 11:46 AM, Daniel4 said:

I’m looking for a bit of advice and experiences here, facts not thoughts please. I would be particularly interested in any native Thai’s experiences. It’s a long story but I’ve tried to be concise while containing the main parts. There are many other facets to it involving meeting with police and the guilty party but my big gripe here is with the  (hospital name removed by Moderator)  their standards, greed and tactics to extort

 

I was in a bad motorcycle accident, crossing a clear roundabout when a pick up truck came into my path at a fairly rapid speed. Of course death comes to mind instantly but somehow I was able to break and swerve to have a side impact with the pick up’s passenger door and front faring. Somehow I survived the accident with just a severely fractured collarbone, a few bumps and scrapes and a limp. The Gods were on my side, I was rushed to a local military hospital by ambulance.

 

My motorcycle insurers investigator was quick in getting to me in hospital checking my condition and confirming everything will be ok for my motorcycle and my medical treatment. He was in discussions with the police, saw the CCTV footage and scattered motorcycle. Both he and the police confirmed that the pick up driver was in total violation and that the motorcyclist had take the correct steps in approaching and entering the roundabout etc.

 

I was patched up after Xrays, CT scans etc and released from hospital with a surgeon consultation the following Monday. At the consultation the surgeon informed me of my injury, a severely fractured collarbone, and explained they do not have the capabilities to operate on me and that if I had insurance then I should go to a nearby private hospital, (hospital name removed by Moderator) . Failing that he suggested cheaper options with good private facilities within two hours drive at Phetchaburi and Ratchaburi provinces.

 

I travelled up to (hospital name removed by Moderator) and consulted a surgeon. He asked my medical history, and if I had insurance cover, I complied fully with his requests. He conformed a figure in the region of ฿250,000 which I felt my combined insurance would cover adequately. Back home one hour later I receive correspondence from the Cashier s Dept with an estimated treatment cost of ฿270,000 - ฿300,000. I queried this and asked for this figure to be checked thoroughly because the difference is as much as 20% in the space of one hour, No one called me back, In hindsight I should have walked away at this point. Pain bearing down on me changed my mind along with the importance of the urgent need for correctional surgery.

 

The hospital cashier sent an email asking for all my insurance cover policies, police report, passport and couple of other items. Everything was sent over by email. I then received a call soon afterwards telling me they have all the documents required and my insurance cover is up to ฿330,000 so I am fully covered for the operation. I was then invited to make a hospital submission for operation. I stated that they had to deal with the compulsory vehicle insurance from the guilty party towards the cost of treatment. This was ignored as the police report was not detailed enough in their view. This was morally wrong but I had little time to argue and I stupidly agreed knowing the likelihood that the (hospital name removed by Moderator)would push estimate levels to greed levels.

 

I was submitted to hospital one day later and went through the operation successfully. The whole hospital experience was less than I had expected, disappointing really and the end result, just despicable.

 

Moving on to discharge day after a one night stay in hospital. Surgeon visited me in my designated room, asked how I felt etc. I said surprisingly good but of course I was jacked up with all sorts of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and painkillers nevertheless I felt ok but very tired from the constant nursing interruptions during the night. He stated OK we can discharge you today but rest for the next two hours when the cashier will contact you about discharging and settlement, you will be able to go home at 1pm, no problem I said. I got no rest there were nine nursing and domestic interruptions within the next hour and I lost count after that, just disgraceful.

 

After 12pm noon I received a visit from the cashier asking me a few questions about hypertension and how the accident occurred. I explained you have the police report and full medical history, your nurses have taken my blood pressure on more than twenty occasions over the past 24 hours nevertheless I will write down the lead up to the accident. She thanked me and stated I have to stay in the room for the next 60-90 minutes while they tie everything up. OK, I felt nervous, like they thought I was lying. 3pm passes (three hours later not 90 minutes) and I wander one floor down to the Cashiers office. Nurses attempted to stop me leaving the floor I was on, I told them to not treat me like a penned animal, open the security door or i’ll find a way through it. They opened it. Incarceration came to mind at this point and I was raging. I stepped into the cashiers office to find they had not yet completed finalisation on one of my insurance policies. I told them to hurry up I wanted to go home and as I cannot drive I need to arrange for my wife to come and pick up our parked car to take me home.

 

4pm passes and still no word, I see the incarceration plan and now fully expect there to be a twist. I take my bags and clothes and again wander down to the Cashier’s Office without security door interruption this time. I tell them I am going home if things are not finalised now. They are holding me against my will and they will not get far doing that. At this point they tell me the final insurance policy from which they were subtracting ฿66,000 had questions about my health and they want me to pay this amount to be discharged. I explained you have had all my health and accident documentation for around 72-96 hours now, you checked prior to inviting me to the hospital for treatment, or did you? Who has been irresponsible? as someone has been? I refused to pay, I didn’t have the funds to pay and had I the funds I still would not have paid. You could have rejected my hospital submission and I could have gone to another cheaper private or indeed public hospital. You now have the problem as you advised me everything was good. If you have done your jobs correctly perhaps this would not have occurred. The guilt on all three of their faces led me to believe they knew they’d made a huge mistake. I mentioned there bowed heads and lack of understanding over humiliating me. I told them you pay for your own mistakes or you sue the other insurer for false information. It’s really that simple.

 

I told them I stayed twenty minutes drive away, they can visit me at home but I’m leaving this building now, no one will stop me, I am being incarcerated against my will. The nursing staff outside the Cashier’s Office obviously felt the commotion next door was fun as they were all laughing loudly. I told them to shut up and open the goddam security door. I am a powerfully built guy and when the little security guards attempted to whisk me back into the building I told them to back off and step aside or I would contact the police.  They indeed backed off.   I dumped my stuff in my car and painfully drove home.

 

An utterly horrible experience at the hands of (hospital name removed by Moderator). When I got home I complained bitterly to the lead Cashier office management. 18 or so hours later I have head nothing from them. They’re a despicable organisation. I would very much appreciate any similar instances anyone has faced. I am worn out tired, in severe pain and just want to nail these charlatans to the floor for their behaviour.

 

Where do I stand, what, if anything, have I done wrong, where do I go from here?

have just finished reading your new book, always asked to go to the top Gverment hospital, i do and im 90 and still going strong with no health insurance but never get 9 nurses. Have skin cancer,operated on in Uk with follow up in Bangkok Goverment hosp for the last 18 months [ open healing ], they even taught my wife to cgange dressing every 2 days to save me mone,have anothe Doc ther who looks after my Prostate  cancer and a specialists who looks after  my overall health [ including my emphsema,not curable but get lots of advise,incidentally also gets my heart implant defifibulator checked . I do ha get to hosp very early to confirm my app and can be waiting up tp 3 hours. SO, yes, im a very ' happy little vegemite ' !

On 9/17/2025 at 11:27 AM, Sheryl said:

Screws etc are quite likely what OP received

Curious to know if these screws and pins the surgeons use to repair compound fractures and limbs are made of magnetic metals that mean they can't ever have an MRI (not just in this case, but more generally, globally). Do you know the materials normally used? All titanium, or a mix?

I recently went to a private hospital for an overnight stay after being told my private insurance would cover the cost. I can't fault the hospital's treatment or quality of service.

 

But the next day, when I was ready to leave, the hospital said the insurance company had a number of queries that would take a few hours to resolve. I had the option of either paying the bill myself (with the insurance reimbursing me in a few days) and leaving immediately, or staying for a few more hours until the insurance company paid the bill.

 

I chose to leave immediately. But the insurance company was slow to pay out and finally advised me they would make a decision in 90 days. I thought oh no, I made a mistake by leaving the hospital before the insurance company had paid out. At least then it was the hospital negotiating with the insurance company. But now, I would have to negotiate with the insurance company if they didn't agree to pay out.

 

I didn't follow the matter up, but the insurance did re-imburse me 90% of the hospital bill after a few weeks. So it all worked out well enough.

 

But the lesson learned is that the argument is often between the insurance company and the hospital (when the insurance believes the hospital is overcharging) and it is best to let them sort it out even if it means you have to hang around the hospital for a bit longer. The hospital doesn't want you taking up a hospital room they can't charge you for and the pressure is on them to reach a settlement with the insurance company so they can get rid of you.

I have personally opted out of the allopathic system after many years of misdiagnosis, over-prescribed antibiotics, sleeping pills, stronger drugs than needed which have contributed to long lasting side effects, which are finally subsiding.  Allopathic drugs/hospitals are great for emergencies, of any kind, be it accidents, broken bones, acute severe food poisoning and many other instances.

 

Having said that, I have found a holistic doctor who has a PhD in neuroscience, a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology, graduated in TCM at Nanjing medical university in China, graduated/studied Ayurdevic/thai herbal/homeopathic medicine.  So this doctor has a very high education from both western and eastern medicine.  This doctor has healed my gut problems from overprescribed drugs, and furthermore treating my lungs (I have COPD), they have never felt so good in 10 yrs.  
 

This doctor spent some years working in the allopathic arena, but found that the emphasis was not on healing the patient but on managing the symptoms (which is what the majority of pharma drugs do), and opted out of this “assembly line” system. I consider myself fortunate indeed and have finally found a path to true healing that does not depend upon lifelong drug prescriptions.  Instead, “nudging” the body through correct nutrients and treatments it regains the capacity for self healing, the way it was originally intended to do.  The change in energy and physical well being has been remarkable, but it needs time and dedication, but the results are, I repeat, remarkable.  
 

However, we each decide on what we feel is best for our own circumstances, and FYI I am 76yrs old and truly believed that the rest of my life was going to be in discomfort.  I am so grateful for having researched science papers, medical procedures at least 3hrs a day for over 5 yrs, and finally decided to  switch treatment methods.  For me it has paid off 😊

5 minutes ago, Globalres said:

I have personally opted out of the allopathic system after many years of misdiagnosis, over-prescribed antibiotics, sleeping pills, stronger drugs than needed which have contributed to long lasting side effects, which are finally subsiding.  Allopathic drugs/hospitals are great for emergencies, of any kind, be it accidents, broken bones, acute severe food poisoning and many other instances.

 

Having said that, I have found a holistic doctor who has a PhD in neuroscience, a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology, graduated in TCM at Nanjing medical university in China, graduated/studied Ayurdevic/thai herbal/homeopathic medicine.  So this doctor has a very high education from both western and eastern medicine.  This doctor has healed my gut problems from overprescribed drugs, and furthermore treating my lungs (I have COPD), they have never felt so good in 10 yrs.  
 

This doctor spent some years working in the allopathic arena, but found that the emphasis was not on healing the patient but on managing the symptoms (which is what the majority of pharma drugs do), and opted out of this “assembly line” system. I consider myself fortunate indeed and have finally found a path to true healing that does not depend upon lifelong drug prescriptions.  Instead, “nudging” the body through correct nutrients and treatments it regains the capacity for self healing, the way it was originally intended to do.  The change in energy and physical well being has been remarkable, but it needs time and dedication, but the results are, I repeat, remarkable.  
 

However, we each decide on what we feel is best for our own circumstances, and FYI I am 76yrs old and truly believed that the rest of my life was going to be in discomfort.  I am so grateful for having researched science papers, medical procedures at least 3hrs a day for over 5 yrs, and finally decided to  switch treatment methods.  For me it has paid off 😊

Admittedly, the above is a bit off topic, however can be applied to post operation discomfort after injuries if the “normal” therapies are not working well.  

On 9/14/2025 at 5:06 PM, BritManToo said:

The price is the scam, 300kbht for a night in hospital and a few bandages is nonsense. 

That is NOT a scam!! It is a rip off - two different things!

I’ve had four major major operations I’m telling you about breaking a femur bone on the right side few years later breaking a femur bone on the left side shoulder operation hernia operations and I basically have my insurance preapproved everything and I’ve never had any of the problems that you were inquiring or talking about I once is ready to go to Wut hospital and I had a price and I told the other Hospital if you come in about 20,000 cheaper my truck company probably use your Hospital and they did and I never had a problem with it so all I can say is I would try to get preapproval ahead of time in my last operation the preapproval was a week happy for the actual operation so literally I checked in the operator on me the next morning the doctor checked on me in the afternoon I was released I didn’t go through any of it the most annoying part of it I would say it was the nurse telling me that running pee she’s gonna put a thing in my pee hole And I told her point blank that wasn’t gonna happen finally about 20 minutes later I pee in a container that she left out and she comes in and she’s all you peed in the wrong container I want you to pee in the little one so if you don’t pee in this one in the next hour I’m gonna come in here and put a thing up your PPO which never happened but I’m saying the nurses can be very annoying if you let them be TIT 

On 9/14/2025 at 11:01 PM, Lorry said:

A lot more than that. 

In Thailand,  if you have international insurance,  an educated guess is 50% get surgery.  Europe (non-profit medicine) shows similar figures. 

A Cochrane review leads one to think that a lot less surgery is really necessary - but certainly a lot more than 1%.

 

The way I understand  your post, it wasn't "the hospital" (who is that?) "pushing" for surgery - it was the doctor. 

His decision may have been influenced by financial considerations. Highly unethical, but that's  for-profit medicine. In  Thailand, we are lucky as there exists a whole non-profit medical ecosystem, the government healthcare system. 

The only country in the world where the complete healthcare system is based on profit (formerly known as greed), is the US.

 

 

A second opinion is not always so easy to come by. I was recently refused a second opinion at a government, so went to a private hospital. The Private hospital diagnoses was quite different to the government hospital, but which one is correct? Looking at the test results, the private hospital clearly shows I was right to get the second opinion. Point now is, do I go to another private hospital with the same complaint, and see what the results of their tests are?

6 minutes ago, Surasak said:

A second opinion is not always so easy to come by. I was recently refused a second opinion at a government, so went to a private hospital. The Private hospital diagnoses was quite different to the government hospital, but which one is correct? Looking at the test results, the private hospital clearly shows I was right to get the second opinion. Point now is, do I go to another private hospital with the same complaint, and see what the results of their tests are?

 

3 doctors,  5 opinions. 

From my experience,  the most important point is: you cannot trust a doctor who has a financial interest in whatever he is recommending.  There are exceptions,  but it is horrifying to experience how many doctors are willing to perform unnecessary surgery (not only in Thailand). 

Second, try to discuss the problem with a doctor who is over 50y.o. They often see things differently than the young ones,  more pragmatic, they have seen it all.

 

3 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Curious to know if these screws and pins the surgeons use to repair compound fractures and limbs are made of magnetic metals that mean they can't ever have an MRI

Normally not.

There are exceptions. 

11 hours ago, Lorry said:

There are exceptions,  but it is horrifying to experience how many doctors are willing to perform unnecessary surgery (not only in Thailand). 

 

A doctor recommended a procedure. Not exactly a surgery, but still an invasive procedure.

I researched it online. I came across an article that suggested there was some risk involved in the procedure making things worse and there was not enough scientific data to suggest it was necessary for my particular condition. 

So I didn't get it done.

There is some degree of risk either way. You cannot fully trust the doctor and neither do you know if information online is reliable. 

 

On 9/14/2025 at 7:28 PM, JensenZ said:

BKK Hospital Pattaya

I have also had excellent treatment several times at this hospital.

(Also, no problems with my insurers quickly agreeing to paying; but I do not insure heath with a Thai company, preferring an expensive, due to my age, and excellent UK/US insurer. 

15 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

A doctor recommended a procedure. Not exactly a surgery, but still an invasive procedure.

I researched it online. I came across an article that suggested there was some risk involved in the procedure making things worse and there was not enough scientific data to suggest it was necessary for my particular condition. 

So I didn't get it done.

There is some degree of risk either way. You cannot fully trust the doctor and neither do you know if information online is reliable. 

 

Ask a disinterested doctor.

A salaried physician in the NHS or a Thai government hospital will be a lot more impartial than many doctors in the private sector.

Google is the second worst option, ChatGPT the worst. 

 

Of course,  there are many things in medicine where different opinions may be valid.

2 hours ago, ChrisKC said:

It is a rip off - two different things!

Why is this? In what sense? 

I should add that my insurers also provide their own doctors to advise me on what to do, and when! 

On 9/17/2025 at 12:50 PM, Mark1969 said:

That's the deductible I had on my insurance before I would be treated at all.

Why does your deductible prevent your being treated? 

1 minute ago, Unamerican said:

I should add that my insurers also provide their own doctors to advise me on what to do, and when! 

I was going to write this. 

Many insurances have a medical helpline with doctors. 

But for the patient, it may not be clear whether these doctors serve the financial interests of the insurance company or whether they are neutral.