Do Doctors make commission on pharmacy sales?

[Pib]

It was just blah...blah...blah for the public.

[Shiver]

I was given some brand name stuff from a doctor in BKK which was 21,000, and I looked up every individual item (also brand name, and full retail) which came to around 6800.  If generics then you can probably divide that lower price by quite a lot too.

 

My stance with doctors now is "I want you to tell me what is wrong with me and recommend what I should do?", but I will not buy brand name prescription from them anymore.

 

That 21K I mentioned was just the pharma and plant extracts, multi-vits etc for 6 weeks.  In total the cost was over 60K for a couple of hours of their time as an outpatient.  Other reputable hospitals are about 25% total cost, but this was serious so I paid for what I thought was the best, only to find they were charlatans.  If I ever see his Lamborghini I'm going to claim I own at least 1 wheel off the thing.

Btw, recovery was very good and rapid (in relative terms), and the current doc cannot work out why.  He won't tell me what the generics are (though I've worked out all but one of them - no magic in them) and once I understood the problem I took responsibility for it, taking it from "you'll be dead in a year" (more than a year ago) to "I think we can take you off all meds, but we should continue just as a precaution for a couple of months more.

 

 

[Odin Norway]

Not only do they overcharge you.They also give alot more then you need.Just the other day I took my 10month old to a local clinic.She only had a strong flue so since it was my last day here for this time I just wanted to get here something to get over it quicker.She was diagnosed with astma after listening with a stetoscope ouside the dress for 2 seconds.Ofcourse it scared the shit out of the mother and it made me just explode right there and then.Ofcourse the nurce acted like she didnt understand me,but she did understand what she wanted to understand.

The mother was asked if we wanted to go and get a bed at the hospital or get something and stay at home.Yea right.Like you get any better in a local hospital with a smal one down here.

Came out again with 4 different botles of liquid that was for all kinds of different problems.Bill was 500 bath.The one I didnt pay for was for taking down feever.The others sounded to have some cind of pupose.

I will never go there again.And if I have no other choice I will wear a hidden camera and put it out on youtube and post it on facebook.Thats what we do where I live,and it seems to work as well.

[Hedghog]

10 hours ago, Grubster said:

Yes and its ten times worse in the USA.  If your not from the US you can't imagine the medical fraud there. If you are in the hospital there and they give you an aspirin they will charge you over $10 for it and $40 more for giving it to you. Q-tip at least $5.  I am not making this up its unreal there.  The doctors there also get kickbacks for drugs, and referrals.  Sorry off topic, I am delighted that drugs are so cheap here though, just wish they had some good pain meds.

Good pain relief medication is available,on prescription.

[Si Thea01]

I used to buy my blood pressure pills from a local private hospital at a cost of B2300 each month.  Have found a local drug store, the same pills, B1400 a month. so I would say the hospital was overcharging.  Don't know if the doctor gets a commission though.

[Deepinthailand]

I can state for a fact in the UK it is illegal for a doctor to accept money direct from a pharmaceutical company.  However  there are back doors to this motor vehicles foreign all expenses paid holidays all a doctor has to do is perscribe the drug associated with the company. In the case of a practise where there are several doctors they also get "help" with the upkeep of the building ect ect. It's a lucrative buisness being a GP. I stress non of the above is illegal. How do I know easy I ask my sister who is a GP and funily enough has a shinny new car every two years. Her Surgery has 10 doctors and has I belive 25 to 30 thousand patients. Quantity is the doctors key words. That's why most have to wait two to three weeks for an appointment.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Deepinthailand

[chiang mai]

8 minutes ago, Deepinthailand said:

I can state for a fact in the UK it is illegal for a doctor to accept money direct from a pharmaceutical company.  However  there are back doors to this motor vehicles foreign all expenses paid holidays all a doctor has to do is perscribe the drug associated with the company. In the case of a practise where there are several doctors they also get "help" with the upkeep of the building ect ect. It's a lucrative buisness being a GP. I stress non of the above is illegal. How do I know easy I ask my sister who is a GP and funily enough has a shinny new car every two years. Her Surgery has 10 doctors and has I belive 25 to 30 thousand patients. Quantity is the doctors key words. That's why most have to wait two to three weeks for an appointment.

 

Trivia: A more likely ratio of patients to doctors would be circa 15,000.

 

http://practiceindex.co.uk/gp/blog/gp-practice-staff/perfect-staff-patient-ratio/

[BAYBOY]

You only have to look at the overall picture. Last week the Bangkok Hospital group announced that they have purchased  a hotel in Bangkok for 10 and a half billion baht, and will spend 2 billion baht refurbishing it. It is intended to become a wellness hospital as the market for these is huge, but not many exist. 

The Bangkok Hospital group owns or manages over 50 hospitals in Thailand and Cambodia.

Do you really think that their profits to keep increasing for their group, come from normal mark up of medicines and normal expected costs of doctors and services provided.

 Also the vast majority of their patients are Thais, not foreigners.

My wife is currently in a Govt. hospital having chemo treatment, and has developed the 'flu'. So they have placed her in the isolation ward which is 2 years old, absolutely well kitted out, for 400 baht per night.  Go figure.

 

CHEERS 

BAYBOY.

[Deepinthailand]

34 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

Trivia: A more likely ratio of patients to doctors would be circa 15,000.

 

http://practiceindex.co.uk/gp/blog/gp-practice-staff/perfect-staff-patient-ratio/

Did say I belive 20 to 30 thousand for the practise but I'm only guessing

[Grubster]

2 hours ago, Hedghog said:

Good pain relief medication is available,on prescription.

Do you know the name of one by chance. I have bad back pain and they give me Tramadol which helps a little but not like  Hydracodone [ Vicadin] I get back home. Codeine is the key ingredient needed.

[Kwasaki]

15 hours ago, impulse said:

 

I thought the 30 baht plan was no longer available to western foreigners?

 

Still do it in " My " village  if you live in it,  it's a bit outside the main village l doubt if tourist would know it's clinic don't know if they would tell go hospital or treat them,  my guess is they would treat them.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Kwasaki

[Grubster]

1 minute ago, Kwasaki said:

 

Still do it in " My " village  if you live in it,  it's a bit outside the main village l doubt if tourist would know it's clinic don't know if they would tell go hospital or treat them,  my guess is they would.

I know an expat that used it for a major injury motorcycle crash in Nakhon Phanom. I wouldn't have stayed in the hospital he did though. I guess it beats dying.

[impulse]

33 minutes ago, Grubster said:

I know an expat that used it for a major injury motorcycle crash in Nakhon Phanom. I wouldn't have stayed in the hospital he did though. I guess it beats dying.

 

Beats having to sell a kidney to pay the hospital bill, too.

[Grubster]

7 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Beats having to sell a kidney to pay the hospital bill, too.

WOW, that would suck if it were your only option. I thought they just slaughter a few Laotians on the other side of the river when they need parts?

[Odin Norway]

16 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

You do not require 30 baht plan to use a government hospital - they are available on a pay for service basis.

Money does rule everywhere.Some places you do need the famous yellow book to use the 30 baht plan.

[lopburi3]

Actually most foreigners are not eligible for the 30 baht plan (even though mistakes were made and some still receive such treatment).  But anyone can use government facilities on a pay as your go basis and for most things this will only be a fraction of private hospital costs.  But you do pay in time, and often comfort, for the lower money charges.  

Edited October 4, 2016 by lopburi3

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Actually most foreigners are not eligible for the 30 baht plan (even though mistakes were made and some still receive such treatment).  But anyone can use government facilities on a pay as your go basis and for most things this will only be a fraction of private hospital costs.  But you do pay in time, and often comfort, for the lower money charges.  

 

As above. Foreigners are not eligible.

 

However some government  facilities  - especially primary (Health Center) and secondary (District Hospital) tier ones in locations without large foreign population - either do not know this or do not have a system in place to collect cash fees and don't consider it worth the effort to establish one just for a small number of farangs.  So occasionally, some people in some places, get treatment for free or 30 baht. But you can be quite sure that this situation will not apply if there is need to be referred to a higher level. And it could stop, even for smaller things, at any time that the hospital realizes it is losing potential revenue.

[MaxiMaxi]

I passed a visit for some controlled medicines at a Gov. Hospital showing my original foreign prescription and med box I take since 7 years, so not much work for them to do.

I got the prescription and the bill to pay where was 50bt for visit and 36bt for 30 tablets but at the cashier suddenly it became 500 instead of 50 cause being foreigner. Not an enourmous amount but it's 10 times more than a local....seems exagerate specially compared to the just 36bt for the 30 tablets

[Sheryl]

Did you go through an after hours clinic or "premier channel" or was this the regular public channel (morning Mon-Fri, long queues and waits etc)?

[Hedghog]

5 hours ago, Grubster said:

Do you know the name of one by chance. I have bad back pain and they give me Tramadol which helps a little but not like  Hydracodone [ Vicadin] I get back home. Codeine is the key ingredient needed.

I receive Morphine and Gabapentin,never enquired about codeine. 

Tramadol is effective in a lot of cases,depending on dose of course.

I was using Tramadol,maximum daily dose,before changing.

[Grubster]

8 hours ago, Hedghog said:

I receive Morphine and Gabapentin,never enquired about codeine. 

Tramadol is effective in a lot of cases,depending on dose of course.

I was using Tramadol,maximum daily dose,before changing.

OK I can see if they will give me morphine as that will be as good as codeine or better. Thanks

[Sheryl]

Thai doctors are very hesitant to prescribe morphine for outpatient use (even terminal cancer patients are rationed) and you are likely to find it very hard to get it prescribed for back pain.