16 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

How many medications require a prescription anyway?  I just tell the hospital I already have it, then buy at a mom and pop Pharmacy. 

My friend tried that after spending 2 weeks in Bangkok Hospital to fight a serious bacterial infection by a highly resistant bacterium. He was on 10,000 baht plus per day IV antibiotics for 2 weeks and needed to continue with orals after discharge. Upon his discharge from the hospital he refused the antibiotics they were going to sell him, thinking he could (I could) pick them up cheap at Fascino. I had to do the runaround, trying to source them. It turns out the antibiotics were new generation and only available at the hospital. I had to go back to the hospital to buy them, which was not easy after he was discharged.

 

The takeaway from this is that the hospital has medicine not available outside. Check first. 

19 hours ago, Jonnapat said:

I was charged 100 baht for 10 paracetamol tablets at a private hospital in Nakhon Sawan.

Totally out of order.

For 10????

 

I was charged 100 baht for ONE.....so looks like you got a great deal 😆 

Shutting the Stable after the horse has bolted!

 

Hospitals have already made billions.

 

I found out soon after retiring here.  Sadly I never knew about it and having worked in hospitals for most of my life, I had some trust. But I neglected to consider how “ Medical Tourism “ became popular in Thailand! And I never knew about this forum. Friends never mentioned it because I suppose they had Insurance cover!

 

 I have for many years now use a reputable Pharmacy, like the University one.

Occasionally the Doctor will warn that “ outside “ drugs might not be effective!

But  I am prepared to take a calculated risk.

6 hours ago, Puccini said:

Have you ever received a formal prescription from a doctor at a private hospital and then used this prescription to buy the medine at a pharmacy outside the hospital and got a formal receipt for it and subsequently got your expense refunded by your health insurance?

 

I've never received a formal prescription from any Thai doctor, ever. In cases where I wasn't getting the medicine from the hospital, the doctor would just jot down the name on a note pad and hand it to me.

 

My insurance company has reimbursed me for drug purchases at outside pharmacies here, even with handwritten receipts - I just attached a note saying that Thai physicians don't usually give written prescriptions, and they accepted that. That would be totally dependent on your insurance company, though. Mine specializes in covering government personnel living overseas, so it's quite tolerant of "nonstandard" documentation - I know most insurers are stricter about what they will or won't accept.

8 hours ago, pub2022 said:

Yet when they return home, they accept everything without question.

 

In the US the hospitals are increasingly aggressive and punitive. Multiple armed guards and nurses/admis don't hesitate to call them, doctors will withhold pain medication, you have to sign extensive contracts during admittance and can't have a lawyer review it. You really can't protest that much and even if you file a complaint, the police/prosecutors/regulators will back the hospital.

 

 

 

20 hours ago, JensenX said:

My friend tried that after spending 2 weeks in Bangkok Hospital to fight a serious bacterial infection by a highly resistant bacterium. He was on 10,000 baht plus per day IV antibiotics for 2 weeks and needed to continue with orals after discharge. Upon his discharge from the hospital he refused the antibiotics they were going to sell him, thinking he could (I could) pick them up cheap at Fascino. I had to do the runaround, trying to source them. It turns out the antibiotics were new generation and only available at the hospital. I had to go back to the hospital to buy them, which was not easy after he was discharged.

 

The takeaway from this is that the hospital has medicine not available outside. Check first. 

 

I am interested in this. What are the names of the bacterium and of the antibiotic?

On 10/10/2025 at 4:16 AM, Puccini said:

 

That's good to know.

 

Have you ever received a formal prescription from a doctor at a private hospital and then used this prescription to buy the medine at a pharmacy outside the hospital and got a formal receipt for it and subsequently got your expense refunded by your health insurance?

 

I'd lke to go this route next time I should need medical treatment during a vacation in Thailand.

There are no "formal prescriptions" in Thailand. 

I ask the doctor to write the recommended medication in the medical certificate. 

(Not tourist oriented) pharmacies always give a receipt,  sometimes still written by hand, I ask them to put their stamp on it. Most pharmacies (not on places like lower Sukhumvit) give you computerized receipts these days.

Yes, I got this refunded many times.

One of the most expensive private hospitals catering to foreigners (that most foreigners eventually learn to avoid) has a practice of not telling you the name of the prescription drug and you only find out once you pay and receive the details sheet to attach to the receipt. However, I'm less concerned with buying at the hospital because my insurance will pay anyway, but I want the choice of refusing the medicine in advance - I like to look it up on my phone in the doctor's office first, in case I don't like the listed side effects, or it turns out to be an off-label drug that is not proven to work for the ailment. Unproven off-label prescriptions are routinely written up by doctors at Thai hospitals. Many of these drugs should be thrown out, not prescribed for an ailment they were not created for.The other thing is the doctors often haven't reviewed your file to see what else you're taking and whether what they are now prescribing is contraindicated with the other drug(s). That can be quite dangerous. Even more reason to be dilligent before paying.

11 hours ago, Lorry said:

There are no "formal prescriptions" in Thailand. 

I ask the doctor to write the recommended medication in the medical certificate. 

(Not tourist oriented) pharmacies always give a receipt,  sometimes still written by hand, I ask them to put their stamp on it. Most pharmacies (not on places like lower Sukhumvit) give you computerized receipts these days.

Yes, I got this refunded many times.

 

Thank you.

 

So that's how it works: The doctor writes the the recommended treatment with medicines into the Medical Certificate, the pharmacy gives a proper receipt upon purchase of the medicines. 

 

I think my health insurance will reimburse me on this basis. I'll give it a try next time I should need treatment during a visit in Thailand.

19 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

One of the most expensive private hospitals catering to foreigners (that most foreigners eventually learn to avoid) has a practice of not telling you the name of the prescription drug and you only find out once you pay and receive the details sheet to attach to the receipt.

You can ask the doctor for the name of the medicines, but if you start wasting his time googling and discussing each and every pill he won't be happy. You can be open about the fact you want to buy medicine outside the hospital. 

You can also ask the pharmacist.

To keep everybody happy, I often tell them I have this one at home already.

1 hour ago, Lorry said:

You can ask the doctor for the name of the medicines, but if you start wasting his time googling and discussing each and every pill he won't be happy.

She wouldn't tell me the name. I asked twice. She said she'd give me a week's worth of the med, and then I could buy more outside. As it turned out, the med is not even guaranteed for my condition, but the manufacturer used to claim it was, then the US called BS and pulled its dispensing license - more than 10 years ago.

On 10/9/2025 at 2:00 AM, Lorry said:

Nothing new. Private hospitals have been obliged to do this for several years already. 

Some do, some don't. 

On 10/8/2025 at 9:26 PM, klauskunkel said:

Markups of a 1000% are the norm for private hospital pharmacies. Years ago I was prescribed a 3,000 baht medicine which cost 300 baht at my local pharmacy, same brand, dosage and size. Since then I have never purchased from hospital again.

The only benefit is a greater certainty that the product is genuine and not counterfeit or an unauthorized copy.

This is particularly  common with some popular drugs such as the  Erectile dysfunction products (e.g. cialis, viagra), and hairloss treatments.  I do not trust the small stand alone pharmacies. 

1 minute ago, Patong2021 said:

The only benefit is a greater certainty that the product is genuine and not counterfeit or an unauthorized copy.

This is particularly  common with some popular drugs such as the  Erectile dysfunction products (e.g. cialis, viagra), and hairloss treatments.  I do not trust the small stand alone pharmacies. 

Good for  you, pay 3-10 times the price from the hospital. More often than not the smaller pharmacies are owned by pharmacists whose full time job is in a hospital, be it private or public. I think most people have a pharmacy that they trust and use outside of the hospitals. 

13 hours ago, marin said:

Good for  you, pay 3-10 times the price from the hospital. More often than not the smaller pharmacies are owned by pharmacists whose full time job is in a hospital, be it private or public. I think most people have a pharmacy that they trust and use outside of the hospitals. 

I have not told anyone to pay 2-3 times higher for a drug. I only stated that the likelihood of a counterfeit was less likely with a  hospital pharmacy. How many people verify the  expiration date of their drugs? A hospital pharmacy is less likely to sell an expired or soon to be expired drug. Smaller pharmacies may sell expired drugs, especially if dispensed from a large supply.

 

One of my first projects was to to collect drug samples from pharmacies and to determine if they were counterfeit. We did not even get to the drug verification stage on some products because the drug packaging was counterfeit and the Lot numbers fake. The hologram was also fake and product monographs were rife with errors. No counterfeits were identified when sourced from hospitals or known pharmacy chains.

 

No, not all drugs are counterfeit, but there are certain classes which are more likely to be. These are the profitable drugs used for  Hair loss, Sexual dysfunction, steroids, testosterone and now weight loss drugs like Ozempic. There are reputable, pharmacies in Thailand who do offer reasonable drug prices and who have quality control. The drugs manufactured in Thailand are less likely to be counterfeit since they are the common  generics and their manufacturers are regulated.  Unfortunately, on  any given day, counterfeits arrive from Turkiye, Pakistan, China or India.

 

How are you so certain that the drugs purchased are not counterfeit? Have you ever verified them or seen government  reports? Have you ever called the  manufacturer help line to check the product coding?   There is no denying that certain drug classes are more likely to be counterfeit or sourced from suppliers that are not certified by the appropriate regulatory agency. A conservative estimate from WHO concluded that the counterfeit rate was 10.5%.  This doubled during the drug shortage crisis during Covid. 

https://bangkokpattayahospital.com/uncategory/beware-of-cheap-meds-en/?srsltid=AfmBOopV0Ju51BZ6PNFjNy8XMVS16IEwO52esjY6qhCaRNu80R_MOJjJ

 

Most  drugs must be stored  within a specific temperature range. This requires AC.  Many of the smaller pharmacies do not maintain the temperature range. They often do not  have a licensed pharmacists dispensing. Wearing a white coat does not make someone a  pharmacist.

 

On 10/12/2025 at 12:01 AM, Puccini said:

 

Thank you.

 

So that's how it works: The doctor writes the the recommended treatment with medicines into the Medical Certificate, the pharmacy gives a proper receipt upon purchase of the medicines. 

 

I think my health insurance will reimburse me on this basis. I'll give it a try next time I should need treatment during a visit in Thailand.

I have accident insurance here.  So does my wife.  Mine costs 4 times as much. Why?

Not new. This became the official rule many years ago.  

On 10/9/2025 at 9:57 PM, Puccini said:

t is precisely this situation that the hospitals take advantage of.

 

Correct, scumbags including, insurance companies, banks etc.

On 10/30/2025 at 11:14 AM, Letseng said:

Some do, some don't. 

If they claim that you have to buy the medications from the hospital then fight them.

 

I did, I told the cashier, then the hospital GM (smaller hospital in Chiang Mai) to give me a bill without medicine costs.

 

Hospital GM intervened saying that I had not received permsssion to buy outside from the actual doctor. I responded "the bill is a business transaction between me and the hospital, NOT me and the doctor". I insisted that the GM respond to my comment. He did respond by telling the cashier to give me a bill without medicine costs and to separately give me a note listing the medicine name, strength etc. . She did that but the hospital pharmacy supervisor instantly / publically then commented that this wasn't fair because it would mean that she loses her commission from the medication  manufacturer.

 

GM told her strongly to be quiet.

 

I paid the bill without medicine costs. meanwhile several other customers were insisting the cashier give them a revised bill without medication costs.

 

I walked out, 2 minutes later I walked into a big name national pharmacy chain just outside of the hospital and bought the medications at a very reasonable cost.