Medicine Overcharge At Pattaya Hospital

[KKK]

I needed a refill for some eye drops I had been prescribed by an opthalmic surgeon at Pattaya Memorial Hospital. Fascino charged me Baht 440. I found my bill for the hospital a few weeks earlier. Exactly the same drops baht 900. More than 100% overcharge by the hospital. Considering I was also billed for doctors fee (baht 600) and something they call "Other Medical Services Charges" (baht 120) I think this overcharge is totally unjustified.

Beware....just get the name of the medicine and buy it yourself........don't fall for this scam as I did.

[justaphase]

Oh for sure.. the best one is paying 100 baht for 10 paracetamol..

[Mario2008]

Many if not all private hospitals charge a much higher price for medication than a government hospital or pharmacy would.

[bkkjames]

I was in a restaurant yesterday for lunch and they charged me 110 baht for an ice tea at 7 which costs only 15 baht.

[KKK]

I was in a restaurant yesterday for lunch and they charged me 110 baht for an ice tea at 7 which costs only 15 baht.

But did you also pay for the kitchen staff who made the tea, the waiter who brought it to you, the table and chair you sat at etc. Your comparison of a restaurant (which could vary from an open fronted shophouse in rural Thailand to a 5 star hotel in the center of Bangkok) to 7-11 is unrealistic. If you're going to make a comment think about it first......

Edited January 5, 2011 by KKK

[Mobi]

I can't imagine why I find myself defending Pattaya Memorial, but here goes:

600 Baht doctor's fee goes directly to the doctor.

120 Baht medical fee goes to the hospital for providing the hospital facilities.

The mark up on meds is pretty standard for all private hospitals in Thailand. It is an additional way of covering the costs for all the facilities and staff they provide.

You are not obliged to buy your meds from them. You could decline to buy and go and get it from Fascino. They would not argue with you or try to increase your other charges.

Just understand the system and you will find that the charges are not that much out of line and if you are smart you will buy all your meds at the local pharmacy. AFAIAC, every time I get a new drug prescribed, I usually ask the Doc to give me a week's supply and from then on I buy outside. I think that is fair enough for the hospital and me.

Reason for edit: I thought you were writing about BHP - but the same principal still applies.

Edited January 5, 2011 by Mobi

[bkkjames]

I was in a restaurant yesterday for lunch and they charged me 110 baht for an ice tea at 7 which costs only 15 baht.

But did you also pay for the kitchen staff who made the tea, the waiter who brought it to you, the table and chair you sat at etc. Your comparison of a restaurant (which could vary from an open fronted shophouse in rural Thailand to a 5 star hotel in the center of Bangkok) to 7-11 is unrealistic. If you're going to make a comment think about it first......

Ok I will think this time so as not to lose anyone in process.

Restaurant - has overhead - in business to make a profit = mark-up

Hospital - has overhead - in business to make a profit (shhh) = mark-up

[transam]

Perhaps they found out your Tv user name eh. KKK

Edited January 5, 2011 by transam

[InterestedObserver]

Finally, somebody beating-up another Pattaya hospital, not BHP!

[H2oDunc]

Just where is the SCAM here ?

Thats the price. take it or leave it. Nobody is forcing you to buy them. If you are not happy then simply say no thanks.

If I go to my local Tesco back in Blighty then a loaf of bread will cost we very little. If on the other hand I choose to go to Harrods for my bread then Harrods are going to have to charge me a lot more than Tesco for a similar product due to the location of the shop, the staff etc etc etc. This process is called BUSINESS !

No scam just something the capitalist world has been living with for thousands of years. The only problem is that it seem everything here in Thailand is forever being labelled as a scam even it blatantly isn't.

Just my 2 satangs worth

[KKK]

I can't imagine why I find myself defending Pattaya Memorial, but here goes:

600 Baht doctor's fee goes directly to the doctor.

120 Baht medical fee goes to the hospital for providing the hospital facilities.

The mark up on meds is pretty standard for all private hospitals in Thailand. It is an additional way of covering the costs for all the facilities and staff they provide.

The cost for providing the hospital facilities has already been covered in the 120 baht charge. If that is insufficient then increase it..I see no valid reason to bump the medicine cost because they possibly undercharge you elsewhere. The purpose of detailed billing is to allow you to fully understand what it is you're paying for. It would be far better PR for the hospital to charge for OP medications at street prices and add some other charge to the bill for whatever it is they are trying to get money for.

If I had gone to the hospital pharmacy for a refill how much would I have been charged? I bet the same double price as when I did so on a doctors visit. Yet I would have made no use of the hospitals facilities and used their pharmacy just as I would fascino.

[KKK]

Just where is the SCAM here ?

Thats the price. take it or leave it. Nobody is forcing you to buy them. If you are not happy then simply say no thanks.

If I go to my local Tesco back in Blighty then a loaf of bread will cost we very little. If on the other hand I choose to go to Harrods for my bread then Harrods are going to have to charge me a lot more than Tesco for a similar product due to the location of the shop, the staff etc etc etc. This process is called BUSINESS !

No scam just something the capitalist world has been living with for thousands of years. The only problem is that it seem everything here in Thailand is forever being labelled as a scam even it blatantly isn't.

Just my 2 satangs worth

When you're out shopping for bread you would be thinking rationally and would be able to make a well informed decision on your purchase. When you've just been diagnosed by a doctor that you have whatever wrong with you and need to take such and such medicine your thinking may not be as rational. At that point in time you are vulnerable and the hospital knows it. They also know that you probably won't question the price of the medicine or indeed have any idea what it should really cost. So they can bump the price and get away with it. This is "preying on the weak". It may not be a SCAM but it is most definitely a RIP-OFF.

[Phil Conners]

Only a 100% writeup? Bangkok Christian Hospital tried to charge me 3,600 baht for 30 Plavix. I declined and bought 30 Apolets (generaic Plavix) at my local pharmacy for 1,200 baht.