Singapore, Malaysia tough rivals to Thailand's quest to be medical hub

[belg]

medicine is since long, not there to help people, but to generate money for the doctors & hospitals

[noisyboy]

I have first hand experience of medical services in both Singapore and Thailand. Singapore is not exactly all that amazing that it is touted to be - doctors/staff have made mistakes/oversights (luckily nothing fatal), there is a distinct lack of service attitude (though that is visible in most of Singapore service sector). One thing Singapore is far ahead of Thailand is in Engligh language skills (which is obviously important).

If you are not loaded (which is very much the majority of medical tourists), Thailand strikes a much better balance in terms of reasonably good care at FAR better prices.

[nong38]

The headline got the right order, Amazing!

Thailand can do a nice hub in rallies, anyone interested?

[zydeco]

In a strange way, the lack of English among Thai nurses may help the country remain more competitive in the medical field. The United States is still short of nurses and medical staff and is scooping up qualified English speakers from places such as the Philippines and India. I'll bet they're grabbing Malays and Singaporeans as well.

[gamini]

The Thai nurse, does not have the language skills, Also there is a short fall of nurses in Thailand. About 30,000! So they are just dreaming!

Excellent point, clockman...important fact, indeed; but a vast majority of *Quality Medical-Tourists* will be priced out of the S'pore services: as compared w/USA from where I have become exiled, the choice for Thailand vs. S'pore is a *no-brainer*...I predict Thailand to be Med-Tourism Hub IF the political scene can settle... ;-} rap.

Singapore is very expensive and has a very limited supply of Doctors due to its tiny population.

Bumrungrad is the best hospital I have ever used anywhere in the world. It beats the famous

London Clinic where I have been hospitalized and it is a fraction of the price. The caring attitude of Thai nurses makes up for thier lack of English skills. In Australia all the nurses had left in the evening leaving only one to care for many patients. In Thai hospitals I am surrounded by these lovely nurses day and night.

India is cheaper but I had to share the ward I was in with a cow that nobody would remove. In Singapore I had a botched back operation at its famous Gleneagles Hospital. I was charged $750 just to see a specialist in the US.

Thailand will always lead asia as far as medical services are concerned but Malaysia is a close runner -up

but more expensive than Thailand.

[DogNo1]

I've had pretty good care at Bumrungrad for two heart procedures (found a great cardiologist) and cataract removal although my experience in some other departments has not been as good as I would like because of some very long waits and one inaccurate diagnosis. There have been misunderstandings from time to time although I find that also happens here in Japan where doctors speak even less English than their counterparts in Thailand. Although medical care is cheaper for me here in Tokyo due to my Japanese health insurance, I prefer to have some procedures done at Bumrungrad due to the shorter waiting time and the greater amount of attention you get from the doctors there. I've had dreadful experiences at some dental clinics in Bangkok though. Probably just bad luck since most TVers seem to rave about the quality of the dental care. All in all I've had satisfactory care in both Thailand and Japan with some notable screw-ups. I'm happier now that I patronize only Bumrungrad and Tokyo University Hospital and try to choose my doctors carefully. Also, I now use only a Japanese dentist who has been a long-time friend and his care is excellent. For emergencies though, it's just the luck of the draw. Sometimes the care is good but sometimes not. C'est la vie!

[lachiplo]

was deciding between bumrungrad, trsc and snec for collamer lens insertion. somehow the charges in singapore national eye center is cheaper