Impressed By Chiangmai Ram

[bazmlb]

After just having complex hand surgery at Chaingmai Ram, I must say that it is impressive, the level of care and the knowledge of the two surgeons Dr Prechar and Dr Samran was excellent. At first the thought of having ligaments cut to release the joint was a bit scary but it has all worked out well, 7 days and 6 nights with operation to cut ligaments, reposition tendons and cut contractors worked out at 77,000 baht (nearly 20,000 baht of that being morphine and marcain). They also got the specialist around from Sriphat to make the special splint for excerising instead of me going to Sriphat. Very nice rooms at the Ram, with the price just 2,000 baht for the night with a one bedroom apartment style room.

[uptheos]

Dr Preecha comes highly recommended and only does hand surgery.

Glad all went well.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

if I may ask.. what precipitated this operation? An accident? disease condition?

Seems like a successful operation.. good news !!

[CMX]

Do they accept foreign (US, in my case) credit/debit cards? I ask just in case the subject came up, as it is not part of my emergency plan (complicated beyond mentioning by my medical insurance).

Aside from comparative prices and specialists,

[gotlost]

Do they accept foreign (US, in my case) credit/debit cards? I ask just in case the subject came up, as it is not part of my emergency plan (complicated beyond mentioning by my medical insurance).

Aside from comparative prices and specialists,

Yes they do accept foreign credit cards.

[brommers]

Earlier in the year I managed to stab my self in the web of my right hand, don't ask how or why!! I was driven to Ram at 6 am & after initial stabilisation of the wound bleed which was copious I was seen by the surgeon at 8 am & operated on a couple of hours later. I was so impressed by the professional & caring service.

As I had had a procedure that entailed a general anaesthetic the previous day I was first checked over in Internal Medicine before going to theatre where the exploration of the damage to nerves & the tendon took place, and then the repair executed. I was conscious throughout & enjoyed the most amusing 40 minutes of banter amongst the team. I went home & less than 24 hours later with a hand in bandages the size of a boxing glove drove for 12 hours to Buriram without any pain bar a minor throbbing in the hand. Two weeks later the stitches were removed and seven months later there is only an almost invisible 2 cm scar.

I read endless negative comments about CM Ram on TV & can only say that in every case when I have needed to use their services I have not had one cause for complaint. Perhaps they are a little more expensive, I don't know. All I know is that compared to private hospitals in the UK & S Africa they are excellent and not overpriced. There are other good hospitals in town but as far as I am concerned ' you pays your money & makes your choice' & I will continue to use Ram.

[bazmlb]

if I may ask.. what precipitated this operation? An accident? disease condition?

Seems like a successful operation.. good news !!

Broke it, Vejthani Hospital in Bangkok didn't set the joint well and missed the tendon issue, the finger is now set 30 degrees out at the first joint, the first knuckle was locked and in a permanent 45 degree position with the last knuckle locked as well, each joint in the finger was limited to about 10 degrees and always painful.

The Insurance paid for it all, I just presented my card to them at admission and I only had to pay 3600 baht when I was discharged.

[Mario2008]

My experiences with CM-Ram are not so good, but it always depends on the doctor and the nursing staff. But they do run an efficient and friendly hospital. However, don't choose a hospital, choose a good doctor. Sometimes they will be at CM-Ram and sometimes elsewhere.

[caf]

Earlier in the year I managed to stab my self in the web of my right hand, don't ask how or why!! I was driven to Ram at 6 am & after initial stabilisation of the wound bleed which was copious I was seen by the surgeon at 8 am & operated on a couple of hours later. I was so impressed by the professional & caring service.

As I had had a procedure that entailed a general anaesthetic the previous day I was first checked over in Internal Medicine before going to theatre where the exploration of the damage to nerves & the tendon took place, and then the repair executed. I was conscious throughout & enjoyed the most amusing 40 minutes of banter amongst the team. I went home & less than 24 hours later with a hand in bandages the size of a boxing glove drove for 12 hours to Buriram without any pain bar a minor throbbing in the hand. Two weeks later the stitches were removed and seven months later there is only an almost invisible 2 cm scar.

I read endless negative comments about CM Ram on TV & can only say that in every case when I have needed to use their services I have not had one cause for complaint. Perhaps they are a little more expensive, I don't know. All I know is that compared to private hospitals in the UK & S Africa they are excellent and not overpriced. There are other good hospitals in town but as far as I am concerned ' you pays your money & makes your choice' & I will continue to use Ram.

There are very good doctors at Ram. But there are good doctors in other hospitals here too; and for non-operating procedures those same doctors at Ram are much cheaper at their own clinics with the SAME facilities.

All hospitals make mistakes, albeit infrequently, so obviously it gets some criticism for that. But the main justified criticism of Ram is that it is over expensive compared with other similar hospitals and tends to undertake unnecessary procedures

I use Mccormick which is not the cheapest but has some good doctors and i have not found they suggest unnecessary procedures, They are very fast on emergencies

[bazmlb]

Earlier in the year I managed to stab my self in the web of my right hand, don't ask how or why!! I was driven to Ram at 6 am & after initial stabilisation of the wound bleed which was copious I was seen by the surgeon at 8 am & operated on a couple of hours later. I was so impressed by the professional & caring service.

As I had had a procedure that entailed a general anaesthetic the previous day I was first checked over in Internal Medicine before going to theatre where the exploration of the damage to nerves & the tendon took place, and then the repair executed. I was conscious throughout & enjoyed the most amusing 40 minutes of banter amongst the team. I went home & less than 24 hours later with a hand in bandages the size of a boxing glove drove for 12 hours to Buriram without any pain bar a minor throbbing in the hand. Two weeks later the stitches were removed and seven months later there is only an almost invisible 2 cm scar.

I read endless negative comments about CM Ram on TV & can only say that in every case when I have needed to use their services I have not had one cause for complaint. Perhaps they are a little more expensive, I don't know. All I know is that compared to private hospitals in the UK & S Africa they are excellent and not overpriced. There are other good hospitals in town but as far as I am concerned ' you pays your money & makes your choice' & I will continue to use Ram.

There are very good doctors at Ram. But there are good doctors in other hospitals here too; and for non-operating procedures those same doctors at Ram are much cheaper at their own clinics with the SAME facilities.

All hospitals make mistakes, albeit infrequently, so obviously it gets some criticism for that. But the main justified criticism of Ram is that it is over expensive compared with other similar hospitals and tends to undertake unnecessary procedures

I use Mccormick which is not the cheapest but has some good doctors and i have not found they suggest unnecessary procedures, They are very fast on emergencies

I compared and the same operation at Bumrungrad or Bangkok hospital was 4 times the price Ram were.

[LJW]

I'm glad you had a good experience at Ram..

But the maximum charge for a room is 1,500 baht I think.

Did you get a different room?

[caf]

Earlier in the year I managed to stab my self in the web of my right hand, don't ask how or why!! I was driven to Ram at 6 am & after initial stabilisation of the wound bleed which was copious I was seen by the surgeon at 8 am & operated on a couple of hours later. I was so impressed by the professional & caring service.

As I had had a procedure that entailed a general anaesthetic the previous day I was first checked over in Internal Medicine before going to theatre where the exploration of the damage to nerves & the tendon took place, and then the repair executed. I was conscious throughout & enjoyed the most amusing 40 minutes of banter amongst the team. I went home & less than 24 hours later with a hand in bandages the size of a boxing glove drove for 12 hours to Buriram without any pain bar a minor throbbing in the hand. Two weeks later the stitches were removed and seven months later there is only an almost invisible 2 cm scar.

I read endless negative comments about CM Ram on TV & can only say that in every case when I have needed to use their services I have not had one cause for complaint. Perhaps they are a little more expensive, I don't know. All I know is that compared to private hospitals in the UK & S Africa they are excellent and not overpriced. There are other good hospitals in town but as far as I am concerned ' you pays your money & makes your choice' & I will continue to use Ram.

There are very good doctors at Ram. But there are good doctors in other hospitals here too; and for non-operating procedures those same doctors at Ram are much cheaper at their own clinics with the SAME facilities.

All hospitals make mistakes, albeit infrequently, so obviously it gets some criticism for that. But the main justified criticism of Ram is that it is over expensive compared with other similar hospitals and tends to undertake unnecessary procedures

I use Mccormick which is not the cheapest but has some good doctors and i have not found they suggest unnecessary procedures, They are very fast on emergencies

I compared and the same operation at Bumrungrad or Bangkok hospital was 4 times the price Ram were.

I don't doubt it but a better comparison is between Chiangmai hospitals

[bazmlb]

I'm glad you had a good experience at Ram..

But the maximum charge for a room is 1,500 baht I think.

Did you get a different room?

The normal room was 1500, I took the larger one bedroom one that has a kitchen, dining and living room as well.

[uptheos]

My experiences with CM-Ram are not so good, but it always depends on the doctor and the nursing staff. But they do run an efficient and friendly hospital. However, don't choose a hospital, choose a good doctor. Sometimes they will be at CM-Ram and sometimes elsewhere.

Sound advice.

[uptheos]

Earlier in the year I managed to stab my self in the web of my right hand, don't ask how or why!! I was driven to Ram at 6 am & after initial stabilisation of the wound bleed which was copious I was seen by the surgeon at 8 am & operated on a couple of hours later. I was so impressed by the professional & caring service.

As I had had a procedure that entailed a general anaesthetic the previous day I was first checked over in Internal Medicine before going to theatre where the exploration of the damage to nerves & the tendon took place, and then the repair executed. I was conscious throughout & enjoyed the most amusing 40 minutes of banter amongst the team. I went home & less than 24 hours later with a hand in bandages the size of a boxing glove drove for 12 hours to Buriram without any pain bar a minor throbbing in the hand. Two weeks later the stitches were removed and seven months later there is only an almost invisible 2 cm scar.

I read endless negative comments about CM Ram on TV & can only say that in every case when I have needed to use their services I have not had one cause for complaint. Perhaps they are a little more expensive, I don't know. All I know is that compared to private hospitals in the UK & S Africa they are excellent and not overpriced. There are other good hospitals in town but as far as I am concerned ' you pays your money & makes your choice' & I will continue to use Ram.

There are very good doctors at Ram. But there are good doctors in other hospitals here too; and for non-operating procedures those same doctors at Ram are much cheaper at their own clinics with the SAME facilities.

All hospitals make mistakes, albeit infrequently, so obviously it gets some criticism for that. But the main justified criticism of Ram is that it is over expensive compared with other similar hospitals and tends to undertake unnecessary procedures

I use Mccormick which is not the cheapest but has some good doctors and i have not found they suggest unnecessary procedures, They are very fast on emergencies

I compared and the same operation at Bumrungrad or Bangkok hospital was 4 times the price Ram were.

Bumrungrad's prices are now ridiculous and the quality definitely not 4 times better.

[mcgriffith]

Glad it all worked out, baz.

[sleepyjohn]

I compared and the same operation at Bumrungrad or Bangkok hospital was 4 times the price Ram were.

Bumrungrad's prices are now ridiculous and the quality definitely not 4 times better.

It's true, Bumrungrad seems to me about 3 times the price in my experience.

Ram can be fine, I was there today and very satisfied. It certainly is very easy and quick to be seen. I reckon most times they get things done perfectly well. But like some other places from a dentist to the eye hospital on the superhwy I've found that one has to keep a weather eye open for quite gross potential mistakes. Like the Ram doctor who overlooked a considerable goitre in my neck during a physical. Like them failing to get in touch urgently, or at all, after a potentially deadly biopsy result (a staff member mislaid it!). Like the surgeon who was extremely rude when I asked him how many similar operations he'd done (he "couldn't remember"). I can only presume the thought I'd had a second opinion was anathema to him.

The short of it was because I went to Bumrungrad and they followed Mayo protocol and only removed the tumour half of my thyroid to start. Amazingly there was no true malignancy. Unlike if I'd used Mr Angry and by paying paying three times as much I retain enough thyroid that I probably don't have to take a pill every day of my life and have my thyroxine level checked.

Friends of mine have had the most serious surgery, open heart and all, and life support treatment there successfully in the Ramand I'll continue using it.... but my one visit to the Bumrungrad was money well spent......hopefully just the once!

Edited November 30, 2010 by sleepyjohn

[bazmlb]

Glad it all worked out, baz.

There is 6 weeks rehab now to get the finger working again properly, then stage 2 is correct the bone being set 30 degrees out, with hand surgery it has to be done slowly as it always gets stiffer after an op, so they need to get it flexible as possible before moving on to the next step - breaking the finger.

[cloudhopper]

Fortunately I have needed their services infrequently but had as good or better experience as I had back in the States every time. There are always going to be cultural differences and communication issues complicating health care for expats.

[Ulysses G.]

I have been suspicious about my bill several times after reading different accusations on Thai Visa. However, when I checked carefully, it always turned out to be my mistake.

That seems to happen quite frequently with foreigners in Thailand - concerning a lot of different things.

Edited December 1, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[uptheos]

I have been suspicious about my bill several times after reading different accusations on Thai Visa. However, when I checked carefully, it always turned out to be my mistake.

That seems to happen quite frequently with foreigners in Thailand - concerning a lot of different things.

I've been going to Ram on and off for 14 years. I always check my bill and although there are those little 50 baht extras here and there for this and that, I can honestly say that I've never been cheated. I do think they charge too much for meds though.

[Ulysses G.]

One time I got outraged because of the price of some strong pain pills for a root canal at the dental clinic and then I realized that it was the entire bill for the root canal itself and the medication.

[richard10365]

Check your bill. CM Ram is notorious for adding extra cost on there. They gave me 4000 baht back after I caught them in one of their billing scams.

Can you substantiate that RAM are "notorious" for cheating customers ?

Search the ThaiVisa forum. Others have made similar comments.

[bazmlb]

Check your bill. CM Ram is notorious for adding extra cost on there. They gave me 4000 baht back after I caught them in one of their billing scams.

Can you substantiate that RAM are "notorious" for cheating customers ?

Search the ThaiVisa forum. Others have made similar comments.

I did check my bill and so did the insurance company thoroughly, there were no extra charges.

[caf]

Check your bill. CM Ram is notorious for adding extra cost on there. They gave me 4000 baht back after I caught them in one of their billing scams.

Can you substantiate that RAM are "notorious" for cheating customers ?

Search the ThaiVisa forum. Others have made similar comments.

To pretend that Ram, or any other institution in Thailand to a lesser or greater extent, does not pad bills with unnecessary procedures or add unrequested or unprovided extras is to be in denial.

Bazbib had good treatment and the bill was correct. Excellent. That does not mean Ram always achieves that. The hospital has a reputation. Search this and other forums

[Ulysses G.]

Every hospital in the world has dissatisfied customers and some complaints are justified and some are not. Check out the accusations on the Internet about Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok which is generally considered to be excellent. There is no hospital anywhere that is even close to being perfect.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[gotlost]

I have had the opportunity to use Chiang Mai Ram three times this year. The first time was for major oral surgery requiring a 6 night stay. The bills were thoroughly scrutinized and no over billing was found. I have nothing but the heights praise for Chiang Mai Ram. Their coast are considerably lower than in the US.

[caf]

I have had the opportunity to use Chiang Mai Ram three times this year. The first time was for major oral surgery requiring a 6 night stay. The bills were thoroughly scrutinized and no over billing was found. I have nothing but the heights praise for Chiang Mai Ram. Their coast are considerably lower than in the US.

Glad it went well

They may also be cheaper than hospitlas in other countries. But we are in Thailand so not a valid comparison. And while they diod not cheat you, they have cheated others.

[gotlost]

I have had the opportunity to use Chiang Mai Ram three times this year. The first time was for major oral surgery requiring a 6 night stay. The bills were thoroughly scrutinized and no over billing was found. I have nothing but the heights praise for Chiang Mai Ram. Their coast are considerably lower than in the US.

Glad it went well

They may also be cheaper than hospitlas in other countries. But we are in Thailand so not a valid comparison. And while they diod not cheat you, they have cheated others.

Can you prove the CMR has cheated others. Show us the bills.

Edited December 2, 2010 by gotlost

[caf]

I have had the opportunity to use Chiang Mai Ram three times this year. The first time was for major oral surgery requiring a 6 night stay. The bills were thoroughly scrutinized and no over billing was found. I have nothing but the heights praise for Chiang Mai Ram. Their coast are considerably lower than in the US.

Glad it went well

They may also be cheaper than hospitlas in other countries. But we are in Thailand so not a valid comparison. And while they diod not cheat you, they have cheated others.

Can you prove the CMR has cheated others. Show us the bills.

Yes and so can others who have posted here

That is not to say they always cheat or that other hospitals are always squeaky clean

You have had a good experience and as I said I;m glad but that does not mean others were as fortunate