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Health Service Support Dept: Thailand ready to become medical hub

webfact

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webfact Grand Master Member

webfact

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Health Service Support Dept: Thailand ready to become medical hub

BANGKOK, 19 April 2016 (NNT) - Health Service Support Department Director General Boonreung Traireungworawat said that Thailand is quite ready to become a medical hub in the Southeast Asian region.

Thailand currently has 53 hospitals and clinics which have been certified by JCI international standards, marking the highest number in the ASEAN community.

Besides, there are 761 public hospitals certified by HA standards. Thailand’s medical services have been popular among foreigners from the Middle East and Europe, especially Norway.

However, there are limitations in the European Union's regulatory health insurance system which does not allow the medical treatment by hospitals outside Europe.

The Health Service Support Department discussed with the Thai ambassador to Norway ways and means to allow the Norwegians to pay for medical expenses under the current health insurance system.

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thaiduncankk Apprentice Member

thaiduncankk

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If they want customers not from the Middle East or Norway, they will have to seriously consider lowering their expensive prices.

Even then, they might find it difficult to compete with the likes of India.

Reputation wise, when I lived in the UK for 45 years, it was common to hear about qualified Indian doctors working there.

I never heard the same about Thai doctors.

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chrissables Gold Member

chrissables

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From my experiences here and if i was able to travel i would never use a hospital here again.

I have heard good things about India and the costs are so low compared to here, with the English and attitude better.

Only when a doctor and the hospital are held accountable for their work here will things change. That won't happen soon.

Edited by chrissables
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Pib Star Member

Pib

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No...Thailand, you are not ready to become a medical hub. Sure you have some hospitals certified to some international standard but it takes more than just satisfying certification paperwork requirements...you need to have truly well equipped hospitals, highly qualified medical personal, and well managed hospitals--you are not there yet except maybe at some of the very pricey private hospitals. Strong medical malpractice laws would also be nice which Thailand does not have---nope, no there yet.

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Pib Star Member

Pib

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I have used Pattaya International once....excellent

Care and very very inexpensive by US prices

And they are "not" JCI certified.

Go to this JCI webpage to see the list off 53 hospitals accredited in Thailand...and be sure to note that some of the 53 are only accredited in certain areas/programs.

http://www.jointcommissioninternational.org/about-jci/jci-accredited-organizations/?c=Thailand&pg=1

Edit: please note you'll see a lot of countries which apparently don't subscribe to JCI certification such as the U.S., Australia, Canada, only one Vision Clinic in the U.K., etc. Pretty easy to see at a glance from the worldwide map at above website. Expect those countries subscribe to different accreditation organizations.

Edited by Pib
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gyrosman Senior Member

gyrosman

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I spent 3 months in a government hospital with a leg infection which was a wake-up call of medical services here. And I did the big hospitals, oh ! I needed crutches and they had none, no pain pills, no advice.

I guess if you come from another TWC and see sexy girls you believe they are advance, not.

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SoFarAndNear Silver Member

SoFarAndNear

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I spent 3 months in a government hospital with a leg infection which was a wake-up call of medical services here. And I did the big hospitals, oh ! I needed crutches and they had none, no pain pills, no advice.

I guess if you come from another TWC and see sexy girls you believe they are advance, not.

I had a motorbike accident with a serious 30cm open wound on my left knee, a broken right foot, broken rips and bruises around my body. Ambulance brought me to a well known government hospital in Bangkok and I had emergency operation with full anestic on the same day. Result was that they casted my wrong foot and simply stapled my serious knee wound and forgot a 50gramm golf ball big plastic piece inside the wound.

On my wish I had been transfered to a private hospital the next day. I had another operation with local anestic. They openened my knee wound again removed the big plastic piece, deeply cleaned the wound and stabilized the leg so my knee can regenate new skin. They also operated my broken foot and put a few screws inside. Just after 12 days I was able to leave the hospital and was able to walk with crutches. The knee wound needed around 2 months to fully heal.

If I would have stayed in the government hospital my knee would have been serious infected and it would have taken months before I could go home again. There was also high chance of limited movement of my left knee because they simply stapled my left knee without letting my wound generate new skin....

All in all I can say that this accident opened my eyes. If you really want a medical treatment avoid any government hospital. If someone wants to know any names of hospitals you can send me a P.M.

Thailand is a medical hub for wealthy Thais and foreigners. But majority of the people just end up in the government slaughterhouses....

Edited by SoFarAndNear
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JAG Gold Member

JAG

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If they want customers not from the Middle East or Norway, they will have to seriously consider lowering their expensive prices.

Even then, they might find it difficult to compete with the likes of India.

Reputation wise, when I lived in the UK for 45 years, it was common to hear about qualified Indian doctors working there.

I never heard the same about Thai doctors.

Leaving aside Abhisits parents.....

I suspect that Indian Doctors found it easier to be employed as for most of them English (albeit with a strong "Bombay Welsh" accent), was their first language.

NB - Before anyone climbs on their soapbox, I have more reason than most, I suspect, to be grateful to Indian Doctors working in the UK!

Edited by JAG
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Lingba Silver Member

Lingba

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Language barrier still a problem...nurses and doctors here..a few are good..most incompetent with egos bigger than a rai of land....prices have skyrocketed beyond belief....India, Malaysia and Singapore...speak great English, prices way lower and more competetive, quality of doctors much more better and reliable...I've had both good and bad experiences with doctors in Thailand...bottom line, if I needed any type of serious work/surgery done ..I would NOT get it done in Thailand...Definitely NOT...Too many screw ups on record and you will ot have any compensation should anything go wrong...just an "oops!, Sorry"

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Ulic Gold Member

Ulic

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I just can't see it. India is much cheaper and many say higher quality. Thailand may be

cheap by US standards but the "International Hospitals" are as expensive or more expensive

as the rest of the G20 countries who generally have universal health care for its citizens.

Thai "International Hospitals" have to compete with the likes of Singapore, Malaysia

and India for "HUB" status. Of course wealthy Thais and platinum insured foreigners

will provide steady business. But for most ex-pats it will be the public hospitals which

have a reputation of being well run and well staffed that are the go to option of most ex-pats.

Those not living here are not aware which these hospitals are. whistling.gif

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Winniedapu Newbie

Winniedapu

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From my experiences here and if i was able to travel i would never use a hospital here again.

I have heard good things about India and the costs are so low compared to here, with the English and attitude better.

Only when a doctor and the hospital are held accountable for their work here will things change. That won't happen soon.

Ditto. The doctor I saw a while back had what was probably the world's worst hairpiece (certainly the worst I've ever seen), and was a worthy contender for the Nobel prize for arrogant, rude and incompetent.

A Thai education I suppose though I'm pretty sure he was Chinese.

Winnie

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Trentham Advanced Member

Trentham

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In 2005 I went to Rutnin eye hospital for a check-up - everything was OK. A few week later I had a bad headache for a few days. I went to another big hospital nearby and they diagnosed early onset Alzheimer's. I was talked into MRI's and other expensive treatment which included 6 powerful drugs that sent me close to crazy. After a few weeks of madness I took myself off the drugs and suffered severe withdrawals. They then told me the headaches were due to acute angle glaucoma and did laser surgery. That then led to endless visits [probably 15 times] for check-ups at 3000 baht per time. On a trip home to Australia I went to see an ophthalmologist who told me once you have laser surgery you DO NOT need to go for checks. And I obviously do not have Alzheimer's now 11 years on.

I had been overdoing the weights and had a bad pain in my shoulder. I went to another big hospital that Westerners frequent in the Silom area and was told I had a pinched nerve in my neck. I had weeks of treatment on a machine that stretched my neck every day. It did not help. Home to Oz again and found it was a damaged rotator cuff.

Back to Thailand and I had stomach pain. I went to the same "close to Silom hospital" who told me I had reflux and for a year treated me with Nexium. I presented myself at that hospital on two occasions at 3.00 AM in extreme pain. Once they put me on a drip which stopped the pain. The other occasion they gave me a suppository and told me I was constipated. I had another trip home and went to a doctor in Oz to get a script for Nexium. He said "no" and the following week I was in Royal Melbourne Hospital having half of my pancreas removed due to cancer and yes I am one of the 2 or 3 percent who survive it.

I could keep writing about the experiences of friends here but won't bore you.

HOWEVER please think carefully before you ever seek important treatment here in Thailand.

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Winniedapu Newbie

Winniedapu

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In 2005 I went to Rutnin eye hospital for a check-up - everything was OK. A few week later I had a bad headache for a few days. I went to another big hospital nearby and they diagnosed early onset Alzheimer's. I was talked into MRI's and other expensive treatment which included 6 powerful drugs that sent me close to crazy. After a few weeks of madness I took myself off the drugs and suffered severe withdrawals. They then told me the headaches were due to acute angle glaucoma and did laser surgery. That then led to endless visits [probably 15 times] for check-ups at 3000 baht per time. On a trip home to Australia I went to see an ophthalmologist who told me once you have laser surgery you DO NOT need to go for checks. And I obviously do not have Alzheimer's now 11 years on.

I had been overdoing the weights and had a bad pain in my shoulder. I went to another big hospital that Westerners frequent in the Silom area and was told I had a pinched nerve in my neck. I had weeks of treatment on a machine that stretched my neck every day. It did not help. Home to Oz again and found it was a damaged rotator cuff.

Back to Thailand and I had stomach pain. I went to the same "close to Silom hospital" who told me I had reflux and for a year treated me with Nexium. I presented myself at that hospital on two occasions at 3.00 AM in extreme pain. Once they put me on a drip which stopped the pain. The other occasion they gave me a suppository and told me I was constipated. I had another trip home and went to a doctor in Oz to get a script for Nexium. He said "no" and the following week I was in Royal Melbourne Hospital having half of my pancreas removed due to cancer and yes I am one of the 2 or 3 percent who survive it.

I could keep writing about the experiences of friends here but won't bore you.

HOWEVER please think carefully before you ever seek important treatment here in Thailand.

I'm really sorry to have read what you wrote, and I'm glad you are recovering or have recovered from the pancreatic cancer. It could have been a very serious problem. Well done you,

Some years ago I decided to self-medicate (or go overseas for any problem beyond my ability to resolve), for the same reasons you describe. I have not regretted that decision for an instant. I just do not deal with Thai medics if I can possibly avoid it, though it's a practical decision, not a matter of prejudice, even though culturally, TL is a bit of a desert.

It's a sobering thought that the level of competence I learned about in the medical field here is pretty much the same in all fields - in my experience. There are some very pleasant Thais, and I'm sure there are many very honest Thais. I haven't met any of them yet but I'm sure they're out there; we all hear of honest cab drivers from time to time. Not often I'll grant, but occasionally..

Likewise. even though I haven't met many yet, I's sure that somewhere like Bumrungrad will have some very able medics. I just don't live anywhere where they might be near to, and the psychiatric field in TL is a real joke (which I know about as a clinician, not a patient!).

While I lived in BKK, I learned the hard (and very expensive) way, not to go to Param 9 hospital, nor Samitivej, but surprisingly, I found a very able endocrinologist at Vibharam hospital at Pattanakhan. Turns out he was the exception, but I would recommend the hospital on the basis of my direct experience as his patient, though not for its admin, nursing or management expertise.

On the bright side, it's useful sometimes to reflect on the reasons I came here, as I'm sure it is for all of us. Generally low prices (except for cars and some other things), absence of a nanny state, decent weather (apart from this year) and ability to carve out a quiet life. TL is a developing country and even though many Thais think they are world-beaters, they just aren't - its the 3rd world, which for me happens to present a different (I think better) lifestyle for my buck. I really did get heartily sick of the rat-race.

When TL fails me for medical, I have other places to go, which probably makes me more fortunate than most westerners, and definitely better than the vast majority of Thais.

Good luck.

Winnie

Edited by Winniedapu
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