Whats So Special To Bumrungrad?

[grtaylor]

One morning I woke up unable to move without extreme agony,muscle spasms, and my legs were practically numb went to Bangkok Pattaya and the doctors said I had a back strain due to my deformed spine and to simply rest, three days later woke up in the middle of the night in extreme agony, muscle spasms and decided to go to Pattaya International spent three nights there simply taking painkillers. Both times sent home in an ambulance as neither knew what to do, had the same spinal x-rays at both. And the amount of problems we had with the cashier's there and payment too much to go in to just now.

Then decided to go to Bumrungrad, had them send me an ambulance to Pattaya cashier told me not to worry about payment as my case was emergency they will come and see me later on.Anyways, within the following 24 hours they found out I had multiple fractures in my spine, long story short yes it was expensive(however the daily room cost was less than both the Pattaya hospitals)but I was diagnosed quickly and all my doctors spoke fluent English and I am now fully recovered. I now make monthly trips to see their rheumatologist and eye specialists.

For me I would not consider anywhere else now.

A friend of mine went to Bangkok-Pattaya with a "sore" patch on his face, above his cheek. The doctor there diagnosed it as a insect bite, and gave him some cream for it. He was not happy about this, so eventually decided to go to Bumrungrad, and get a second opinion. It turned out, after a biopsy, to be skin cancer . . . . . He won't go back to Bangkok-Pattaya again.

I have been treated at BIH over the last 2 years for superficial cancer of the bladder, and could not have had better care or treatment anywhere. However, its not cheap (by Thai standards), but fortunately the insurance is paying.

G

[sattahip]

Capable doctoring, first class equipment and reasonable prices.

I, unfortuneately, have had the following there;

Quadruple heart bypass April 2000. Emergency after a series of heart attacks. Operation 36 hours only after admission. Result-super Cost Baht420,000

4 Angioplasties over 8 years for diagnosis and in 2 stents. Result-very good Cost about Baht65,000 plus stent costs.

Kidney stone removal by sound Lithoscopy, I think.-result -no more fear of sudden debilitating pain.

Surgery for anal abscess. result-fine

Treatment for a fungal ear infection-result-fixed in 3 days.

There have been other uses based on my catching up on years of neglect of my health. I have found all treatments to be professionally given and effective. I can't comment on other Bangkok hospitals but can say that Bumrungrad is cheaper than its Pattaya cpoycats and miles ahead in honest medicine.

The sad thing about this sort of topic is it brings out all those who have complaints of which, I am sure, some are legitimate but seldom draws a response from people such as me who thank G-- for such a wonderful and affordable facility.

[chiang mai]

Capable doctoring, first class equipment and reasonable prices.

I, unfortuneately, have had the following there;

Quadruple heart bypass April 2000. Emergency after a series of heart attacks. Operation 36 hours only after admission. Result-super Cost Baht420,000

4 Angioplasties over 8 years for diagnosis and in 2 stents. Result-very good Cost about Baht65,000 plus stent costs.

Kidney stone removal by sound Lithoscopy, I think.-result -no more fear of sudden debilitating pain.

Surgery for anal abscess. result-fine

Treatment for a fungal ear infection-result-fixed in 3 days.

There have been other uses based on my catching up on years of neglect of my health. I have found all treatments to be professionally given and effective. I can't comment on other Bangkok hospitals but can say that Bumrungrad is cheaper than its Pattaya cpoycats and miles ahead in honest medicine.

The sad thing about this sort of topic is it brings out all those who have complaints of which, I am sure, some are legitimate but seldom draws a response from people such as me who thank G-- for such a wonderful and affordable facility.

Nice to see someone singing the praises of what I think is one of the best medical institutions in the region. I had angioplasty there earlier this year and was highly impressed with all aspects of my treatment, couldn't have been happier - and the icing on the cake: my final bill was substantially less than I had expected.

[jfchandler]

Glad to hear you guys have had good experiences there at Bumrungrad.... If you had a particularly good experience, you ought to mention the doctor(s) involved and their specialty....since who you get/have as your treating physician/surgeon makes a world of difference between good and bad....

[chiang mai]

Glad to hear you guys have had good experiences there at Bumrungrad.... If you had a particularly good experience, you ought to mention the doctor(s) involved and their specialty....since who you get/have as your treating physician/surgeon makes a world of difference between good and bad....

Totally agree, here's my ten baht's worth:

Dr. Arram, Cardiologist - he was not my preferred choice at the outset but as I got to know some people at Bumrungrad I found out that the OR Nurses all reckon he is the one they trust, recommend and would use if they needed cardiac work performed. Can't get much better than that in my book.

[grtaylor]

Glad to hear you guys have had good experiences there at Bumrungrad.... If you had a particularly good experience, you ought to mention the doctor(s) involved and their specialty....since who you get/have as your treating physician/surgeon makes a world of difference between good and bad....

Totally agree, here's my ten baht's worth:

Dr. Arram, Cardiologist - he was not my preferred choice at the outset but as I got to know some people at Bumrungrad I found out that the OR Nurses all reckon he is the one they trust, recommend and would use if they needed cardiac work performed. Can't get much better than that in my book.

Dr. Viroj Chodchoy, Urologist - I did not choose him, as I arrived at the hospital without an appointment. Luck was on my side, most definitely! Much the same as above, all the other staff have the utmost respect for him. I have other friends who have been his patients, and all speak equally highly of him.

[jfchandler]

Much appreciated.... Nothing like personal experience and recommendation in helping who to choose for your doctor. I've saved those names, in case I ever need those specialties in the future.

I had an experience there at Bumrungrad with a sinus specialist who was not so good. But I ended up eventually going to BNH Hospital on Soi Convent, where they have a sinus specialist, Dr. Thavornant, who I'd swear by.... That's my nickel for the day.

[desertrat]

They have cute and up to six at a time ancillaries at a station

[PeaceBlondie]

All right, since the good looks of the nurses are so important, Dr. Chanakot's head nurse at his private clinic is a really cute guy, but he did not flirt back.

[Hairy]

All right, since the good looks of the nurses are so important, Dr. Chanakot's head nurse at his private clinic is a really cute guy, but he did not flirt back.

How'd you know he was the head nurse? Dirty knees??

The sad thing about this sort of topic is it brings out all those who have complaints of which, I am sure, some are legitimate but seldom draws a response from people such as me who thank G-- for such a wonderful and affordable facility.

Well, ok, since you're absolutely right on that. . . . People are a lot more willing to post complaints than praise. . . . Just to balance things a bit.

After reading through this thread, I'd be terrified to go there, except that I had several good experiences at Bumrungrad.

The only negative I had with Bumrungrad is that their email-answering staff don't seem to speak English well enough to really do their jobs. Questions that I've emailed have been answered, basically, with an "I don't know, show up and ask in person". A rather important appointment that I thought had been arranged via email . . . wasn't. They just didn't seem to understand that I really, really was going to show up on Thursday morning to get an MRI done. Instead, I had to get there, be diagnosed as yes really needing one, then get the machine time booked for that night. Then the doc wasn't available through the weekend, so I had to stay through the following Monday. Which was fine, I had a nice vacation and got to see Pattaya, but it would've been really nice to have gotten it done when their email confirmation, which took place before I booked my round-trip flight to Bangkok, had led me to expect. I understand that MRI machines are expensive and they want full 24-hour utilization, but when they've got a repeat customer who's arranging a flight just for this stuff and who has explained clearly and correctly why he needs time on it. . . .

So, ok. Now the positive stuff.

On my first visit, I had severe abdominal pain, and a month earlier had had a very bloody morning dump; I was worried that I'd developed colon cancer. On a visa run to Thailand, I stopped in at Bumrungrad four hours before my flight out, expecting to make an appointment for the next time I had to do a run. Nope, they had a spot open as soon as one of their physicians got back from lunch. Lubed-finger-up-the-ass time and a diagnosis of diverticulitis. Fifteen minutes worth of diagnostic time and two weeks of antibiotics, plus a warning never to eat seed-based foods (poppyseeds, popcorn, sesame seeds) because their outer layers tend to trigger that problem. I flew out that afternoon, clenching my ass for six hours trying my damndest not to crap my pants due to the lube the whole flight, but it was worth it for the peace of mind.

A few months later, I had a moderately serious accident, and the medical-neglect system where I was was absolutely useless, so I flew back to Bumrungrad. There wasn't much they could do (no way to set a clavicle, scapula, and two ribs unless they required surgery to pin them; no way to treat a torn rotator cuff beyond a sling and rest), but they at least took the right diagnostics and gave me some exercises to do once my bones had healed enough to stand the stress. At this point I have full motion in my shoulder and no problems.

I also talked to one of their physicians about a medical nightmare I went through a few years earlier, and discussed what I had done and learned, trying to get a little closure on the mess. He was thoroughly informed about the exact problems I'd faced and worked through, knew exactly what medication issues had triggered the nightmare and what should have been used instead, and even named the research physician in whose hands I'd ended up halfway around the globe. Most of the physicians I saw in the U.S. couldn't do that, and here's some semi-random Thai I just wandered in on telling me who I should've seen.

Minor stuff . . . I had a filling replaced; my dentist in the U.S. said it was done well. Can't think of anything else specific, just some diagnostics and other minor crap that I'd put off for years. No problems.

And yeah, their nurses are really cute in those adorable little uniforms. If I ever moved there, I'd buy some uniform sets and open (49% of) a place in Nana!

[Sherlocke]

A very good friend of mine who lives in BKK went to them about 3 years ago as she and her hubby were having trouble getting pregnant. After many tests they emailed her a set of results that were not understandable to her as they were so scientific ('whatever' counts and such) but in time, the couple came to realise through other sources that the results meant they could never have children.

My friends were both very upset at the news and the way they were treated. They went to another BKK hospital (I'm sorry, neither I nor my other half can remember the name of the new hospital)- somewher near the Emporium I think. Anyway, long story short they gave birth to a beautiful baby 6 months ago.

This is not a 'friend of a sister's masseuse story'. These people are close friends of mine.

Bumrungrad- I woudn't touch them with a 20 foot pole- (Although handy as a shortcut to Soi 1). There are much better (and much cheaper) hospitals within spitting distance of that place. Less money on marketing I'm sure but better care and more empathy in the experience of the only person I know who has ever used them.

If I'd heard good reports of them I'd have reported that too- I have no axe to grind. But from what I've heard steer clear.

As in this thread - ((hidden link removed)) - I'm sure that some of this is due to a desperate desire to avoid confrontation as in giving out bad news - it's hardly believable but I think that this occurs to extents we in the west would consider to be impossibly ludicrous.

[phetaroi]

Just wonder because I hears alot of that hospital so if anyone knows if there is anything special to Bumrungrad..pls let me know some examples.

Long standing JCI accreditation.

Western trained physicians.

And a huge marketing budget.

And they work well with many western-based insurance companies.

[phetaroi]

I don't know why you chose to post reference to that site but I think it is inappropriate hence I presume you have a vested interest - the facts are that Bumrungrad is a good quality hospital and people do die, even in the best hospitals. I think if people are being advised to read your reference site then they should also read http://medicaltravelsite.com/blog/2006/10/...-at-bumrungrad/ which offers something of a rebuttal or challenge to the issues raised. For what it's worth the boys father appears to be on a crusade and as sad as the whole affair is, it seems to be a search for vengeance/compensation, somewhere or anywhere and his story is far from airtight.

I'm not going to visit that particular site. But I do want to make a comment about that kind of site. I had a school principal colleague back in the States that came up against a nutty parent. Suffice it to say, my principal colleague not only followed the law and school board policies, but performed in a manner that any neutral observer would commend (legally, it involved a messy custody issue).

The nutty parent developed a website that garnered state-wide attention. Smeared the principal horribly, but didn't quite cross the line into slander/libel. The site has been up now for several years and although the event that led to it is very, very old news, the obsessed parent just can't let it go. In fact continues to "enhance" the site on a fairly regular basis.

I like your point that you should always seek a balanced view of such situations.

[phetaroi]

I went to Bumrungrad last October/November time as I had problems swallowing and a feeling that something was stuck in my throat.

...

I do not doubt your report.

On the other hand, I just had one of their most extensive health screenings this past week. I have a condition that is generally not tested for and commonly undiscovered or misdiagnosed. I already knew about it, so I didn't mention it. To me it was not related to my physical. Nevertheless, though not a result almost any hospital would discover in even the most extensive general physical, they found it and began collecting more data to assure the condition was stable.

[brd]

Bimrungrad Hospital is certainly the best marketing hospital in Bangkok town and south asia.

However I personally rely for several years on the www.Vejthani.com hospital where I went through broken tibia ankle surgery and physiotherapy successfully I recovereed from after six months, my wife gave birth to a beautiful boy, my other son is checked up regularly, dentists works are excellent, friends of us enjoy it, members of an international school are customers, etc...etc... but there is very little advertising except in The Nation newspaper front page regularly a small photo for a 700 staff private hospital with 500 rooms and located in bangkapi district.

No hesitation to recommend it to any one that may need health support.

[moe666]

Hospitals are a crap shoot, one day you get a good doctor and it is the best in the world the next day you get a bad doctor and it is the worst. I try to stay out of hospitals by taking care of my own health, it seems to be working.

You have to remember hospitals are only as good as the people who work there.