In need of a good english speaking doctor in Bangkok

[lukas91]

Hello,

I have a strong fever and would like to get it checked out. I live around asoke. Does anyone know a good doctor that also speaks fluently english? Ive been reading crazy stories about hospitals overcharging patients and using unnecessary treatments. I would like to go to a doctor who actually cares about his patients and not only his paycheck. Any recommendations?

Much appreciated

[inbangkok]

Plenty to choose from at Bumrungrad. It is expensive, but it is a good hospital close to Asoke. Every Dr I have ever dealt with there speaks fluent English.

[Sheryl]

https://www.samitivejhospitals.com/en/doctors/krirk-asavametha/

https://www.samitivejhospitals.com/en/doctors/krirk-asavametha/

Same doc, different hospitals/hours.

US trained and US board certified.

[marksh]

Medconsult clinic is great. Donna Robinson is british so there are no language barriers and she really cares about her patient. She is very experienced and fair and overall it is always a very positive experience at her clinic.

Reasonable rates as well

Hope I could help

[eeeya]

Medconsult clinic is great. Donna Robinson is british so there are no language barriers and she really cares about her patient. She is very experienced and fair and overall it is always a very positive experience at her clinic.

Reasonable rates as well

Hope I could help

+1 Medconsult.

Cheap as chips as well, I usually go to her for minor ailments, med certs etc..

above racquet club. Google for address

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

https://www.samitivejhospitals.com/en/doctors/krirk-asavametha/

https://www.samitivejhospitals.com/en/doctors/krirk-asavametha/

Same doc, different hospitals/hours.

US trained and US board certified.

Sheryl, it looks like both of the links you posted above point to the same site for this Dr. at Samitivej Sukhumvit...

Were you trying to post his info/hours at one of the other Samitive hospitals???

BTW, I don't remember ever seeing this particular doctor mentioned here before... Do you have any particular first-hand experience with him?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Plenty to choose from at Bumrungrad. It is expensive, but it is a good hospital close to Asoke. Every Dr I have ever dealt with there speaks fluent English.

In my experience, most of the doctors at any of the farang oriented private hospitals around BKK can speak at least decent English.

So that's not really much of an issue for me. What's more of an issue, IMHO, is their style of communication and interaction with the patient.

Meaning, Thai style where the doctor tells you and doesn't expect you to ask questions or challenge him/her. Or, more western style where the doctor and the patient can have a candid, meaningful exchange or discussion about your treatment.

In that regard, although Bumrungrad is local and convenient to the Asoke area, I don't believe Bumrungrad holds any advantages over any number of other options available. Although it certainly will tend to be more expensive, and how much personal attention they provide to their patients is a matter of some debate.

Edited May 1, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Sheryl]

There appears to be some pressure on the docs at Bumrungrad to do high volume i.e. see many patients in a short time. How they respond to this pressure varies with the individual doctor, but it's there. Samitivej and BNH on the other hand, despite being owned by the same parent company, seem to emphasize spending time with patients. I am not sure if this is just a function of their caseloads (Bumrungrad doing aggressive marketing and high number of patients) or coming from the hospital administration or a bit of both, but the "niche" that Samitivej and BNH seem to occupy is definitely different than Bumrungrad and more oriented to longer doctor-patient interaction.

Whenever the same doctor has hours at Bumrungrad and also at Samitivej or BNH I would prefer to see him/her at one of the latter two.

That said, if the best doctor for a particular need is only at Bumrungrad, then I would certainly go there (and do).

[Sheryl]

Sheryl, it looks like both of the links you posted above point to the same site for this Dr. at Samitivej Sukhumvit...

Were you trying to post his info/hours at one of the other Samitive hospitals???

BTW, I don't remember ever seeing this particular doctor mentioned here before... Do you have any particular first-hand experience with him?

Sorry, meant to post his hours at BNH:

https://www.bnhhospital.com/en/find_doctor/detail/139

He is an Infectious Disease specialist. I have not personally consulted him, but his credentials are impeccable; he not only trained in the US but is board certified in the US in both Internal medicine and in Infectious Diseases. He is on the faculty at a leading medical school (Chula) as well.

And, unlike a high proportion of Infectious Disease specialistis in Thailand he is not primarily focused on HIV.

So a good choice for someone with fever of unknown origin.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, another Dr. at BNH was I was pretty impressed with, when I happened to end up seeing him for a viral infection, was Dr. Yuthana Budsayavith, who also deals with infectious diseases.

Perfect English, but more than that, very communicative and easy to talk with. And struck me as being very smart, well-considered and not one who goes for needless treatments or excessive prescriptions.

He trained in Germany, and had an accent that reminded me of my high school German teacher, who was a German native. But that's not the reason I'm recommending him.

https://www.bnhhospital.com/en/find_doctor/detail/149

[lukas91]

I will check out your BNH recommendation. Sounds good

Thank you

Edited May 1, 2015 by lukas91

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

There appears to be some pressure on the docs at Bumrungrad to do high volume i.e. see many patients in a short time. How they respond to this pressure varies with the individual doctor, but it's there. Samitivej and BNH on the other hand, despite being owned by the same parent company, seem to emphasize spending time with patients. I am not sure if this is just a function of their caseloads (Bumrungrad doing aggressive marketing and high number of patients) or coming from the hospital administration or a bit of both, but the "niche" that Samitivej and BNH seem to occupy is definitely different than Bumrungrad and more oriented to longer doctor-patient interaction.

Whenever the same doctor has hours at Bumrungrad and also at Samitivej or BNH I would prefer to see him/her at one of the latter two.

Over the years, I've had office visit/outpatient interaction with a variety of doctors at both Bumrungrad and BNH. On paper, they both have a lot of seemingly well qualified, well trained doctors and specialists.

But from all those interactions, I come away from the feeling that when I go to Bumrungrad, the doctors are like running me through a standard playbook, and they're going to follow their playbook for their discipline whether it fits my symptoms/circumstance or not.

Whereas at BNH, I come away with the feeling the doctors are more inclined to listen to my explanation of what's going on, and at least give that some consideration in their diagnosis and treatment determinations. Along with that, more of a feeling of a genuine personal concern for resolving whatever's bothering me/the reason for my visit.

I've never really felt that difference in the time of contact with the doctor sense that Sheryl's describing above. In other words, I've never felt I was being rushed out the doctor's room door. But I've definitely felt it in the quality of the interaction with the doctor sense.

Bumrungrad is the closest hospital to my home. But invariably, if I need to see a doctor, I'd almost always look to BNH as a first choice, even though it's farther away.

I can't speak to Samitivej, because I've never as yet gone there.

[BKKdreaming]

• I have found that unlike the USA the doctors in Thailand do not seem to want to criticize you ,

What I mean is my skin doctor will not ask if I have been using sunscreen , push me to use it more and give me grief for not doing it ,

Same with other doctors about my weight or blood pressure etc.

the Doctors I have gone to in the USA will push you to do better......

[Searat7]

I just had a fever problem along with a cough. I saw 2 ENT doctors (BCH and BNH) but they just treated symptoms. Then I went to Dr. Sith at BNH and found out I had pneumonia. Thanks to his fine treatment I feel fine 10 days later.

[siam2007]

Plenty to choose from at Bumrungrad. It is expensive, but it is a good hospital close to Asoke. Every Dr I have ever dealt with there speaks fluent English.

It is new to me that a foreign national is allowed to work as a physician in Thailand. How come ?

[Sheryl]

He is referring to Thai physicians who speak fluent English, not foreign nationals.

Foreign nationals can practice medicine in Thailand if they meet some very stringent criteria including passing the medical licensing exam given in Thai. Naturally, very, very few can do this so there aren't many, but there are some.

[asdfghelena]

I have always taken my family to see dr donna. she is a really really thorough and good doctor..she has her own clinic in sukhumvit soi 49 but she's done home visits to my house in the past which is really useful. would definitely recommend :-)

[Fred63]

about the only western doctor is Dr Donna, a Brit. She speaks fluent Thai as well and seems to know all the thai specialists at bunrungrad etc. Prices are reasonable and you don't just get a bag of medicines. Clinic is in Suk 49 past Samitivej. Google dr donna or medconsult.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Dr. Nick Walters at Mission Hospital in Bangkok (also known as Bangkok Adventist) is an American general practitioner, U.S. trained and licensed, who also holds a Thai medical license and of course speaks Thai. I've seen him many times for a variety of things, and have nothing but the best to say about his medical knowledge/skills and open, communicative style of interaction with the patient. I believe he also handles medical checks for the U.S. Embassy Staff in BKK. Mission, while smaller, is also considerably lower priced than Bumrungrad, BNH, Samitivej, etc.

 

I've never dealt with the MedConsult Clinic mentioned above, so I can't speak to them personally. But I will note that regarding the two prior posts recommending them, the two posters doing so have a total of 3 posts between them on ThaiVisa over many months, and all 3 of them being to recommend the MedConsult Clinic.

Edited February 4, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[lopburi3]

I met an American doctor during my 10 day operation stay at Bangkok Hospital in June last year and was impressed by her.  She is an Asian American GP working in the International Medical Section and took care of monitoring for insurance and appeared easy to talk with and very forthcoming - believe she would also be a good choice for someone able to understand both language and ways.

Dr NINA KAUR SRIKUREJA

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

I met an American doctor during my 10 day operation stay at Bangkok Hospital in June last year and was impressed by her.  She is an Asian American GP working in the International Medical Section and took care of monitoring for insurance and appeared easy to talk with and very forthcoming - believe she would also be a good choice for someone able to understand both language and ways.

Dr NINA KAUR SRIKUREJA

Looks like she's still there, as she shows up on Bangkok Hospital's website directory of their doctors. And from the info below, not just a youngin' straight out of medical school either:  But, I don't see much mention of her at all online anywhere, at least under this name.

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Thongkorn]

The best treatment i got was from a Government Hospital, after paying for an expensive hospital consultation.