Hospital Pharmacy Overcharging

[cardinalblue]

Where to go or whom to contact regarding pharmacy overcharges? I received 5 medications for 5 days amounting to 4,200B. The drugs consisted of nothing special - cough suppression, antibiotics fever/pain meds etc..This was at Lanna Hospital....

I heard something about a consumer rights review board recently and some policy in place against private hospitals who overcharge on medications but the article didn't advise on any contact information or how to initiate a review on charges....

Any advice?

CB

[Dante99]

It is common practice, you should not be surprised.

Get on with your life.

Next time if you do not want to buy something, don't buy it.

[HullyGully]

FYI - All hospital drugs are overpriced.

You can ask the doctor for a list of drugs you need then go to the pharmacy

[sappersrest]

Always found Lanna ok for meds pricing, go back and query the cashier/pharmacy ,had a biopsy there inc 2 doctors vsits and 7 days supply of anti biotics for the same price.

[amexpat]

Posts #3 and #4 are helpful.

Chances are that up to half of those drugs were unnecessary, too.

It's a good idea to do online research for effects, side effects, etc. of any that are prescribed.

[Sparkles]

Its not overcharging its the hospitals right to sell at the price it wants do.Same goes for any business.

Lesson learned. There's a multitude of Pharmacies out there who can provide you with most medications.

Shop around we use Pharmas Choice with a freee discount card for most meds but also a small local Thai pharmacy.

There will be some drugs that are only available from a hospital but not many.

If its ongoing medication, as someone suggested, shop around.

[elektrified]

Posts #3 and #4 are helpful.

Chances are that up to half of those drugs were unnecessary, too.

It's a good idea to do online research for effects, side effects, etc. of any that are prescribed.

3 and 4 are helpful but Dante99 is right too. I always buy meds outside the hospital. Hospitals mark them up 400-800% on average; sometimes more. The one time I was in so much pain from a pinched SI nerve and was in RAM, I had no choice as I was in too much pain to drive to my usual pharmacies. I bought the meds there and paid about 1200 Baht for them. A few days later when I was better I called on my friend who owns a few pharmacies and asked him what my cost would have been with him.....168 Baht.

McCormick has the same practice. The wife had the hives or the shingles - I forget now. It was 8:00 on a Sunday morning and nowhere was open. She took the gamble and bought there - 900 Baht for 3 day supply. When she needed more and went to my friend, it was 92 Baht for a 7 day supply!

Buy meds outside the hospital or don't be surprised/disappointed if you get a very high bill. Standard practice....

[Gonzo the Face]

I get my meds from Lanna Hosp every month .......diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol ,vits, and find them to very well priced.

[masuk]

I get my meds from Lanna Hosp every month .......diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol ,vits, and find them to very well priced.

I'm sure they're very well priced. Even though many of the common drugs such as the above are manufactured in Thailand, they are still much more expensive than they should be.

If I'm in Australia around the time my supplies run low, I buy them at one of a chain of pharmacies at one-third the Thai price. That's without any subsidy.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Thai citizens have their medicines issued under the '30 baht scheme'? If this is the case, then that leaves ex-pats and tourists paying the inflated prices.

[cardinalblue]

Many of you guys are missing my point...Thailand recently implemented policy that a private hospital who is found to be drug overcharging can be fined 10,000B....

I want to file a complaint and see where it leads....

There has to be an access point to begin the process or renegotiate the amount paid...

What agency?

[elektrified]

Many of you guys are missing my point...Thailand recently implemented policy that a private hospital who is found to be drug overcharging can be fined 10,000B....

I want to file a complaint and see where it leads....

There has to be an access point to begin the process or renegotiate the amount paid...

What agency?

Ckok dee getting a single Satang back from your purchase... Waste of time.

[elektrified]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Thai citizens have their medicines issued under the '30 baht scheme'? If this is the case, then that leaves ex-pats and tourists paying the inflated prices.

Only some medicines are covered. The rest have to be purchased from private pharmacies. The ones that are covered are made at the labs/factories with the lowest possible ratings; i.e. not approved for export. I once gave a lift home to a friend who was discharged from a government hospital near Pratu C.M. Two of the medicines had expiration dates 30 days away... They had been sitting around somewhere for years...

[brommers]

I am so sick of listening to the complaints of farangs who want to complain after the event. Why do they come here, use the services and then whinge about what they paid. In most cases it is well below what would be charged in their home country. Cardinalblue you need to grow up and realise that in that in this country you are in a free for all.

[amexpat]

Easy remedy, brommers. Delete ThaiVisa from your bookmarks and don't ever visit this site again. You know, love it or leave it.

[northernjohn]

FYI - All hospital drugs are overpriced.

You can ask the doctor for a list of drugs you need then go to the pharmacy

Where I come from it was not uncommon to pay upwards of 30 baht in the hospitals for an aspirin.

It would not surprise me if it was a common practice for hospitals world wide.

Edited January 28, 2016 by northernjohn

[jonwilly]

I made mistakeofuying my medsfromRAM once.

Payied twice my cost from Dr Morgan.

John

[vogie]

To say that all hospitals are overpriced is totally misinformation, I have been to the government hospital in Sattahip many times and can't believe how cheap the prescriptions are. Went yesterday for a consultation with a doctor which lasted about 20 mins and the she prescribed two medications, all for 280 baht.

[MadMac]

Government hospital may well be subsidized generics. If you go to a private hospital with your first world insurance they certainly wont give you the "cheap" stuff. As written already, just get the name of what you need and buy it yourself at the pharmacy of your choice. Luckily almost everything here goes over the counter.

[HooHaa]

Easy remedy, brommers. Delete ThaiVisa from your bookmarks and don't ever visit this site again. You know, love it or leave it.

Ironically the same advice could be given to those who complain about the cost of medication they willingly purchased at a private hospital.

What's good for the goose and all that .....

[amexpat]

Nope. One is complaining/warning about costs. The other objects to people expressing their views.

[SantiSuk]

They undercharge like crazy for doctors IME. More so than just comparing Thailand with other countries. Same at local clinics - 100 baht for 10 minutes with the doctor and 150 baht for a few paracetemol and something else cheap. Seems like Thais do not like to think they should pay for highly skilled labour.

Specialised antibiotics can also be relatively expensive btw. In a cheap independent pharma a weeks supply of Doxycycline will be 40 baht and week of Azithromycin would be 750 baht. If I were going to go to the trouble of writing a complaint make sure you cost out your beef

Edited January 30, 2016 by SantiSuk

[MadMac]

Eat enough shrimps and you will be fine .

But yes, you are right, I had one of these superbugs in Indonesia, where you need some combined antibiotics that kills the bug, the same time keeps other bugs in check that may grow if the main one is gone. Expensive and nasty, got more sick from the medication than before, but after one week it worked out.

[sappersrest]

Many of you guys are missing my point...Thailand recently implemented policy that a private hospital who is found to be drug overcharging can be fined 10,000B....

I want to file a complaint and see where it leads....

There has to be an access point to begin the process or renegotiate the amount paid...

What agency?

Did you go back and query the charges it may have been a simple mistake,Did you price like for like at the local pharmacey?