New Hospital in Soi Buakhao

[PeeMy]

For your Information:

I presented myself at the ER last night at around 7 p.m. after a cat bit me deeply on the hand (my own cat!).

The bill was 2300 baht, and the cashier explained that 'medical service' was 50 baht for Thais, and 500 for non-Thais. All medications, he said, were twice the price for 'farangs' Moreover, they don't accept credit cards - even my Thai Farmers one - and since I was short of the 2300, I had to leave my passport at the desk while I went to the nearest ATM. However, the medical attention was faultless. .

[KhunBENQ]

2300 Baht?

Waht did you get for that?

Cleaning, desinfection, bandage and some commonplace pills?

Or something special?

On my occasional visits to the town I live closeby, but after your report I would go for an ordinary small clinic with such a trivial thing.

Edited August 26, 2014 by KhunBENQ

[KittenKong]

The bill was 2300 baht, and the cashier explained that 'medical service' was 50 baht for Thais, and 500 for non-Thais. All medications, he said, were twice the price for 'farangs'

What a rip-off. Probably cheaper at Pattaya International.

[BaldPlumber]

You had to go to the ER for a cat bite? that must be one big cat.

[petermik]

Hopefully kitty is OK after this ordeal

[Rimmer]

ALWAYS get a cat bite looked at, their fangs are razor sharp and penetrate deeply into the flesh leaving behind the bacteria present on the cats teeth. The wound has to be cleaned out properly and injections given.

The tiny hole can heal over on the outside leaving bacteria inside that will spread into the blood stream

The other concern is rabies and the hospital will always give a course of these even if it is your own animal.

[TaaSaparot]

Things must have changed then.

I got bit by a cat back in January, and after it flared up, went to the new hospital on BuaKhao.

I paid up front 1800 baht for a series of 5 rabies jabs, over the next month, and was charged 50 baht as a service charge on each visit.

The whole service was faultless.

[JSixpack]

ALWAYS get a cat bite looked at, their fangs are razor sharp and penetrate deeply into the flesh leaving behind the bacteria present on the cats teeth. The wound has to be cleaned out properly and injections given.

The tiny hole can heal over on the outside leaving bacteria inside that will spread into the blood stream

The other concern is rabies and the hospital will always give a course of these even if it is your own animal.

Exactly. And the hand is about the worst place for a cat bite. Google around! Friend o' mine didn't take it seriously and had a world of problems.

[Halfie]

Holy crap. I thought slightly over 200 bt was expensive for meds. They really took you for a ride.

[JSixpack]

Looks bad. Will wait for further stories of current experiences, but looks like this hsp will have to be written off as a serious option.

[jackvale]

I'd like to see a photo of the wound. For that price, maybe it was in the cat family....like a tiger? The big cats are called tigers just so we are clear....

[Likener1]

A catastrophic impact on the wallet - bad kitty !

[Ling Kae]

I went to that hospital to get my ears attended too. Had a wax build up, just needed some drops and was hoping to come back and get them syringed. This was daytime, I filled out all the forms and went to the counter only to be be told No Hab Doctor Ear. You go Memorial Hospital. I went to my clinic instead and for 500 baht he gave me drops and told me to come back in 3 days. Syringed both ears and no further charge. (He was not a specialist either)

[emilymat]

I am really disappointed by what they appear to have charged you. When I went earlier this year to have a cyst examined and removed I was charged 100 bht to see the doc and then around 400 baht for the procedure in the A and E. Required 4 more visits for new dressing - include in the initial charge.

I don't know whether they were doing a 'promotion' or something, but that was the cost. I was told by my wife that they had to charge Thai's on Social Security and Falangs the same, as it was a government hospital.

I'm really confused now about the status of this place, in view of the OP. I had hoped a reasonable hospital facility had opened at last, instead of the hospital supermarket on Sukumvit Road where you get more visits in your room from the finance department than the nurses

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Hmmm, that 2300 baht charge does sound extraordinary. I was treated for a motorcycle accident: wound dressing, physical check, questions by a doctor. The whole thing took about an hour at Pattaya Int'l Hospital at 1 in the morning. Total charge was 720 baht. A year and a half ago.

Seems to me the OP's treatment should have been about 300 to 600 baht.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Things must have changed then.

I got bit by a cat back in January, and after it flared up, went to the new hospital on BuaKhao.

I paid up front 1800 baht for a series of 5 rabies jabs, over the next month, and was charged 50 baht as a service charge on each visit.

The whole service was faultless.

Cheap. A Bangkok friend of mine got bitten by a soi dog. Bumrungrad charged him 30,000 baht for the rabies shots. Yes, a 3 and 4 zeroes. Maybe dog bites require a special serum.

[KittenKong]

I wonder if it's the course of rabies shots that put the price up so much?

The OP didnt actually say whether these formed part of his medicine but we can guess from the prices he quoted that the doctor fee was 500B and so the rest of his 2300B bill was presumably medicine at 1800B. 1800B corresponds to the price previously paid by TaaSaparot for rabies shots.

Elsewhere the cost of post-exposure treatment does seem to be somewhat higher than pre-exposure vaccination, which itself seems to cost anything up to GBP150 (7500B).

[Suradit69]

Sounds like a piece of cake comparatively speaking.

Someone high on drugs stabbed a Thai friend of mine in the back with some moderately sized knife about 10 days ago. We went to the emergency room at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya around 3:30 in morning. He thought he had been punched in the back, not stabbed and only realized it was more serious after midnight. They cleaned the wound, stitched it, gave him meds for pain and infection, but also decided to run a CT scan to check nothing vital got cut by the knife. Baht 24,325. Not a typo. About US$ 750.00

I like BPH. Have seen a number of doctors and dentists there and once had surgery to repair a hernia. All excellent results and not excessively expensive, but this seemed a bit over the top.

[lapd]

Sounds quite expensive. Probably about the same as Bangkok-Pattaya. Probably could have gone to a clinic for something like that or Pattaya Memorial which is probably cheaper. Good to know anyways.

Edited August 26, 2014 by lapd

[lapd]

Sounds like a piece of cake comparatively speaking.

Someone high on drugs stabbed a Thai friend of mine in the back with some moderately sized knife about 10 days ago. We went to the emergency room at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya around 3:30 in morning. He thought he had been punched in the back, not stabbed and only realized it was more serious after midnight. They cleaned the wound, stitched it, gave him meds for pain and infection, but also decided to run a CT scan to check nothing vital got cut by the knife. Baht 24,325. Not a typo. About US$ 750.00

I like BPH. Have seen a number of doctors and dentists there and once had surgery to repair a hernia. All excellent results and not excessively expensive, but this seemed a bit over the top.

They are a rip off as far as I'm concerned. I have heard many stories of excessive bills like this.

[luudee]

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Holy crap. I thought slightly over 200 bt was expensive for meds. They really took you for a ride.

That is such a dumb comment to make without knowing the treatment that he got ...

[khunjamesjohnson]

Thailand has promoted itself as a cheap, medical tourism destination. 60 Minutes did a episode Sun, Surf and Surgery.

Now they have customers....put the screws to them.

"How about we charge them 1,000% more than locals and double the costs of their medicine? 5555

After all, what are they gonna do,...fly back home? 5555"

It would be nice if 60 Minutes came back and exposed these shameless frauds.

[donbdc]

I have just been quoted 4900 baht a night to stay in the hospital at soi buakhow. This price is for a private room and does not include any medicines or doctor charges! Price of a ward room is 2500 baht a night. Not cheap considering it is a government hospital!

[JSixpack]

Thailand has promoted itself as a cheap, medical tourism destination. 60 Minutes did a episode Sun, Surf and Surgery.

Now they have customers....put the screws to them.

"How about we charge them 1,000% more than locals and double the costs of their medicine? 5555

After all, what are they gonna do,...fly back home? 5555"

It would be nice if 60 Minutes came back and exposed these shameless frauds.

No fraudulent behavior seen. Silly exaggeration doesn't make your case.

Thailand still is a relatively cheap medical tourism destination and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

[KhunBENQ]

Things must have changed then.

I got bit by a cat back in January, and after it flared up, went to the new hospital on BuaKhao.

I paid up front 1800 baht for a series of 5 rabies jabs, over the next month, and was charged 50 baht as a service charge on each visit.

The whole service was faultless.

Cheap. A Bangkok friend of mine got bitten by a soi dog. Bumrungrad charged him 30,000 baht for the rabies shots. Yes, a 3 and 4 zeroes. Maybe dog bites require a special serum.

Must have been very special.

A dose of rabies vaccine costs 373 Baht following this list of Mahidol University:

http://www.thaitravelclinic.com/th/cost-th.html

First entry in the table.

Makes the 1800 Baht for 5 shots look very reasonable.

BPH, Bumrungrad ... name them. Walk in with a minor problem, walk out with a big problem.

A basic vaccination for our dog by the village "doctor" (not quite) costs 50 Baht.

Edited August 27, 2014 by KhunBENQ

[balo]

What happened to this hospital ? I paid 100 baht service fee to see a doctor right after they opened. Total price was 350 baht. This is a government hospital , they cant charge farang 5 times more , can they ?

[watcharacters]

Sounds like a piece of cake comparatively speaking.

Someone high on drugs stabbed a Thai friend of mine in the back with some moderately sized knife about 10 days ago. We went to the emergency room at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya around 3:30 in morning. He thought he had been punched in the back, not stabbed and only realized it was more serious after midnight. They cleaned the wound, stitched it, gave him meds for pain and infection, but also decided to run a CT scan to check nothing vital got cut by the knife. Baht 24,325. Not a typo. About US$ 750.00

I like BPH. Have seen a number of doctors and dentists there and once had surgery to repair a hernia. All excellent results and not excessively expensive, but this seemed a bit over the top.

.

I was very satisfied with my single visit to BPH.

[losworld]

I went to that hospital to get my ears attended too. Had a wax build up, just needed some drops and was hoping to come back and get them syringed. This was daytime, I filled out all the forms and went to the counter only to be be told No Hab Doctor Ear. You go Memorial Hospital. I went to my clinic instead and for 500 baht he gave me drops and told me to come back in 3 days. Syringed both ears and no further charge. (He was not a specialist either)

You guys are getting so ripped off. I went to the drugstore in Big C and asked for antibiotic ear drops. She presented a bottle for something like 400 baht. I was persistent and said no I want Thai generic. She pulled out a bottle the same size and ingredient for 40 baht. lol

[losworld]

What happened to this hospital ? I paid 100 baht service fee to see a doctor right after they opened. Total price was 350 baht. This is a government hospital , they cant charge farang 5 times more , can they ?

Sure they can just look for the boss in the new Benz headed off to the 4000 baht soapie in Naklua.

[theoldgit]

Flame removed.

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