Clinics In Phuket

[Capealava]

I just went to http://phuketdir.com/wattanaclinic/ in Patong beach. I just went there to have a bad cold checked out- 2 minutes with the Doc -given some Meds and charged 2500 baht. Outrageous-I have been to other clinics and hospitals in Phuket and Thailand in general for the same thing --this 300 % more than I have ever been charged. I believe they take advantage of farangs --considering there are so many newbies in Patong. Needless to say I will never go there again.

[keestha]

Sure, this happens. Here in Khao Lak there also is a clinic which is a robbers den, any tourist walking in with a very small problem (like Bangkok belly), will get a complete "check up", and won't walk out without having paid a 2300+ Baht bill.

For the tourists it doesn't matter so much, they will get the money back from the insurance at home, but still, being a hotel owner, I prefer to drive my guests to another clinic 4 kilometers away.

[aka_jack]

ha ha this one made me laugh i was recently in phuket over songkran and walked in to one of these so called pharmacys only wanted some rehydration sachets as i had been on the piss for a couple of days, well picked up 3 sachets and walked to the counter got the falang calculator out and added it up to 60 baht well i dug my hand in my pocket to pull out 2 twentys to pay the 24 baht bill which was the real price 3x8 baht sachets. She says ok 40 baht i point to the bottom of the sachet which says 8 baht she re-types 24 baht i pay and leave she couldnt even look me in the eyes after i pointed this out to her especialy in front of her friends who where laughing at her for being caught out!!! Why do they do it?

[LivinginKata]

I recommend that people stay away from Dr Wattana as he is outrageously expensive. Better go to Dr Ari on Soi Ketsup (one road down from Soi Wattana. Very nice man, good English, excellent bedside manner, not so expensive.

[huggybear]

I recommend that people stay away from Dr Wattana as he is outrageously expensive. Better go to Dr Ari on Soi Ketsup (one road down from Soi Wattana. Very nice man, good English, excellent bedside manner, not so expensive.

Dr. Chusak if you are in Kata.

[thaiwanderer]

how much of the bill was for the consultation and how much for the meds?

[LivinginKata]

how much of the bill was for the consultation and how much for the meds?

For a consultation & medicine at a GP I would expect to pay no more than 500 baht. Even at Bangkok Phuket private hospital the doctor's fee is 500 baht, but they rob you blind with pharmacy costs.

[pete600]

For a consultation & medicine at a GP I would expect to pay no more than 500 baht. Even at Bangkok Phuket private hospital the doctor's fee is 500 baht, but they rob you blind with pharmacy costs.

I will 2nd that went there with ear infection 1'600 baht for ear drops and antibiotics. 3 days later still no better went back seen the specialist. Said the antibiotics where the wrong type. So give me some new ones. This time 2'100 baht

[MisterMan]

There is a whole thread about the lovely DR Chusak.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Praise-Local...or-t218943.html

Dr Wattana was also the dr. at one of the local recompressions chambers in the past. hopeless.

Thank goodness they had a foreign doctor there too. however of course foreign doctors can not work as doctors in Thailand.

[dynabob]

Avoid Dr Pornsak across from nicky's handelbar,he nearly poisioned me about 3 years ago,i'll never forget the look on the doctor's face in the hospital when i showed him the liquid for a cold sore on my lip from pornsak.

[geriatrickid]

This thread is an opportune time for me to issue a warning to anyone purchasing medications both prescription and OTC: CHECK THE EXPIRY DATE on the box.

I have been disappointed by the attitudes of "Pharmacists" at a couple big chains when I have pointed out that they were stocking products past their shelf date. A case in point was that I recently had to purchase drugs for a friend's embarrassing ailment. I couldn't find what I needed (no surprise since Thailand is on an exclusion list for many products due to the issue of intellectual property violation). I had to settle for a local product. Checking the box, I see a 11/2008 expiry date. I ask the pharmacist that hands it over to me, hey it's expired I say. Pharmacist looks me straight in the eye and says no problem you can use. No I can't idiot, that's why we put the dates on the packages because the drugs break down and the efficacy decreases or the drug decay creates side compounds that are dangerous, especially in hot climates. What's the point? This happened both at a Watson's (Beach Rd - Patong, near the BK and MCD) and Big One pharmacy (Ocean Plaza on Bangla).

If you need drugs, I strongly recommend you stick to one of the following sources;

- International chain pharmacy such as Carrefour in Jungceylon (say what you want about the prices but Carrefour still has a code of practice and doesn't encourage playing around with products).

- Most Boots pharmacies

- Hospital pharmacies

- The manufacturer via mail order

Yes the markups can be higher, but these dispensers don't usually substitute fake products for the real stuff either and they do take expiration dates seriously.

It's not a big worry on heavily used medications like Tylenol but on some of the specialty medications, especially the more expensive ones, it's a concern. (There is always a pharmacist that gets nabbed every so often in Canada & the USA for substituting drugs. They get caught because the Adverse Reactions are reported and these countries have surveillance. Thailand has Thai quality surveillance.)

So please remember to look and read, and if in doubt, put out the extra baht and buy from a reputable pharmacist.

[ScubaBuddha]

I always use Chusak, and am always astonished at how little I end up paying everytime I do. I don't think he has ever charged me for consultation, just meds.

[katabeachbum]

In Patong I would go to the public Patong Hospital. In Kata, Klinik dr Chusak, Taina road. Certanly he charges more than med, when you know a 100 tablets box 500 mg paracetamol is 35 baht and penicillin is 60 baht for a week. But he is worth the 500 baht or so. In Kata there is a good pharmacy on Patak road a few hundred meters north of the school left side. In Chalong an excellent one 150 meters north of the circle towards Kata left side.

Medicines expire dates are calculated when stored at 25 Celsius...... So medicines purchased in Thailand really should be much fresher than the expire date.