MRI

[hggcraig]

Want an MRI done in either Bangkok or pattaya and want to know where is the cheapest about?

Read somewhere MRI Thailand is cheap but I can't find an email for them.

Thanks

[Sheryl]

http://www.mrithailand.com/index.php?lang=en

suggest calling rather than email as their English is limited if any.

You need to know whether or not you need contrast media used, if in doubt ask your doctor.

Cost varies by body part and whether contrast is used.

[hggcraig]

Thanks for the help it's appreciated.

I live in england so don't wanna call from here. Might ask my Thai friend to call them. Cheers.

[Robby nz]

MRI at Pramonkutklau military hospital in BKK is probably as cheap as you will get but I would imagine you would need a doctor to refer you with a reason

Don't know how you would get on with walking in and asking for scan.

Limited English in some departments also.

I have had 2 scans there.

[hggcraig]

Thanks again

[alyx]

Email the Bangkok hospital

They will be happy to reply swiftly and the cost is around ten thousand baht but it might be different from one case to another depending on the scan to be performed

The report is in English, which might help

[alyx]

Bangkok General hospital In Bangkok

I do second Roby regarding the fact you will need a local doctor prescription.

Edited June 2, 2014 by alyx

[loppylugs1]

If you are still in the UK wanting to come to Thailand to have an MRI scan done,fly over using Jet Airways or Air India with a stopover in Bombay,get one done there,now that is cheap.

PM if you want details

[alyx]

I don't mean to highjack the thread but, although I have no interest in it at this point, this is quite a suggestion as Indian physicians have a good reputation

How about the hospitals standard there?

[loppylugs1]

I don't mean to highjack the thread but, although I have no interest in it at this point, this is quite a suggestion as Indian physicians have a good reputation

How about the hospitals standard there?

Yes,I think the best,go over frequently for anything and everything ,and so cheap,MRIs , ops,etc . Having to get my prostate sorted out soon and that is where I am heading, Thailand is so damned expensive,although good doctors they seem to be in short supply too,language there no problem.

The above comments regarding MRI in India,sorry no transit visas issued,have to get another type,30 day being issued soon. If treatment is going to be spread over a spell I'll get a medical visa

Edited June 3, 2014 by loppylugs1

[alyx]

Interesting and worth enquiring

Thanks

[rodknock]

i just got a quote from Bangkok Hospital for a lumbar mri with out contrast today. 26,000-28,000baht.

[loppylugs1]

Interesting and worth enquiring

Thanks

Must be a year ago now I went for a specific heart test,quoted £123 in Pattaya hospital,(not high end one either),wanted few other investigations done too,

The heart test came in at £11.75p in India. One of the chambers of my heart seems to be borderline,half hour with cardiac consultant £3 for the way forward. If in time a pacemaker is to be fitted I will go back there,stents whatever

Had unknowingly caught pneumonia too after a trip to US,toted myself around various hospitals( visited various GPs) getting quotes before I really became aware I was in a whole world of trouble,quotes all around the £1000ish, flew to India £65 ..£28 a night in high end hospital,few days OK,just bed rest then

Edited June 4, 2014 by loppylugs1

[AmeriThai]

Thanks for the help it's appreciated.

I live in england so don't wanna call from here. Might ask my Thai friend to call them. Cheers.

I had MRI scans of my neck done at Prachachuen Imaging Center (see Sheryl's link) located in the Chatuchak District. That's been a number of years ago. At the time, they required an order from a physician. The second time I went in, I didn't have a new physician's order but told them it was just a follow-up to the previous scan they had done. They had the records on file and were able to proceed with the scan. The price includes a radiologist report, along with a set of the images. I felt that the service was excellent and the staff very helpful and friendly. I provided the physician I saw in BKK with a copy of the images, but I bought a 2nd set of images to give to the physicians in the US. At the time, the cost for the scan I had done was about 6000 baht (US$188). In the US, the cost for an identical scan was quoted to me as US$2500 (equal to 80,000 baht). I had no health insurance in the US then. Since I had to go to Thailand anyway, having it done in Thailand was much cheaper to do, and the quality was excellent. I'm not sure if the rates have changed or not, but regardless, I would think the cost would still be quite economical.

[Sheryl]

Prices have definitely gone up, as they have everywhere in Thailand. But this remains less expesnive than any of the private hospitals (whose prices have also gone up).

I had an MRI of the cervical spine there about 1 year ago, cost was about 12,000 baht without contrast. No doctor order required.

[chiang mai]

i just got a quote from Bangkok Hospital for a lumbar mri with out contrast today. 26,000-28,000baht.

Which branch of Bangkok Hospital, located where, Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai etc?

[hermespan]

Unless things have changed in 2 years, the best value (not just cheapest, I mean comparing equivalent machinery, training, experience) the winners in medical are...

1. INDIA

2. Malaysia *

3. Thailand

4. Vietnam (MUCH cheaper but hard to find quality?) *

5. Singapore (top quality but expensive)

I have no knowledge of China, Korea etc.

I contacted both Toshiba (CT) and Siemens (MRI) HQs in order to determine which hospitals/clinics in which countries in SEA have the newest and best. Neither responded.

* In 2012 private hospitals in KL and Melaka charged HALF of similar businesses in Bangkok and Pattaya for brain MRI w/ contrast. Now?

** Vietlife MRI. in Hanoi charges 2.5 million VND for knee MRI with contrast.

[hermespan]

I do not see option to edit post in mobile version of TV. So, postscript here...

Vietlife dies not do heart MRI.

private message me for contact info. I have no connection with them, but finding best value medical care in Asia is a 'hobby' of mine.

[hermespan]

Worst in SEA would include CAMBODIA, presumably Laos too. Curiously medical care in Philippines is NOT good value either.

[loppylugs1]

Unless things have changed in 2 years, the best value (not just cheapest, I mean comparing equivalent machinery, training, experience) the winners in medical are...

1. INDIA

2. Malaysia *

3. Thailand

4. Vietnam (MUCH cheaper but hard to find quality?) *

5. Singapore (top quality but expensive)

I have no knowledge of China, Korea etc.

I contacted both Toshiba (CT) and Siemens (MRI) HQs in order to determine which hospitals/clinics in which countries in SEA have the newest and best. Neither responded.

* In 2012 private hospitals in KL and Melaka charged HALF of similar businesses in Bangkok and Pattaya for brain MRI w/ contrast. Now?

** Vietlife MRI. in Hanoi charges 2.5 million VND for knee MRI with contrast.

India is by far the cheapest for any medical procedure. India has the latest Siemens MAGNETOM MRI scanners,year or so ago whole body imaging was $250,$50 for leg,same with laser eye procedure ,anything and everything,just the visas are a problem. Go there frequently

Off to Aussie for couple of weeks next 24 hours cannot reply for 2 weeks

[hermespan]

Loppylugs wrote: " just the visas are a problem"

Listen to the voice of experience. He is correct not only in costs but visa situation. If you are outside your citizenship nation visas take over 10 days (security check: Thank you Pakistan). I will add that none of South Asia is as tourist-friendly as SEA. And it doesn't have the obvious er, benefits of Bangkok. But for healthcare you cannot do better.

[loppylugs1]

Loppylugs wrote: " just the visas are a problem"

Listen to the voice of experience. He is correct not only in costs but visa situation. If you are outside your citizenship nation visas take over 10 days (security check: Thank you Pakistan). I will add that none of South Asia is as tourist-friendly as SEA. And it doesn't have the obvious er, benefits of Bangkok. But for healthcare you cannot do better.

Got few minutes packing bag.....if a UK citizen it is difficult and expensive.....UK govt deter Indians by hiking up visa fees for entry into UK,3xs the price of most,think other countries too...accordingly India charges the same.

Pain in the backside dealing with them but come October things get easier tourist visas being issued for 30 days The country is bankrupt but exchange rate excellent

Should say Visa on arrival

Edited June 7, 2014 by loppylugs1

[hermespan]

Cost of Indian visas fir Canadians is modest - and getting a six month multi entry is easy in Vancouver - unless you might be on of those eternal expats in Industhan (Indian gov't no longer needs nor wants backpackers living in India. But relationships between Canada and Indua gave always been good abd continud to be. All I can suggest is don't apply in Cambodia where a fax to verify your security clearance is obviously padding the Ambassador's retirement fund.

[AmeriThai]

Prices have definitely gone up, as they have everywhere in Thailand. But this remains less expesnive than any of the private hospitals (whose prices have also gone up).

I had an MRI of the cervical spine there about 1 year ago, cost was about 12,000 baht without contrast. No doctor order required.

Thanks Sheryl. I appreciate the update. That's about double the price from what it was. I'm not overly surprised since prices on almost everything seem to keep rising all over the globe. The increase would stand to reason. If I'm not mistaken, some of the info I've gotten about them in the recent past is that they've acquired some newest state-of-the-art equipment and that they moved to a new location since I was last there.

Interestingly, the URL you posted is a little different from what I had bookmarked for them. My old like is a dead one. Thanks for posting it. It looks like they've rebuilt their website. They indicate listing prices, but I couldn't find any for spinal scans. On their previous website, which was probably a little before you went there, they showed the price I mentioned for a cervical scan at that time.

It's still economical. The doctor I saw was a neurologist at Bumrungrad Hospital, who wanted the scan done right away and initially suggested having it done at the hospital, which would've been a little past midnight. That wasn't going to work for me because of the distance, so he made an appointment at the Prachachuen Imaging Center about an hour after seeing him. It was much cheaper than the scanner rates at the hospital. The scan I had done was similar to yours, to examine the cervical verterbrae of my neck. The last time I was at the PIC, they seemed hesitant about doing scans without a medical order from a physician.

There are now private MRI scanning services available where we live in the US. Billboards show rates starting at $550. It's still cheaper to do in Thailand, if a person is going there anyway. It would not be worth making a special trip to Thailand just to have a scan done though, taking into account adding in airfare, accommodations, etc. Accommodations isn't an issue for me since we have a house in the province of Saraburi.

Sheryl, just curious but how did you feel about the overall services at Prachachuen Imaging Center?