I Need A Hip X-Ray

[dsfbrit]

I had a hip operation outside Thailand earlier this year - in February. I have to send an X-ray to the doctor that performed the operation via e-mail, so he can assess that everything has healed OK and give me the final sign-off.

I contacted Bangkok Pattaya hospital as they provide X-rays on a CD in PDF format that I can send as an email attachment.

The trouble is they wont just take an X-ray and put it on a CD, I have to see their doctor first.

Is this just a BPH rule or can somebody please recommend a hospital in Pattaya that will just take an X-ray for me without wanting me to have unnecessary health checks (Blood Pressure etc...) and doctor consultation.

I have an X-ray from 6 months ago when the operation was carried out, so they can see exactly the area I need X-raying.

Thanks very much for your help.

[FBN]

Any hospital would normally require a doctor to "order" an X-ray by using (signing) a specific request form.. The result of the X-ray is considered privileged medical information and can only be read by the physician that ordered it and the release of that information can only be authorised by that physician.

[dsfbrit]

Hi FBN

Thanks for the reply. I expect you are right. Still if I can get it done without a pointless meeting with a doctor and a useless blood pressure and weight check (which I do myself every day anyway when I am relaxed) then I will.

Maybe there are clinics around that have X-ray machines that could do this.

[Soutpeel]

Any hospital would normally require a doctor to "order" an X-ray by using (signing) a specific request form.. The result of the X-ray is considered privileged medical information and can only be read by the physician that ordered it and the release of that information can only be authorised by that physician.

Disagree, had a chest x-ray done at Bangkok Rayong hospital a few years ago as part of the medical exam for offshore, they tried the same thing saying I had to see a doctor, I told them just do the X-ray and give me the report ( FYI the films are interpreted by a radiologist, not the doctor) if there was evidence of TB (the reason for the X-ray requirement) then I would see a doctor....there wasnt, I got the chest film + report and walked out the door...

You are paying for the service, you can decide and as regards "privilaged info".....yes its YOUR info, you decide what you do with it, a hospital will try and sell you addtional "services"

[smokie36]

Any hospital would normally require a doctor to "order" an X-ray by using (signing) a specific request form.. The result of the X-ray is considered privileged medical information and can only be read by the physician that ordered it and the release of that information can only be authorised by that physician.

Disagree, had a chest x-ray done at Bangkok Rayong hospital a few years ago as part of the medical exam for offshore, they tried the same thing saying I had to see a doctor, I told them just do the X-ray and give me the report ( FYI the films are interpreted by a radiologist, not the doctor) if there was evidence of TB (the reason for the X-ray requirement) then I would see a doctor....there wasnt, I got the chest film + report and walked out the door...

You are paying for the service, you can decide and as regards "privilaged info".....yes its YOUR info, you decide what you do with it, a hospital will try and sell you addtional "services"

Tend to agree. The only opinion that counts for the OP is that of the doc who performed his operation. Why spend needlessly on consultations you don't want?

Edited July 27, 2011 by smokie36

[FBN]

Soutie, sure; TIT...However keep in mind that the facilities that are happy to bypass this may be in there for the quick THB and may not have the best equipment to do so and you may run the risk of having to do this again if the image is poor quality. Why not select a reputable facility with digital imaging which you can send through as is. Better yet, why not have the local doc engage in a conversation with your original physician after this is done..Clearly this will only happen at a "higher" end facility.Again, as the local saying goes: "Up to you..."

[dsfbrit]

Any hospital would normally require a doctor to "order" an X-ray by using (signing) a specific request form.. The result of the X-ray is considered privileged medical information and can only be read by the physician that ordered it and the release of that information can only be authorised by that physician.

Disagree, had a chest x-ray done at Bangkok Rayong hospital a few years ago as part of the medical exam for offshore, they tried the same thing saying I had to see a doctor, I told them just do the X-ray and give me the report ( FYI the films are interpreted by a radiologist, not the doctor) if there was evidence of TB (the reason for the X-ray requirement) then I would see a doctor....there wasnt, I got the chest film + report and walked out the door...

You are paying for the service, you can decide and as regards "privilaged info".....yes its YOUR info, you decide what you do with it, a hospital will try and sell you addtional "services"

I agree, I only want the X-ray and by the sounds of it I should be able to do just that if I shop around. Tomorrow I will try a few hospitals to see what they say. The International hospital on Soi 4 or 5 seems to have some good reports - I will try down there.

Thanks for the advice.

[dsfbrit]

Any hospital would normally require a doctor to "order" an X-ray by using (signing) a specific request form.. The result of the X-ray is considered privileged medical information and can only be read by the physician that ordered it and the release of that information can only be authorised by that physician.

Disagree, had a chest x-ray done at Bangkok Rayong hospital a few years ago as part of the medical exam for offshore, they tried the same thing saying I had to see a doctor, I told them just do the X-ray and give me the report ( FYI the films are interpreted by a radiologist, not the doctor) if there was evidence of TB (the reason for the X-ray requirement) then I would see a doctor....there wasnt, I got the chest film + report and walked out the door...

You are paying for the service, you can decide and as regards "privilaged info".....yes its YOUR info, you decide what you do with it, a hospital will try and sell you addtional "services"

Tend to agree. The only opinion that counts for the OP is that of the doc who performed his operation. Why spend needlessly on consultations you don't want?

Cheers for the feedbackt Smokie36, as I said above I will try some other hospitals and see what they say. It seems it may not be a hard and fast rule everywhere.

[dsfbrit]

Soutie, sure; TIT...However keep in mind that the facilities that are happy to bypass this may be in there for the quick THB and may not have the best equipment to do so and you may run the risk of having to do this again if the image is poor quality. Why not select a reputable facility with digital imaging which you can send through as is. Better yet, why not have the local doc engage in a conversation with your original physician after this is done..Clearly this will only happen at a "higher" end facility.Again, as the local saying goes: "Up to you..."

A major reason I want to avoid the DRs in Thailand is simply they have little or no knowledge of the type of hip operation that I had. They still do mainly the old style 'hip replacement' operation in LOS.

I visited several hospitals in Thailand (Pattaya and Bangkok) and had I listened to them (and not investigated via the internet) and let them do this old style operation then I would never be able to play sport again - I have no desire to tell them what I think of their 'advice' - a more cynical person than me would think that they were less than honest and just after the money to do the operation that they understood and not the best operation for me personally - surely not!!!

Thanks again for the feedback its been most helpful.

[Soutpeel]

Soutie, sure; TIT...However keep in mind that the facilities that are happy to bypass this may be in there for the quick THB and may not have the best equipment to do so and you may run the risk of having to do this again if the image is poor quality. Why not select a reputable facility with digital imaging which you can send through as is. Better yet, why not have the local doc engage in a conversation with your original physician after this is done..Clearly this will only happen at a "higher" end facility.Again, as the local saying goes: "Up to you..."

Bangkok Rayong Hospital is part of the Bangkok group of hospitals...ie same same as BHP and others and is a first rate hospital with top notch equipment and doctors and is classed as a "higher end facility", and you can have a "hard copy" X-ray or digital, what ever you desire....at the end of the day you are paying for service so it is up to you....and IMHO not a case of TIT, irrespetive of where you are in the world, those records are yours not the hosptials and you have every right to them...

[chakatee]

btw the x-ray will not be "a pdf on a CD", not even a jpg

they have specific formats that can only be viewed with the software usually delivered on the CD as well

to send to your doc by email may not be possible as the size may be too big to be an email attachement and to make a jpg out of it, even a print screen may not be easy ...

good idea to save yourself some time by not having your blood pressure taken and go shop around in a few other hospitals in stead

[smokie36]

Soutie, sure; TIT...However keep in mind that the facilities that are happy to bypass this may be in there for the quick THB and may not have the best equipment to do so and you may run the risk of having to do this again if the image is poor quality. Why not select a reputable facility with digital imaging which you can send through as is. Better yet, why not have the local doc engage in a conversation with your original physician after this is done..Clearly this will only happen at a "higher" end facility.Again, as the local saying goes: "Up to you..."

A major reason I want to avoid the DRs in Thailand is simply they have little or no knowledge of the type of hip operation that I had. They still do mainly the old style 'hip replacement' operation in LOS.

I visited several hospitals in Thailand (Pattaya and Bangkok) and had I listened to them (and not investigated via the internet) and let them do this old style operation then I would never be able to play sport again - I have no desire to tell them what I think of their 'advice' - a more cynical person than me would think that they were less than honest and just after the money to do the operation that they understood and not the best operation for me personally - surely not!!!

Thanks again for the feedback its been most helpful.

From the information you have given I assume you have had a hip resurfacing. Make sure the people taking the x-rays are aware of this as the pictures they take may need to be different from a total hip replacement.

Might be best to check with the surgeon who did your op.

Anyway it sounds like your recovery is good so best of luck with it!

[dsfbrit]

btw the x-ray will not be "a pdf on a CD", not even a jpg

they have specific formats that can only be viewed with the software usually delivered on the CD as well

to send to your doc by email may not be possible as the size may be too big to be an email attachement and to make a jpg out of it, even a print screen may not be easy ...

good idea to save yourself some time by not having your blood pressure taken and go shop around in a few other hospitals in stead

Thanks for the feedback chakatee.

You are right - I meant JPEG format not PDF (adobe). As you say - the X-Ray format is proprietary to the hospital systems as the X-ray file is a 'Dicom Object'. I had to find this out as there was no 'export to JPG' option on the X-Ray disk I was provided with this time so I had to import the 'Dicom Object' X-ray file into an old application provided by Bumrungrad that displayed the X-rays I had taken earlier this year. Luckily once imported into that application I could see the x-ray and export to a Jpeg file without any problems.

[dsfbrit]

Soutie, sure; TIT...However keep in mind that the facilities that are happy to bypass this may be in there for the quick THB and may not have the best equipment to do so and you may run the risk of having to do this again if the image is poor quality. Why not select a reputable facility with digital imaging which you can send through as is. Better yet, why not have the local doc engage in a conversation with your original physician after this is done..Clearly this will only happen at a "higher" end facility.Again, as the local saying goes: "Up to you..."

Bangkok Rayong Hospital is part of the Bangkok group of hospitals...ie same same as BHP and others and is a first rate hospital with top notch equipment and doctors and is classed as a "higher end facility", and you can have a "hard copy" X-ray or digital, what ever you desire....at the end of the day you are paying for service so it is up to you....and IMHO not a case of TIT, irrespetive of where you are in the world, those records are yours not the hosptials and you have every right to them...

I have no major problem with Bangkok hospital services, I still go to BPH for all my dental work - excellent service and results.

Like most people, I dont like wasting my time and then having to pay for something I simply dont need - I just needed an x-ray and after advice from this forum (thanks guys) I knew if I shopped around I would find somewhere that would do just this - so I am happy.

Mind you, the advice given by the doctor in 2007 telling me he needed to give me 'a hip replacement immediately or I would be permanently damaged' was - how can I say it politely - not correct. If you just google 'hip replacement' you will see just how wrong his comments were!!! It has left a nasty taste in my mouth and a much more 'questioning' attitude to medical services here in Thailand. The mantra 'Buyer Beware' is very relevant!!!

[dsfbrit]

Soutie, sure; TIT...However keep in mind that the facilities that are happy to bypass this may be in there for the quick THB and may not have the best equipment to do so and you may run the risk of having to do this again if the image is poor quality. Why not select a reputable facility with digital imaging which you can send through as is. Better yet, why not have the local doc engage in a conversation with your original physician after this is done..Clearly this will only happen at a "higher" end facility.Again, as the local saying goes: "Up to you..."

A major reason I want to avoid the DRs in Thailand is simply they have little or no knowledge of the type of hip operation that I had. They still do mainly the old style 'hip replacement' operation in LOS.

I visited several hospitals in Thailand (Pattaya and Bangkok) and had I listened to them (and not investigated via the internet) and let them do this old style operation then I would never be able to play sport again - I have no desire to tell them what I think of their 'advice' - a more cynical person than me would think that they were less than honest and just after the money to do the operation that they understood and not the best operation for me personally - surely not!!!

Thanks again for the feedback its been most helpful.

From the information you have given I assume you have had a hip resurfacing. Make sure the people taking the x-rays are aware of this as the pictures they take may need to be different from a total hip replacement.

Might be best to check with the surgeon who did your op.

Anyway it sounds like your recovery is good so best of luck with it!

You are absolutely correct - a hip resurfacing 6 months ago. I feel great now, back to playing sport without any pain and all my pre-hip mobility -

I went to the International hospital in North Pattaya - Soi 4 and they were excellent. I asked if I could have an X-ray on a CD the same as the X-ray I had taken with me as an example and they said it was no problem and would cost 600 baht.

No unnecessary doctor visit, no unnecessary blood pressure test.

Half hour later I left with a CD with the X-ray.

I had some troubles exporting the X-ray from their proprietary format to a Jpeg file as there was no 'export' option on the application they provided on the CD. So if anyone reads this and needs this sort of function then you may need to mention this to the radiologist.

I was fortunate as I had an old application from Bumrungrad hospital from a previous set of x-rays, so was able to import the x-ray file and convert it to Jpeg with that application.

I have sent the Jpeg X-ray to the surgeon and he has given me the 'all clear' to play sport again. GREAT!!!!!!

Thanks again to everyone for your comments

David

[jimmym40]

I really don't want to piss anybody off. But it seems to me that you are wasting alot of time and effort just trying to by-pass seeing the doc (for maybe 5 minutes time AND and maybe a 200 baht charge). What's the big problem with that. Just go by the hospitals protocol and see the doc first. Are you trying to save the 200 or so baht???