Hospitals eyes patients from Europe, urge govt support

KANSUCHAYA SUVANNAKORN

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The hospitals joining Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's mission to Sweden and Belgium next month hope to explore more markets in Europe for patients and retirees to come to Thailand for medical care as well as home stays.

newsjs

Dr Boon Vanasin, chairman of Thonburi Hospital Group, said yesterday that people in Scandinavia and Europe enjoy good medical welfare, but they find difficulty in getting admitted to hospitals or even making an appointment with a doctor, so some of them fly to Thailand instead for medical treatment at private hospitals here.

The government should promote "medical outsourcing", especially for non-serious cases such as bone surgery and other minor operations.

"The government should seek cooperation with the Swedish and Belgium governments in sending their retired people, who have no one to take care of them, to make a home in Thailand, while their governments will take care of the bills charged by local private hospitals.

"They should reduce the time and open special channels in issuing visas to those patients. The validity of visas for local treatment in Thailand should be extended from three months now to one year or longer so that patients can recover their health and undergo physical therapy," he said.

Such government-to-government cooperation should include exchanges of lecturers and students in medical science, the development of medical knowledge and the dispatching of experts to make suggestions on financial management to the National Health Security Office, so they can deliver the most efficient service to the people.

"It's a good thing that the Thai government has given support to the health tourism industry as it will create opportunities for local hospitals to expand to the European market. Thonburi Hospital Group has more than 20 hospitals in Bangkok and the provinces, especially in major tourist destinations such as Pattaya and Phuket, and such health tourism will bring a lot of income to the country," he added.

Dr Supot Sumritvanitcha, director of Yanhee International Hospital, said the hospital's objective in participating in the prime minister's roadshow is to learn about the latest medical technology and equipment in Europe. The hospital had used medical equipment from Germany and Korea.

It also wants to attract individual patients from Sweden to Thailand, especially for joint and bone surgery. Sweden is a winter country and many people suffer from arthritis.

"We don't think we can get more patients immediately after this first roadshow, but we aim to grow the market in the future. We want to introduce ourselves to potential European customers as the No 1 surgery centre in Asia with turnkey services. We can offer 10 times cheaper than those in Europe and the US. We already have had some patients from Germany and Australia," he said.

-- The Nation 2013-02-21

they can offer prices 10 times cheaper? I have comparedc prices concerning operations on the heart they are about the same as in Germany in thai private hospitals

The added benefit of tourism medical care is the greater likelihood of being exposed to an antibiotic resistant infection.

As well, if one is a gambler, one can take the chance of being attended to by a physician that may have a history of negligence and/or malpractice. In Thailand, it is next to impossible to find out about a physician's background.

Best of all, if something goes wrong, the patient doesn't have to worry about a legal redress since medical malpractice claims usually go nowhere.

A western EU or Scandanavian patient is better served by seeking treatment in his/her own country and not flying to Thailand or India or China for care.

The added benefit of tourism medical care is the greater likelihood of being exposed to an antibiotic resistant infection.

As well, if one is a gambler, one can take the chance of being attended to by a physician that may have a history of negligence and/or malpractice. In Thailand, it is next to impossible to find out about a physician's background.

Best of all, if something goes wrong, the patient doesn't have to worry about a legal redress since medical malpractice claims usually go nowhere.

A western EU or Scandanavian patient is better served by seeking treatment in his/her own country and not flying to Thailand or India or China for care.

If you think doctors in Scandinavia receive any kind of dicipline for malpractice you are sorely mistaken. There is close to zero consequence of messing up. If you've ever been to one of those socialist hospitals where 6 ill people share a room and the doctor has 10 minutes for you a day, then you'll very much want to go to Thailand. Or if you've waited months for simple routine surgery or examinations. Bangkok was recently named the 2nd best city in the world for health care.

<snip>

Bangkok was recently named the 2nd best city in the world for health care.

By who? Anyone connected with Thai tourism or Thai hospitals?

This won't fly without a transparent pricing policy that isn't ethnically loaded.

If the Thai governments really wants to attract more retirees to live here, that would indeed be good news, on both commercial and humanitarian grounds, but they will need to make the Immigration visa-rules much simpler and easier to satisfy IMHO.

One good start would be a 90-day Visa-on-Arrival, available at both airports and land-crossings, and without limits on how many times it can be used back-to-back.

Another would be to make 90-day reporting for long-stay visitors available online, or to abandon it completely, it is an unnecessary inconvenience to all concerned, both visitors and Immigration.

Lastly given the continuing long-term rise in the strength of the Baht, against western-currencies, isn't it time to reduce the cash-requirements for a visa-extension based upon retirement or marriage to a Thai national. The money on-deposit thus released would immediately become available for spending, and boosting the Thai economy.

But will the European diplomats or Men-from-the-Ministry find time to suggest this to PM-Yingluck ? Somehow I doubt it.

Be careful what you ask for, once insurance companies and third party billing get involved, prices tend to skyrocket in the ensuing cloud of dust, and patients become a liability, rather than the customer. This is exactly why the health care costs in the USA are so absurd, because the third parties are endless gouging each other for every dollar possible, knowing that they will eventually get what they ask for. Also, the quality of care tends to plummet as costs increase, which is why the same procedure that is outpatient in the USA involves a 2-3 night hospital stay in Thailand. Unless you trust a claims adjuster to make healthcare decisions for you over the treating physician, this will not be in anyone's best interest. Trying to westernize Thai health care will destroy everything that is good about it, mainly the low cost and high quality of aftercare.

Edited February 21, 201313 yr by RaoulDuke

hello yingluccccccccccccck .... give us the right to actually own what we pay for ... land , house, etc... many billions there to collect, if only they would not be so xenophobic

We want to introduce ourselves to potential European customers as the No 1 surgery centre in Asia with turnkey services. We can offer 10 times cheaper than those in Europe and the US.

I've a bad feeling about this, if they aren't calling it a hub.

The added benefit of tourism medical care is the greater likelihood of being exposed to an antibiotic resistant infection.

As well, if one is a gambler, one can take the chance of being attended to by a physician that may have a history of negligence and/or malpractice. In Thailand, it is next to impossible to find out about a physician's background.

Best of all, if something goes wrong, the patient doesn't have to worry about a legal redress since medical malpractice claims usually go nowhere.

A western EU or Scandanavian patient is better served by seeking treatment in his/her own country and not flying to Thailand or India or China for care.

If you think doctors in Scandinavia receive any kind of dicipline for malpractice you are sorely mistaken. There is close to zero consequence of messing up. If you've ever been to one of those socialist hospitals where 6 ill people share a room and the doctor has 10 minutes for you a day, then you'll very much want to go to Thailand. Or if you've waited months for simple routine surgery or examinations. Bangkok was recently named the 2nd best city in the world for health care.

Sorry, but Scandanavian medical practioners are subject to scrutiny by their respective professional regulatory bodies. It may not be as harsh as you would like, but there is oversight. In respect to serious post operative infections, the infections are tracked and remedial action is taken.

Physicians make errors and hospitals screw up. However, I'd rather take my chances at a hospital in Sweden or Denmark than in Thailand.

Ever wonder why medical procedures in Singapore are comparative with western procedures? It is because similar equipment is used and the medical staff have similar qualifications and SOPs. Cut rate surgery is accomplised by cutting corners. I know that the likelihood of the device used for a colonoscopy in Oslo being sterile is high. The sterilizer will have been sourced from a reputable supplier and maintained in accordance with appropriate requirements. Do you have the same confidence at a Thai hospital?

Want some reading fun? .

In the interim, I suggest you have a look at some of the articles available to the general public One of the exciting articles is Invasive filamentous fungal infections associated with renal transplant tourism.