Reasonably Priced Private Hospital In Bangkok

[expatman]

Can anyone recommended a reasonaly priced hospital in Bangkok with English-speaking doctors ?
I've been going to Bumrungrad for years, but their charges are getting ridiculously high.
I might need to get an MRI, and Bumrungrad is quoting 24,000 Baht !

[Sheryl]

First of all - you can save a great deal on MRI by going here http://www.mrithailand.com/e_index.html

It is a dedicated imaging center. Will give you the film to take with you. You need to book, but they will accept self referrals. I had an MRI of the cervical spine there a month or two back for about 12,000 baht (no contrast). Note that MRI with contrast always costs more so do your homework as to whether contrast is needed or not. Generally yes if problem vascular or suspected tumor, no if just an ortho issue.

Secondly, if you have a problem that warrants an MRI you would be best served by carefully finding the best qualified doctor rather than choosing a hospital.

That said, you will the following hospitals to cost significantly less than Bumrungrad (listed more or less in descending order of cost):

Vejthani

Bkk Christian

St Louis

Sikarin (out near Bang Na- very pleasant community hospital).

English speaking doctors should not be a problem at any of them, but at Sikarin you may not find much English speaking among the nurses and admin staff.

Another very viable option, if you don't mind red tape and waits, is to utilize the "after hours" clinic at Chulalonghorn Hopsital. ("clinic nok wela"). This will be the least expensive option of all mentioned, but has some inconveniences, not least being that you have to physically go there to make an appointment and can't find a listing of doctors qualifications on line. Some specialists are also booked far in advance. You can however access some of the top professors at Chula this way. (Some of them can also be accessed at St Louis and/or Bkk Christian).

[Sheryl]

P.S. Just realized I neglected to mention:

Phyathai Hosp (there are several, Phyathai 2 at Victory Monument seems in particular to have some senior docs doing orivate hours there)

Thonburi Hospital - of you happen to be near that side of the river, this is a medium sized private hospital located near Siriraj so some of the top Siriraj docs do private practice there.

In these as in all, you still need to research doctor qualifications.

[expatman]

P.S. Just realized I neglected to mention:

Phyathai Hosp (there are several, Phyathai 2 at Victory Monument seems in particular to have some senior docs doing orivate hours there)

Thonburi Hospital - of you happen to be near that side of the river, this is a medium sized private hospital located near Siriraj so some of the top Siriraj docs do private practice there.

In these as in all, you still need to research doctor qualifications.

Sheryl, thanks for the info !

But how do I research doctors' qualifications ?

[ESDinBKK]

I've been using Viphavadi hospital for over 15 years and found the quality of doctors and staff very good and reasonably priced. Haven't found any "dual pricing" problems. As with ant hospital they have a high markup on their pharmacy, so better to get meds outside the hospital. Modern equipment and enough englishspeaking staff. Found their dental section very good. My daughter uses the pediatrics dept for my grandson, and is very satisfied with them. It took a while, but now the doctors give her all the vaccine dates and sources of manufacture so she can check on suitability standards. Unlike many Thai doctors who don't like to be questioned, the ones at Viphavadi actually answer my questions without being too condesending. The hospital also has the international rating required for most international insurance companies. Not many Thai hospitals are rated.

[osten]

I have been quite happy with Rahmkhamhaeng Hospital, about 30 min from Sukhumvit. The doctors and staff speak English and they have top notch facilities there. In fact, my son was born there and he was in ICU for a week. I was quite pleased with how they treated him.

[Sheryl]

P.S. Just realized I neglected to mention:

Phyathai Hosp (there are several, Phyathai 2 at Victory Monument seems in particular to have some senior docs doing orivate hours there)

Thonburi Hospital - of you happen to be near that side of the river, this is a medium sized private hospital located near Siriraj so some of the top Siriraj docs do private practice there.

In these as in all, you still need to research doctor qualifications.

Sheryl, thanks for the info !

But how do I research doctors' qualifications ?

The hospitals mentioned - at least most of them- have websites with a "find a doctor" function, you enter the specialty and then the doctors are listed. Sometimes you have to click a second time on the doctor's name to see the biodata.

The St Louis website is an anomaly and takes some getting used to. What you have to do is click on "clinics", select the appropriate clinic, then click on "make an appointment" and that will list all the doctors, the click on doctor's names to see details.

Another option you can use and one which will show multiple hospitals at once is www.mythaidoctor.com, you enter the specialty and then it will show all for many hospitals. it is not always completely up to date so always double check with the hospital website as well.

Also, since Bumrungrad does have by far the easiest website to deal with as well as the largest number of specialists, sometimes I use their site to find someone with really good qualifications and then go to either "www.mythaidoctor.com" or google to see if that same doctor also works at one of the other hospitals.