How Much Is It To See A Doctor Here In Thailand?

[toffo9]

just for a prescription??

[afarang]

At a Government Hospital- consultation is B50. I never go to private hospitals so cannot tell you how much they charge

[IanForbes]

Depending on the prescription I just go to a pharmacy and ask for the drugs I need. No charge other than the price of the drugs. I do it for minor infections or general maladies. Most good pharmacists can diagnose as well as many doctors when it comes to minor symptems. Periodically I've had burns, scrapes and cuts that got infected and the pharmacist did just as well or better than the doctor.

[Jingthing]

If you mean a scrip for new glasses; it's "free" from mostly amateurs at optical shops while at private hospitals easily over 1000 baht for a basic visit.

[geronimo]

Nothing to see one ..... but it will cost you to talk to one!

[craigt3365]

How about we move this over to the Health, Body and Medicine forum?

[SteeleJoe]

Depending on the prescription I just go to a pharmacy and ask for the drugs I need. No charge other than the price of the drugs. I do it for minor infections or general maladies. Most good pharmacists can diagnose as well as many doctors when it comes to minor symptems. Periodically I've had burns, scrapes and cuts that got infected and the pharmacist did just as well or better than the doctor.

I do the same but it bears keeping in mind:

1) Most drugstores are not staffed by Pharmacists. More likely they will be a pharmacy technician -- and in some cases just the owner's niece Sumalee and that nice young man down the street. They may or may not know there stuff to a sufficient degree no matter how much they seem to.

2) You (nor I) can not know if they do' just as well or better than the doctor' unless you go to see both with identical complaints and compare. The pharmacy may have given you something and then your problem went away. Did it go away by itself? Would it have gone away quicker (or faster) with more (or less) potential for side effects if the doctor had prescribed you something else?

Who knows?

So while for myself I just go to a drugstore* it has to be recognized that it's a judgement call and one might want to take care on the selection etc

(Mind you the one I generally use does have one pharmacist whom I make it a point to speak to rather than the 4 techs he has there, but that's because I buy medicine for my kids. And I go for medicine that our beloved pediatrician of 8 years writes down the name of -- rather than prescribing it at the expensive hospital we use, and thus costing us a lot more money. And I confirm all info online.)

Edited April 14, 2011 by SteeleJoe

[craigt3365]

Depending on the prescription I just go to a pharmacy and ask for the drugs I need. No charge other than the price of the drugs. I do it for minor infections or general maladies. Most good pharmacists can diagnose as well as many doctors when it comes to minor symptems. Periodically I've had burns, scrapes and cuts that got infected and the pharmacist did just as well or better than the doctor.

I do the same but it bears keeping in mind:

1) Most drugstores are not staffed by Pharmacists. More likely they will be a pharmacy technician -- and in some cases just the owner's niece Sumalee and that nice young man down the street. They may or may not know there stuff to a sufficient degree no matter how much they seem to.

2) You (nor I) can not know if they do' just as well or better than the doctor' unless you go to see both with identical complaints and compare. The pharmacy may have given you something and then your problem went away. Did it go away by itself? Would it have gone away quicker (or faster) with more (or less) potential for side effects if the doctor had prescribed you something else?

Who knows?

So while for myself I just go to a drugstore* it has to be recognized that it's a judgement call and one might want to take care on the selection etc

(Mind you the one I generally use does have one pharmacist whom I make it a point to speak to rather than the 4 techs he has there, but that's because I buy medicine for my kids. And I go for medicine that our beloved pediatrician of 8 years writes down the name of -- rather than prescribing it at the expensive hospital we use, and thus costing us a lot more money. And I confirm all info online.)

Reminds me of my visit to a pharma in Ecuador. I speak a little Spanish, but only a little. Tried to indicate I had a cold. I coughed, held my head and told him it was hot and that I felt very bad. The meds he gave me knocked me out for a whole day...so I emailed my brother who is a pharmacist in the US. I had been given a drug for Asthma that had been banned in the US for some very good reasons!

Self medicating for small stuff is OK, otherwise, go see a doc. It's worth the 600-800B or so. I try not to visit government hospitals as I feel they are really setup for Thai people and there to serve their needs...plus the waits can be horrendous.

[Sheryl]

The costs of a consultation with a doctor vary greatly depending on:

government hospital vs. non-profit private vs. for-profit private

Bangkok vs. upcountry

specialist vs. non-specialists, as well as type of specialist

qualifications, e.g. the top specialists, who are often professors at leading medical schools and trained/board certified in a western country, charge more in their private practices than their colleagues of lesser qualification.

Range goes anywhere from 50 baht to 1,500 baht, although you would see over 1,000 baht usually only with top specialists in a private setting

These are consultation fees, any needed lab tests would be additional

Always better to buy medications yourself at an outside pharmacy as hospital pharmacies have considerable mark up

And for very simple straight forward problems you can, indeed, consult a pharmacist, but make sure it is in fact a pharmacist and not just someone working behind a pharmacy counter

regardless of who prescribes for you, do your own reading on contraindications and side effects, neither docs nor pharmacists here are very good about informing patients of these

[chiang mai]

Mrs CM got a bad case of the acne and whilst I was away she went to see the dermatologist at B/P Hospital - gulp, 1,750 doctors fee, 500 medicine of which a seven day course of antibiotics represented one half and a series of "special" creams and lotions was the rest plus 300 baht hospital fee. I did make a point of going to see the good doctor and explained at length that I was certain she was taking the p**s and that would be the last time either of us would go there again, she really didn't care but Mrs CM now knows better!

[jdinasia]

The costs of a consultation with a doctor vary greatly depending on:

government hospital vs. non-profit private vs. for-profit private

Bangkok vs. upcountry

specialist vs. non-specialists, as well as type of specialist

qualifications, e.g. the top specialists, who are often professors at leading medical schools and trained/board certified in a western country, charge more in their private practices than their colleagues of lesser qualification.

Range goes anywhere from 50 baht to 1,500 baht, although you would see over 1,000 baht usually only with top specialists in a private setting

These are consultation fees, any needed lab tests would be additional

Always better to buy medications yourself at an outside pharmacy as hospital pharmacies have considerable mark up

And for very simple straight forward problems you can, indeed, consult a pharmacist, but make sure it is in fact a pharmacist and not just someone working behind a pharmacy counter

regardless of who prescribes for you, do your own reading on contraindications and side effects, neither docs nor pharmacists here are very good about informing patients of these

Caveat ---- for some medicines you must (legally) see a Dr and get from hospital pharmacies.

[zzaa09]

Mrs CM got a bad case of the acne and whilst I was away she went to see the dermatologist at B/P Hospital - gulp, 1,750 doctors fee, 500 medicine of which a seven day course of antibiotics represented one half and a series of "special" creams and lotions was the rest plus 300 baht hospital fee. I did make a point of going to see the good doctor and explained at length that I was certain she was taking the p**s and that would be the last time either of us would go there again, she really didn't care but Mrs CM now knows better!

Antibiotics. Medical practices here in Thailand have adopted and borrowed this very obsessive Western allopathic conditioning, where antibiotics {of every sort} will "cure" everything and anything. Very dangerous approach.

[mikecwm]

Took my son to see a doctor last year in Cha Am for ear infections. Total cost including medicine (3 different ones!) 2000B.

I think next time it happens we will just go to a pharmacy. (Having insurance - no deductible, meant we didn't need to worry about the cost).