Australians Warned Off Phuket Medical Tourism

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Australians warned off Phuket medical tourism

PHUKET: -- The Australian Medical Association (AMA) yesterday urged people to be cautious after a Gold Coast business offered plastic surgery and dental holidays in Phuket. For background on the CosMediTour offer, see Tuesday's Phuket NEWS Hound, here.

Although doctors within most countries would not normally call into question the practices or risk levels of each other's services, such restraint may not apply internationally.

According to a Xinhua report late yesterday, the AMA says that holidays and surgery should not be mixed, and that the cost savings on surgery in Phuket "should be weighed up against increased risk and a lack of recourse should something go wrong."

AMA Vice President Steve Hambleton told the Australian Associated Press that, "If you go overseas, you don't have the sort of [doctor] registration systems that we have in this country, and we know that our training is excellent and our doctors' standards are excellent."

But CosMediTour Director Christyna Kruczaj says in defense that, "Thai accreditation is based on the U.S. system of plastic and reconstructive surgery."

As for costs, she says that prices vary with surgery type and individual patient needs, but that packages would normally cost 20 to 40 percent less than having the equivalent procedure in Australia.

And she notes that patients only pay for an initial consultation, flights and accommodation before leaving Australia, leaving them able to opt out of their surgery in Phuket without financial penalty.

As is the case with Singapore and Malaysia, the provision of medical services for foreigners has become a major and rapidly growing industry in Thailand, with several of the country's international hospitals reporting 40% or more of their annual patient intake coming from nationalities other than Thai.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-05-27

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[cpofc]

Only talking about Dentistry, but I have had a few old mates come up from Oz recently, for R&R and Dental Work combined (in Bangkok). They have stayed at my place. Some attended the big well known clinics in town, others just went to the small local one up the road. Depending on the work required.

if I had to sum up their opinions, regarding quality, service and price.

OUT BLOODY STANDING!

All are very happy campers indeed.

I fully accept there will be horror stories, but you can only go by what you see.

Dentistry in Australia is a bloody expensive joke and is now the domain of the rich. Whilst the state of Dental Health Care, in Australia, is abyssmal, especially for the elderly.

Try walking in off the street in Aust and getting the equivalent of a 1000 dollars, or more, of work done, in one day, on the same day, for $150.00

It's a no brainer.

[keeniau96]

Only talking about Dentistry, but I have had a few old mates come up from Oz recently, for R&R and Dental Work combined (in Bangkok). They have stayed at my place. Some attended the big well known clinics in town, others just went to the small local one up the road. Depending on the work required.

if I had to sum up their opinions, regarding quality, service and price.

OUT BLOODY STANDING!

All are very happy campers indeed.

I fully accept there will be horror stories, but you can only go by what you see.

Dentistry in Australia is a bloody expensive joke and is now the domain of the rich. Whilst the state of Dental Health Care, in Australia, is abyssmal, especially for the elderly.

Try walking in off the street in Aust and getting the equivalent of a 1000 dollars, or more, of work done, in one day, on the same day, for $150.00

It's a no brainer.

I would say exactly the same after 8 years of outstanding dental and medical service on Phuket, almost all of it at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital.

Those Oz gents warning of disaster may have something other than the welfare of the patients in mind. Something like protecting their ricebowl. Next step is to pressure the government to forbid such, claiming medical tourism is comparable to sex tourism, kiddie porn, murder of vanishing species, etc.

[Elwood62]

yep just portecting there big slice of pie...there are issues in the oz health system with people having major dramas after ops. so why pay 4 or 5 times the cost.....

OZ is RIP OFF

[garyh]

Only talking about Dentistry, but I have had a few old mates come up from Oz recently, for R&R and Dental Work combined (in Bangkok). They have stayed at my place. Some attended the big well known clinics in town, others just went to the small local one up the road. Depending on the work required.

if I had to sum up their opinions, regarding quality, service and price.

OUT BLOODY STANDING!

All are very happy campers indeed.

I fully accept there will be horror stories, but you can only go by what you see.

Dentistry in Australia is a bloody expensive joke and is now the domain of the rich. Whilst the state of Dental Health Care, in Australia, is abyssmal, especially for the elderly.

Try walking in off the street in Aust and getting the equivalent of a 1000 dollars, or more, of work done, in one day, on the same day, for $150.00

It's a no brainer.

I had about $15,000 AUD worth of work done at Lanna Dental in Chiang Mai recently for 50,000 Baht all done over a 3 week period with one 6 hour session, that was last August and all is perfect.

[Jimi007]

I had my front tooth crown replaced in Chalong a bit over a month ago. Looks way better than my US dentists work! It was 10,000 Baht, about a third the price of the US. Plus she guaranteed her work for 2 years. No US dentist ever did that! A good cleaning 700 Baht, US: 3,000 Baht... I'm sticking with my Thai dentist!

[Old Croc]

There was a recent story on Oz tv about an 18yo girl heading to Malaysia for some plastic surgery. Apart from the obvious clamour by all and sundry against such a young girl getting this treatment, the local plastic surgeons representative came on with warnings and horror stories about surgery gone wrong in asia.

It's all about keeping the business for themselves.

[khall64au]

There was a recent story on Oz tv about an 18yo girl heading to Malaysia for some plastic surgery. Apart from the obvious clamour by all and sundry against such a young girl getting this treatment, the local plastic surgeons representative came on with warnings and horror stories about surgery gone wrong in asia.

It's all about keeping the business for themselves.

Agreed Old Croc... it's all sour cheese, advertising in the guise of 'A Current Affairs' - sad but true!