By and large medical care at Thailand's private hospitals is pretty good.

But one thing I've observed through the years of visiting doctors in big private hospitals here is that many/most are not very thorough in asking questions about the patient's medical history. They are often quick to arrive at a current diagnosis, write a prescription, and a return appointment again in 2 weeks.

When I say 'not very thorough' - I mean they don't ask you (enough) about your medical past or any other medical issues you may have - which they should do at the beginning of the appointment - this is standard operating procedure in Western countries. Even in a Thai hospital you regularly go to - which has most of your records including the drugs you take - this is often the case. For example, they are quick to write a prescription without checking to see what other meds you are already taking. That can have very bad outcomes if the medicine is contraindicated with something else you are already taking.

Now I insist to know what the doctor is prescribing before I agree to buy it. I check for contraindications sitting in the chair across from him/her.

Still, one doctor at one of the biggest private hospitals outright refused to divulge what she was prescribing. So I paid for it, got home, and realized it was a med for vertigo. First, I don't have vertigo, second, upon a Web search, I found that the drug was struck off the US FDA some years back because it couldn't prove its claim to efficacy.

At another private hospital, I was prescribed a very strong oral antibiotic for an ear infection that is ototoxic (harmful to your ears), and can have very serious side effects (achilles tendon rupture and pulsatile tinnitus). The drug was prescribed by an ENT specialist no less. Another Thai ENT specialist (years ago) gave me a standard audiology test (hearing test), then prescribed two meds. When I got home and looked them up, one was for alzheimers, the other was a 'pep pill' students take before exams. Neither drug has anything to do with mild hearing loss. Of course, I never returned to any of these three.

In conclusion, I now do my own research before seeing the specialist (if I can), and check verified Web sites on drug interactions before leaving the doctor's office. The hospital might appear all new and shiny with lots of up-to-date equipment. But as with doctors anywhere in the world, it boils down to the knowledge and inquisitiveness of the doctor who is dealling with the patient before him/her.

Some of this may come down to misunderstanding how medicine works. Many drugs are used for several different conditions, so a quick internet search often shows only the most common use, not every clinical application.

There’s also the language factor. Many doctors here are not native English speakers, and explaining complex medical decisions in English isn’t always easy. That can lead to shorter explanations than foreign patients expect.

It’s also worth remembering that this isn’t the US or Europe. Medical culture and consultation style are different, so expecting it to operate exactly the same way often leads to frustration and misinterpretation.

Doing some research is sensible, but a Google search doesn’t make any of us pharmacists or physicians.

Pretty sure I was conned.

Bladder infection...70% of which are E.coli. Doctor wrote a prescription for an antibiotic that is basically ineffective against E.coli. That lasted a month. He then changed the prescription to another antibiotic that was known to be ineffective. That lasted a month.

Only then did he say..."oh I think we should culture the urine and see what is causing the infection" ...boom E.coli...treated in 24 hours.

Thai doctors should be consulting with AN posters as the answers are all here from our team of experts if you ask a question. Except when it comes to vaccinations, of course.

👎 /S

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

Some of this may come down to misunderstanding how medicine works. Many drugs are used for several different conditions, so a quick internet search often shows only the most common use, not every clinical application.

It’s also worth remembering that this isn’t the US or Europe. Medical culture and consultation style are different, so expecting it to operate exactly the same way often leads to frustration and misinterpretation.

That's true to some degree, and regarding the drugs prescribed, it might come down to fewer choices of meds that have been approved by the Thai FDA. Quite often, drugs available here are used 'off-label' to treat a variety of conditions the drug was not initially designed to treat but has shown some effectiveness. Still ask questions, ask about side effects, tell the doctor what else you're taking and ask about contraindications. Best to carry a list of the meds you take regularly (if more than just 2 or 3).

My experience of Thai doctors are that they are basically sales people for the private hospitals. They ask just enough questions to match a service to any health concerns ..... MRI, tests, treatments, etc .... even if you just went in for an annual check up.

18 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

My experience of Thai doctors are that they are basically sales people for the private hospitals. They ask just enough questions to match a service to any health concerns ..... MRI, tests, treatments, etc .... even if you just went in for an annual check up.

This is very much my experience at BKK Pattaya... Not so much at Phayathai Sriracha.

2 hours ago, Kinnock said:

My experience of Thai doctors are that they are basically sales people for the private hospitals. They ask just enough questions to match a service to any health concerns ..... MRI, tests, treatments, etc .... even if you just went in for an annual check up.

I agree that's the case at some - and one in particular that is most notorious for that - but since TIT its name is better left unsaid.

However, some private hospitals are indeed ok, not too pushy, and like I said it depends on the doctor. I have a few really good doctors here that I have been seeing regularly for years (at what you might call 'secondary' tier private hospitals). But I've also learned the hard way at other places as I wrote in the post..

Just an edit to add that, at some hospitals, I'm the one who has to ASK for certain tests. In the second tier places the doctor's seem to do only basic tests like CBC and Urinalysis. Anything beyond that, they seem less sure. I don't think I would want to take a chance on major surgery in Thailand.

Doctors working in the private sector will have regular KPI's, monthly/bi annually, the line between quality care/cost against, tests/scans/amount of medication will all come into play, It is about the money, not every doctor is going to play along, but if you want to get along the choice is there, from my own experience the best doctors are the ones who work in the goverment scheme, and have a private clinic at the main private hospitals at weekends or evenings

46 minutes ago, howerde said:

Doctors working in the private sector will have regular KPI's, monthly/bi annually, the line between quality care/cost against, tests/scans/amount of medication will all come into play, It is about the money, not every doctor is going to play along, but if you want to get along the choice is there, from my own experience the best doctors are the ones who work in the goverment scheme, and have a private clinic at the main private hospitals at weekends or evenings

Yes this is a common practice - and some do one day here and one day at another. So do you suggest seeing them in the government hospital is best?

1 hour ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes this is a common practice - and some do one day here and one day at another. So do you suggest seeing them in the government hospital is best?

Yes will be much cheaper using the after hours service at a government hospital, but you will need to register, you will need a Thai speaker to get through paperwork english tends to be very poor at most government hospitals, and the waits can be long, but if you have time it is well worth going, but remember in Thailand it is the doctor that matters not the hospital, you need to do your research on the doctors, do not assume, pick your doctor, i just use the private hospitals where all the main ones list the doctors their education, experience, where they have practised(all this should be on the hospitals website), i have also found that doctors that have worked abroad at major hospitals seem more patient focused, at a major hospital a few years ago an elderly doctor kindly asked me to leave when i questioned his treatment lol, this was the only time i relied on the hospital suggesting a doctor. i am paying so i choose the doctor

22 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

But one thing I've observed through the years of visiting doctors in big private hospitals here is that many/most are not very thorough in asking questions about the patient's medical history.

I don't have much experience with private hospitals but found my main government hospital quite the opposite.

Thai hospitals are a business.

Good comments to be aware.
Besides prescribing things indiscriminately and more than necessary,
FYI, two of the problems i see that make me angry are:

1, The declarations on some doctors medical certificate that they have advised the patient of the medications, any risks and any side effects.
Most do not.
I have had side effect problems with medication prescribed and my comments were not acknowledged on follow up.
I have stopped using two doctors who did this, and switched to other specialist doctors (at the same hospital).

2. The doctors who list on their medical certificate all the health issues you have from other doctors or medical examinations in the same hospital stating that you should see a specialist for every one of them when they are nothing concerning their speciality, and they do not recognise that i have already dealt with the issues.
Presumably trying to keep reminding you they want more money from you consulting other doctors.

My insurance normally need the medical certificate and it looks awful when they keep repeating things that are nothing concerning them and it looks as if they are outstanding when they have already been addressed
There are two doctors i use that are doing this as i was reminded yesterday when seeing one of them.
I will have to tell them to stop doing it.

44 minutes ago, jojothai said:

2. The doctors who list on their medical certificate all the health issues you have from other doctors or medical examinations in the same hospital stating that you should see a specialist for every one of them when they are nothing concerning their speciality, and they do not recognise that i have already dealt with the issues.
Presumably trying to keep reminding you they want more money from you consulting other doctors.

Yes, it's actually a good reason to change hospitals too, not just doctors at the same place. You can get your medical records and take them with you to the next place. The most notorious hospital that uses this 'business model' is well-known in Bangkok. Like many others, I figured that out after a year or two. I never go there unless it's a very unusual case that another hospital isn't equiped to handle.

I’ve had my fair share. I have COPD, so about 3,5 yrs ago my GP who considers himself a pulmonologist declared I had lung cancer. An X-ray showed a nodule, which he claimed was lung cancer and wanted to do a biopsy, immediately. I told him I was seeking a 2nd opinion. BTW had just had pneumonia. Anyway, off I went to the 2nd opinion, actually a pulmonologist (we’re talking private hospitals here). New doc did another CT scan and told me to wait 6 months. After 6 (worrying) months, a PET/CT scan was performed and the nodule was almost gone, so no lung cancer.

However, a couple of months later I develop a heart flutter, due to anxiety of lung cancer. I was in ER and given Cordarone, a heart drug to regulate the heart beat. After a day or so, I realised this drug caused insomnia, so I was given zolpidem. In 2 weeks, I was so dizzy I could hardly stay upright. I had begged the cardiologist to stop the Cordarone pills, but was told I might die if I quit. After 2 months, I was admitted to ER again, I was so dizzy and nauseous, they suspected a stroke.

Stayed overnight, an MRI confirmed no stroke and was sent home. After blood tests it was confirmed that my TSH had risen alarmingly (one of the many known side effects of the heart drug), so cardiologist finally said I should quit.

Now, however, this heart drug has a half-life of up to 140 days! So side effects continued.

Next problem was to quit the zolpidem sleeping pills, aaahhh this was hell. Rebound insomnia is not very pleasant. Took me 6 months of weening off that.

2 yrs later still suffered from sleep latency, could take 3 hrs to fall asleep.

So 2,5 yrs of my life was destroyed due to a wrong diagnose and iatrogenic problems and drugs. If the cardiologist had listened to me in the first place, he would have waited a while before prescribing such strong a heart drug.

Needless to say, I have left the allopathic system with the exception of emergencies, accidents, acute life threatening situations. I have found a functional doctor now and have been under TCM treatments and have never felt better in my 77 yr old life!

Hospitals, these days are business models, excellent for surgeries and life saving acute ailments, but hopeless with chronic or metabolic ailments. Our bodies are not made up of spare parts but of systems with communication pathways, all have to be in harmony for each and every part to work properly. Sadly our modern allopathic medical system does not honour that.

I forgot to mention that @Sheryl is an excellent source of knowledge on navigating Thailand's many medical specialists when looking for the right fit with any poster's particular health issues.

18 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes this is a common practice - and some do one day here and one day at another. So do you suggest seeing them in the government hospital is best?

18 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes this is a common practice - and some do one day here and one day at another. So do you suggest seeing them in the government hospital is best?

Not necessarily. I have been frequenting a doctor in a private clinic in Ban Chang, Rayong for years. She was good and cheap, very thorough. Later found out that she also works at the provincial hospital in Rayong. Don't think I would have saved much money by seeing her in the hospital instead of her clinic. Certainly much more time consuming in government hospitals.

41 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

I forgot to mention that @Sheryl is an excellent source of knowledge on navigating Thailand's many medical specialists when looking for the right fit with any poster's particular health issues.

Yes she is, however her expertise is within the allopathic system, the very system that relies solely on drugs to treat symptoms rather than addressing the cause.

I trust the allopathic system 100% when it comes to life saving procedures, however I believe the body is capable in its innate intelligence to return to health, given the correct tools, rather than relying on drugs which inevitably causes problems upstream in signalling pathways.

5 hours ago, Qarsaan said:

Thai hospitals are a business.

Same as the US hospitals

I tell you guys i am alive by luck ... always double , triple check more sources as you would do with lawyers... 😂

On 3/16/2026 at 11:30 AM, Purdey said:

Thai doctors should be consulting with AN posters as the answers are all here from our team of experts if you ask a question. Except when it comes to vaccinations, of course.

👎 /S

I agree, completely.

Almost any TV member can be considered an expert in obstetrics, or so they will tell you.

I get most of my medical advice from this forum, and never see a real physician.

So far...

So very good.

8 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

I agree, completely.

Almost any TV member can be considered an expert in obstetrics, or so they will tell you.

I get most of my medical advice from this forum, and never see a real physician.

So far...

So very good.

No posts in this thread are offering any specific medical advice for any medical conditions.

24 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

No posts in this thread are offering any specific medical advice for any medical conditions.

When your tooth aches....

Don't try to extract it, yourself.

See a qualified dentist, one from Duke University, preferably.

Otherwise, you will continue to suffer.

This is my best medical advice for this thread.

Healthcare is a business. Those big granite encrusted hospitals don’t build themselves. So, of course the doctors will be “salespeople”.

My experience is that the quality of the doctors spans the whole spectrum. There are the genuine nerds who are gluttons for knowledge and it’s not surprising that they end up as doctors/surgeons.

On the flip side, I have encountered a number doctors who I wouldn’t be surprised if they just bought their degrees or even just blew the right person.

I don’t trust doctors with a lot of debt either.

No different in Thailand than any other country I suppose.

6 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

No posts in this thread are offering any specific medical advice for any medical conditions.

What about "hair loss"?

There have been many good posts and recommendations, for curing baldness.

4 hours ago, Airalee said:

No different in Thailand than any other country I suppose.

Actually, wrong.

Go to Taiwan. The government funded healthcare system works extremely well, and should be a model for other developed nations around the world.

who needs doctors now a days, AI doctors are so much better, specially using latest Claude models.

Most Thailand doctors, at least 75% are complete useless and ignorant, not to mention greedy bastards.

I don't care comments will come, it's the absolute truth, they are complete greedy ignorant morons that only want to make a profit in prescriptions.

there are some really good doctors, and really good pharmacists, but hard to find.

the best is to use AI if you are capable to give it the right prompts and know how to use the tools.

I'm not going into details, doctors even destroyed many people life with their ignorance, and nothing happens.

In Thailand 99% of crimes you can get away with money or influence.

3 minutes ago, brfsa2 said:

I'm not going into details, doctors even destroyed many people life with their ignorance, and nothing happens.

In Thailand 99% of crimes you can get away with money or influence.

Not sure you can only blame doctors though if some adopt that mindset. The Thai judicial system was created in such a way that 'anyone' with money or influence can get off the hook for misdeeds. IMO, the biggest stitch up to ensure that system stays the way it is, was the introduction of a "criminal" Libel Law. You don't just get sued (financially) you go to jail if you 'damaged' someone's reputation - even if what you said was 100% accurate/true - a judge can determine you still damaged the individual's reputation so you are guilty. Such a law is enough to keep almost everyone quiet - by design.

On 3/17/2026 at 9:38 AM, Qarsaan said:

Thai hospitals are a business.

So are butchers bakers and candlestick makers. Doesn't mean you should accept second rate treatment.