Good service and fair price at Bangkok hospital (credit were credit is due)

[Faranguy]

e="F4UCorsair" post="7688242" timestamp="1397459009"]

Bangkok Hospital quoted me 350,000 for laproscopic surgery for a double iquenal hernia. That is the same as the operation costs in the Houston Medical Center. In Canada it is free but they won't cover me here because it is done in Canada and it is not an emergency yet. But I work here for Thai wages and I enjoy my job a great deal so I would like to stay. Has anyone had a comparable operation done in Thailand for less money?

Jut surfing the net, I was surprised to see that things like joint replacements are the same cost as here in Australia, around $25,000. Cosmetic surgery is about a fifth of the price though.

As a comparison on hospitals, I recently had to spend a night in hospital, observation for sleep apnea (apnoea), and the hospital was $884, in at 7.00 pm, out at 7.00 am!!!

A few years ago a mate took a spill of a motorcycle on the road to Sangklaburi, nothing too serious, but lost some skin. He spent well over an hour at Thong Tha Phum hospital, had 4 nurses working on him for a good part of that time, and the total cost, including pain killers and antibiotics was B360. That's a good deal.

I had a full medical at Bumrungrad a few years ago, everything, ECG included, and the cost was less than $40.00.

I saw the dentist just a couple of weeks ago in Bangkok, annual check up and scale and clean, plus two small fillings (first in 15 years), and the total was B3000, about $100. Back here, a small filling was $175.00 6 years ago, and a clean and check was $140, so the cost here would have been $490 on prices from 6 years ago. I figured out my dentist charged about $550 an hour back then just on his throughput.

Nothing to complain about even if BKK prices are padded a bit in my view.

If I could get the operation here for less money I would do it but fortunately I have the option of going home although I will need to put it off which should not be a problem if I am careful. The money I save can pay for 5 or 6 round trip tickets. Thanks for your information. Incidentally I don't have an issue with the quality of sevice as I know the expertise here is equivalent to back home and the service is actually superior. If I was from the USA I wouldn't hesitate to have the work done here

[HerbalEd]

agreed, I have used bkk hospital in Bangkok, Hua HIn and Hat Yai.

Service is excellent but they sure do get you on the way out and drain your wallet.

Where else could you have excellent care for that condition and be in and out in one hour cheaper than what the OP paid?

[eeeya]

agreed, I have used bkk hospital in Bangkok, Hua HIn and Hat Yai.

Service is excellent but they sure do get you on the way out and drain your wallet.

Where else could you have excellent care for that condition and be in and out in one hour cheaper than what the OP paid?

are you agreeing with me?

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[uptheos]

Hip replacement Chiang Mai 180,000 Baht

USA Blue Book fair price 725.000 Baht

https://www.healthcarebluebook.com/page_Results.aspx?id=29&dataset=MD&g=Revision%20of%20Hip%20Replacement

[Gsxrnz]

On the few occasions I've been to Bangkok Pattaya I've had great service and what I believe are reasonable charges. Mainly because my wife gives everybody from the receptionist to the doctor/s an earbashing about don't rip off the Falang or there'll be hell to pay. She then asks for quotes and debates both the need and/or the cost.

She can be scary.

[Arma]

On the few occasions I've been to Bangkok Pattaya I've had great service and what I believe are reasonable charges. Mainly because my wife gives everybody from the receptionist to the doctor/s an earbashing about don't rip off the Falang or there'll be hell to pay. She then asks for quotes and debates both the need and/or the cost.

She can be scary.

It takes a "ballsy" thai to deal with the hospitals here. I take my wife and let her do the talking. I have not had any major medical issues (yet), but for the visits I have had to make to the hospitals the service has been good and the prices fair (probably b/c of my wife). Also, my wife says that many of the doctors will rotate hospitals, so you may get the same doctor and treatment at Vibhavidi as you get at Bumrungrad, but for a much lower price.

[Showbags]

Bangkok hospital sucks big ones...over charges to the max at every opportunity.

Had several run ins with them, they hate it when you see a quack, get the results and then get a list of medications and refuse them all as too expensive and will buy elsewhere instead.

Was once loaded up with several packs of equipment to treat a womb at home, pack consisted of everything required, gloves, gauze, tape, bandages, pliers, other bits and pieces for circa 500b each and several packs....refused them all and saw the same packs in local pharmacy for circa 100b each.

You should seek a competent gynecologist to treat your womb but that requires spending some baht, something that you apparently are not inclined to do.

Some people are ignorant of being shafted...you sound like one of them...go for it.

[jcnbkk]

Several hospitals mentioned here I hadn't heard or thought of. Thanks

[tropo]

agreed, I have used bkk hospital in Bangkok, Hua HIn and Hat Yai.

Service is excellent but they sure do get you on the way out and drain your wallet.

A friend had a scooter accident in Pattaya.

Broken shinbone and broken shoulder blade.

Operation to fixate ("nails"?) both.

600'000 Baht.

Not so sure whether this is a fair price.

He had to beg his children to advance pay.

Quality was good. He is now up and walking well.

Even sits on a scooter again

Took him more than 6 months.

A friend had a scooter accident in Pattaya.

Broken tibia near the knee.

2 botched operations in 3 days. Knee still messed up and using crutches nearly 2 1/2 years later... after 3 more operations to try to repair the damage done in the first 2... and considering a knee replacement... and probably about 2 million out of pocket so far.

If your friend is OK after his 600,00 baht spent there, he's lucky compared to my friend.

I've heard enough bad stories from that hospital to stay well away.

[KittenKong]

I wonder what the exact same treatment done at BPH would have cost at PIH, for example?

My experience with hospitals/clinics/dentists/labs/pharmacies here (thankfully very limited) is that all the prices can vary wildly even for what seems to be exactly the same thing. I've been charged several hundred Baht for common brand-name medicines in a hospital that would have cost 50B in a pharmacy, or only 30B in a cheaper pharmacy. And I've paid 1000B for lab tests that would have cost me 3000+B in a hospital.

[Langsuan Man]

If the OP feels that he got value for his money then great since it was his money and who are we to bash BHP

Those who have been taken to the cleaners by them have a right to let it be known here. Personally, I only go there for a Periodontist that is the best I have found in Thailand

On the other hand I went there for physical therapy for a broken knee and the service was borderline negligent. Had to bring my own heat pads to warm me up before exercises and cold pads to cool me down after the exercises. The doctor who was the head of the Department saw me three days a week and never once asked why I was bringing my own supplies to PT

Went to Pattaya International Physical Therapy Department who came up with a full rehabilitation plan that resulted in my not only relearning how to walk but no detectable limp after their program

[JSixpack]

Where else could you have excellent care for that condition and be in and out in one hour cheaper than what the OP paid?

At most any clinic for at most 20% of the cost. Trivial problem.

[JimHuaHin]

I am sorry to say I don't agree with you. I think you paid well over the top for a very basic simple procedure.

I recently had to have hospital treatment and decided to go to Bangkok Hospital in Buriram.

The hospital was well laid out very clean and generally the service was good, However their prices are extremely high.

The other thing one must at all times take into account when you have private medical treatment is that Private Hospitals are run as a profit making business so their main priority is to make as much money as they can.

When I went to Bangkok hospital for long term diarhoea I mentioned a problem I had when walking with pain in my left hip. Another consultant was called in to see me. After finding no pulse in my left groin or near my ankle he told me wife that this was very serious and that I could lose my leg or even die. When I started asking more in depth questions the Consultant realised I had quite a lot of knowledge about medical procedures having worked in the medical field for over 40 years in the UK. This was in the Royal Army Medical Services, a short time in a Private UK hospital, covering for a friend of mine, and for 20 years privately in my own business. Suddenly the consultants opinion seemed to change and it was no longer a life or death problem but a blockage in my my femoral artery but the their was sufficient blood flow to the leg and that it was best to keep an eye on it and if it causes too much problems come and see him again and a much more minor operation could rectify the matter.

In my experiene a lot of additional tests and procedures are carried out in Private hospital when it is not really necessary, it is just to make more money. Patient care takes second priority. Also they know that the majority of patients will have health Insurance so why not bump up the price and make the Insurance Company pay. The problem with this is that most Thai Insurance Companies only pay about 50% of most procedures and have a lmit on what they will pay out on for diagnostic tests, room rates etc.

Why give you paracetamol for pain most of the time at a ridiculous cost when you can go and buy it from a local pharmacy at a fraction of the cost.

I need a cataract done soon, so I enquired at the Bangkok Hospital for the cost for standard lens replacement including a one nights hospital admission. Quoted 40,500B. Asked the same question in the Buriram Private hospital and the quote was 22,500. Other hospitals quoted in the region of 20 - 25,000B

The room charge at Bangkok hospital was 4,500B per day for a very basic room, food and nursing service. 18 months ago I went to Buriram Private hospital for a hernia operation and the cost for a VIP room with sofa table and chairs, large plasma TV, fridge and a large balcony, including food and nursing services was 1,800B.

Many consultants work at Goverment hospitals and one or more private hospitals. So you could go to one hospital then another for a second opinion and see the same doctor. This applies to the UK as in Thailand and I suspect in other counties.

Yes with my knowledge and experiences I am very sceptical about Private medicine.

It looks like everyone is offered a 10% discount at Bangkok Hospitals, I was, even before my tests were completed.

I agree with another post, that the Government hospitals in general are ok, not the cleanliness of Private hospitals and if as normal they are busy then one can wait hours to see a doctor unless it is due to an accident.

I regret to say, I agree with this post about BKK Hospital - profits before people.

On my last couple of visits I was prescribed a medication which was 5.2 times more expensive than if I bought it at the local pharmacy.

The doctor was also a little annoyed that I had challenged his diagnosis (I have some medical and health care background, and have taught in the area).

BKK Hospital has great buildings and facilities, but (quality) health care is clearly not their priority.

[eeeya]

Sounds like most people here have no health insurance

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[banglay]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Sounds like most people here have no health insurance

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

Yeah!!!! I was starting to think that also (-_^)

[cloghead]

3 weeks ago during a bicycleride, I will do every day for half a hour, a dog crossing me, I fell on my bike back apart from some grazes, my hand get wounded and I had six stitches in my hand needed. My girlfriend took me to the local governementhospital for that. I know, when you come for regular help, you have to be patient, But now they bring me to the emergancy department and get quickly first aid. All the cost together was not more then 950 Bath including Tetanus vaccination, medicine, and the 6 stitches. That is what I call a reasonable price.

what happened to the dog?

[cloghead]

Try this out if you have a few minutes to waste:

Go to any Bangkok Hospital Group website (different hospitals in different cities/provinces) and click on their 'view our doctors' section.

Do any of the 'doctors' appear more than--say--21 years old? And yet (according to their educational background) most of them have extensive training/academic credentials. If you do the math they must have started medical school when they were 13 or 14

Last month I visited BPH--to see a friend--and spent an unusual amount of time looking at the 'physicians'. Maybe I'm just getting old but they appeared to resemble a bunch of middle-school kids on recess.

My point is...I'd prefer a grizzled, old (maybe alcoholic/junkie) real doctor with a few years experience under his/her belt than the children that are on staff at most private Thai hospitals these days

Rant over...

Edited April 15, 2014 by cloghead

[TheWizardofRnR]

A Dutch friend of ours had hip replacement surgery , it was 75,000B which is a really great price until.: he was not comfortable with his new hip and after they admitted him for a check-up to see what was wrong ,they decided they had put the wrong size hip replacement in his body and would have to remove it and install a different size one. He had to pay another 75,000B,

even tho it was their fault ....they don't come with a guarantee is what he was told !

I found Bangkok Nursing Home was very good , years ago . Anyone know how they are these days? on Soi Convent off Silom Rd.

I also found when I lived in Phuket that Wachira Govt. Hospital Phuket town , prices reasonable and the doctors I had in the ENT Clinic,

to be very good treating my chronic ear infections and testing my hearing at very reasonable charges.

I'm sure we all have good and bad stories on every Medical situation here , its a matter of Trust and Luck , most of the time.

[Peterphuket]

3 weeks ago during a bicycleride, I will do every day for half a hour, a dog crossing me, I fell on my bike back apart from some grazes, my hand get wounded and I had six stitches in my hand needed. My girlfriend took me to the local governementhospital for that. I know, when you come for regular help, you have to be patient, But now they bring me to the emergancy department and get quickly first aid. All the cost together was not more then 950 Bath including Tetanus vaccination, medicine, and the 6 stitches. That is what I call a reasonable price.

what happened to the dog?

Unfortenatly the dog is still alive, and was constantly barking behind my back, at the moment after it happens I has the spirit to follow him and like to spray him with vinegar, I always have with me against dirty dogs, but he escape.

[cloghead]

OK. Great. I love happy endings

Dog:1, Pheter:0

[banglay]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Try this out if you have a few minutes to waste:

Go to any Bangkok Hospital Group website (different hospitals in different cities/provinces) and click on their 'view our doctors' section.

Do any of the 'doctors' appear more than--say--21 years old? And yet (according to their educational background) most of them have extensive training/academic credentials. If you do the math they must have started medical school when they were 13 or 14 alt=rolleyes.gif width=20 height=20>

Last month I visited BPH--to see a friend--and spent an unusual amount of time looking at the 'physicians'. Maybe I'm just getting old but they appeared to resemble a bunch of middle-school kids on recess.

My point is...I'd prefer a grizzled, old (maybe alcoholic/junkie) real doctor with a few years experience under his/her belt than the children that are on staff at most private Thai hospitals these days

Rant over...

Yeah!!!! and back in the UK all police are getting younger..How old are you exactly?

[KittenKong]

Sounds like most people here have no health insurance

Surely you mean that it sounds like most people on here self-insure?

I did my calculations and worked out that it was a waste of time and money paying an insurance company to cover me when I can very easily afford to cover myself.

Last year I spent a total of just under 130,000B on doctors, dentists and medicine. It was mostly dental implants and medicine/consultations for high blood pressure/high cholesterol, and yearly preventative scans/tests. I doubt I would have got 10% of that back on insurance and I saved myself all the premium.

Insurance for catastrophic accident cover is another matter (and much cheaper) and may be worth having.

[banglay]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Sounds like most people here have no health insurance

Surely you mean that it sounds like most people on here self-insure?

I did my calculations and worked out that it was a waste of time and money paying an insurance company to cover me when I can very easily afford to cover myself.

Last year I spent a total of just under 130,000B on doctors, dentists and medicine. It was mostly dental implants and medicine/consultations for high blood pressure/high cholesterol, and yearly preventative scans/tests. I doubt I would have got 10% of that back on insurance and I saved myself all the premium.

Insurance for catastrophic accident cover is another matter (and much cheaper) and may be worth having.

surely if it was self-insure they wouldn't whinge over a few 1000 baht????..which 85% of people on here seem to do ...insurance give you the peace of mind knowing it's always covered ....and can go to best to the best possible hospital in your area...

[eeeya]

Can't afford to self insure a family

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[KittenKong]

surely if it was self-insure they wouldn't whinge over a few 1000 baht????..which 85% of people on here seem to do ...insurance give you the peace of mind knowing it's always covered ....and can go to best to the best possible hospital in your area...

I see comments, not whinges. Anyone with any brain will try to get the best value that they can for things, and the most expensive is not always the best or the best value.

Why should I pay 500B for medicine in one place when I can get the exact same medicine for 50B elsewhere?

If you chose to go to a place that does charge 500B for your 50B medicine because your insurance company is paying rather than you, are you not aware that the insurance company just ups the premiums to cover their loss?

[KittenKong]

Can't afford to self insure a family

And there you hit on the reason that most health insurance is poor value for single people; family premiums are lower per person than single person premiums yet pregnancy, childbirth and children under school age account for a large percentage of health care expenditure. Much of the rest is accounted for in the last 5 years of life, or from accidents arising in preventable circumstances.

So single people who dont do silly sports and are aged between about 5-65 are really subsidising everyone else with their insurance premiums. I pass.

[banglay]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

surely if it was self-insure they wouldn't whinge over a few 1000 baht????..which 85% of people on here seem to do ...insurance give you the peace of mind knowing it's always covered ....and can go to best to the best possible hospital in your area...

I see comments, not whinges. Anyone with any brain will try to get the best value that they can for things, and the most expensive is not always the best or the best value.

Why should I pay 500B for medicine in one place when I can get the exact same medicine for 50B elsewhere?

If you chose to go to a place that does charge 500B for your 50B medicine because your insurance company is paying rather than you, are you not aware that the insurance company just ups the premiums to cover their loss?

Ok maybe not whinging but eternal bleating .....my premiums are set and will not increase as long as I pay on time ..like I said peace of mind ...but I am not worried about either 500 or 50 B but it scares the bejesus out of me when I think of 75k a day in a ICU which could happen the older one get .....

[ROB58]

surely if it was self-insure they wouldn't whinge over a few 1000 baht????..which 85% of people on here seem to do ...insurance give you the peace of mind knowing it's always covered ....and can go to best to the best possible hospital in your area...

I see comments, not whinges. Anyone with any brain will try to get the best value that they can for things, and the most expensive is not always the best or the best value.

Why should I pay 500B for medicine in one place when I can get the exact same medicine for 50B elsewhere?

If you chose to go to a place that does charge 500B for your 50B medicine because your insurance company is paying rather than you, are you not aware that the insurance company just ups the premiums to cover their loss?

I can understand that it is tempting to cut costs when it seems to be obvious that hospitals charge too much for the medicine, especially when you have to pay yourself, because you do not have the insurance. And when I read about scams like adding bandages and scissors to the packs at the pharmacy to charge you more at check-out, I feel really sad.

Still, I prefer my drugs from a trusted source, as the WHO still believes that 30% or more of the drugs are counterfeits in Asia (including Thailand) and counterfeit drugs are responsible for about 200,000 death each year. So, for the peace of mind I grind my teeth and pay for the risk-free (and higher priced) alternative at an internationally accredited hospital.

But said that, there is no problem to question the doctor or the clerk at the pharmacy what he added to the bags (also an advantage at a hospital where nearly all staff speak English). If I find drugs I still have at home or I can get cheaper at boots or watson (I trust them), I'd probably do so.

[ROB58]

Anyone like a good article about how perfectly counterfeits are made? Shocking how common it is. Read almost like a crime story (probably because it is):

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/the-fatal-consequences-of-counterfeit-drugs-139422027/?page=1

From the article:

'Health workers, pharmacists and the public must be made aware that drug quality is a matter of life and death. Assistance from pharmaceutical companies will also be crucial. "They're often the first people to identify fakes, but there's a disincentive for them to declare that because it destroys their market," says White. "So they hush it up." '

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/the-fatal-consequences-of-counterfeit-drugs-139422027/#KKbqjV8kifXIwaoq.99

[KittenKong]

Still, I prefer my drugs from a trusted source, as the WHO still believes that 30% or more of the drugs are counterfeits in Asia (including Thailand) and counterfeit drugs are responsible for about 200,000 death each year. So, for the peace of mind I grind my teeth and pay for the risk-free (and higher priced) alternative at an internationally accredited hospital.

Do you seriously believe that a pharmacy like Fascino that practices honest pricing is more likely to sell counterfeit drugs than an expensive hospital that has no qualms at all about systematically overcharging all its clients? I dont. In fact if anything I have less trust in the patently dishonest hospital.

Anyway, my BP and anti-cholesterol meds are amongst the cheapest in the world, taken by umpteen million old farts people daily. Who is going to bother counterfeiting them?