Chiang Mai hospital denies they are using needles over and over to save money

[elgordo38]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

He said that the footage that emerged two or three days ago was all a big misunderstanding.

A Prayuth, Prawit style answer. 

[elgordo38]

6 hours ago, Pattaya28 said:

The word "misunderstanding" returns. 

 

Popular usage in Thailand.

 

A "Misunderstanding".

 

I think the hospital was "rumbled".

Term Backpedaling. 

[Chiangmaijoseph]

3 hours ago, al007 said:

A very big question

 

I was censored by TV 2/3 WEEKS AGO, for posting about hospital malpractice being conscious of the defamation laws, and may I add having been censored, upset me greatly

 

When I posted I very carefully made no reference to the  actual hospital and named no doctor 

 

I was seeking general opinion on whether or not to pursue a malpractice claim through the courts, something worrying me greatly and on which I needed guidance and input, because of my added stress, I already have both Prostrate and Colorectal cancers,, knowing only too well the complications and difficulties of the legal system here

 

My article was headed if I remember correctly TO SUE OR NOT TO SUE FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

 

It has been well proven that that consensus opinion amongst sensible people is generally better than a single opinion

 

SO  WHY HAS THIS ARTICLE BEEN ALLOWED AND MINE REMOVED

 

I look forward to comments

 

[elgordo38]

5 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Nothing would surprise me and anythings possible in Thailand.....economy scraping out the barrel and cost cutting never stops with any business.....and hospitals are not exempt.....probably more so private hospitals.

Just a little off topic a gold mine in Indonesia was being given a "hard time" by the government. The mine started playing the old "people will be loosing their jobs" card. They had 32, 000 employees. 12,000 permanent and 20,000 contract workers. What is a contract worker? Do you ask them how little they want in wages for a job? Its become a bidding game. 

[cmrichsw]

Been there 1 time NEVER again

[elgordo38]

5 hours ago, thailand49 said:

If this is being done, in a private or public the official should be removed and charge! There is no excuse for something like this. Certainly there is no place for any person or persons who thinks this is a good move in saving money.

Your words had a huge effect on me till I stopped and realized this is Thailand. Well said in theory and practicality but in reality there are large cracks in the floor. 

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, Sphere said:

 

It's much easier with gloves for prostrate exams. Need only count up to five. 

Like underwear check the fingers for brown spots. 

[elgordo38]

49 minutes ago, realenglish1 said:

Quote  "Guidelines state that needles for personal use in injecting insulin can be used up to three times"

 

This is sick A needle should be used once for whatever reason and discarded 

 

I have never heard of this before

 

The hospital should be sanctioned by the authorities This is not a misunderstanding This is crazy

Get used to using the word crazy more often in your vocabulary here or you will go crazy. Laugh a bit have a beer and move on to the next topic do not dwell on things. We are still alive and to old to change the world. Brace yourself its trying to change us. The world and governments think us pensioners got away with the gold mine and they were left with the shaft. 

[NextStationBangkok]

I hope massage parlors not follow the suit and hanging the used condoms after washed in washing machines ?

 

[hansnl]

It is not really that long ago injection material was used several times.

Of course things were cleaned and sterilised, but even so, needles were used until getting too blunt.

[lvr181]

7 hours ago, Pattaya28 said:

The word "misunderstanding" returns. 

 

Popular usage in Thailand.

 

A "Misunderstanding".

 

I think the hospital was "rumbled".

Plus, I not unnerstand!

[Bangkok Barry]

The hospital has explained what happened. BUT - they are money-making enterprises. I know of someone who felt down on his luck and was after some TLC, and went to a hospital in Bangkok claiming he had suffered a next injury when a taxi he was in stopped suddenly. The hospital not only wanted him to stay in overnight but produced an x-ray of his non-existent injury. They must keep some in a drawer for such 'opportunities'.

[psyvolt]

6 hours ago, British Bulldog said:

could be some confusion if the patient is a diabetic ... I'm a diabetic and use an insulin pen to inject myself twice a day, I use the same needle until the insulin runs out, which can vary between 15 and 20 times

I'm the same, when I go back to MDI, ill reuse a pen needle for the whole day, but as im currently on an insulin pump I don't have to worry so much doing so.

 

My lancet is a different story thou, I reuse that for at least a week or two before changing it.

 

But, as this is Thaivisa, and so many poster take any chance they can to ThaiBash, we can expect them to actually read the whole story as then they cant spew there racist rants.

[Canceraid]

Thailand....Medical Hub! Lol! 

[HHTel]

It always amazes me that most TV members don't like the truth rather choosing to ignore the truth completely.  Pick out any negative and work on that.  No wonder this forum has a bad reputation outside these walls and considered a laughing stock by some.

[simonuk]

7 hours ago, al007 said:

A very big question

 

I was censored by TV 2/3 WEEKS AGO, for posting about hospital malpractice being conscious of the defamation laws, and may I add having been censored, upset me greatly

 

When I posted I very carefully made no reference to the  actual hospital and named no doctor 

 

I was seeking general opinion on whether or not to pursue a malpractice claim through the courts, something worrying me greatly and on which I needed guidance and input, because of my added stress, I already have both Prostrate and Colorectal cancers,, knowing only too well the complications and difficulties of the legal system here

 

My article was headed if I remember correctly TO SUE OR NOT TO SUE FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

 

It has been well proven that that consensus opinion amongst sensible people is generally better than a single opinion

 

SO  WHY HAS THIS ARTICLE BEEN ALLOWED AND MINE REMOVED

 

I look forward to comments

This is Thailand , we may be majority Foreigners on here but this website is scared of its own shadow and due to it being run out of Thailand is subject to the same levels of censorship, ridiculous laws and  limits on freedom of speech and fear of reprisal as any other thai website or person living in Thailand. 

Who can blame the mods ?Everyone in Thailand should be scared. The law is not your protector out here. 

Edited February 21, 2017 by simonuk
spelling error

[Jim walker]

Hope no one from the English NHS is reading this or it might start a new scheme to save money in England NHS who have a crisis every day .

[xtrnuno41]

you see its common people use the same needle (their own) for diabetic.

But diabetic is in skin/flesh and not in vaines, maybe then some difference?

However you always pay your needle, so its not cost saving for hospital , but could be for doctor or hospital extra income?

But then put your hospital/doctor name to the bucket?

Just checked price you have 100 needles for 6 euro = 0.06/piece

cmon that doesnt make you rich

[thailand49]

9 hours ago, sandgroper2 said:

Didn't you read the report. It isn't being done. 

 

And you must have missed the first word I use "If"  I think you know the definition?  Living here and I hope the official of the hospital is telling the truth and it is just my generalization but personally I wouldn't be surprise if they were lying on covering up?  It wouldn't be the first time nor the last.

[Jeffkp]

11 hours ago, British Bulldog said:

Hmmm ... there could be some confusion if the patient is a diabetic ... I'm a diabetic and use an insulin pen to inject myself twice a day, I use the same needle until the insulin runs out, which can vary between 15 and 20 times pending the level of my sugar content over the week ... a new needle is replaced once the new insulin capsule is inserted into the pen ... fairly standard practice ... external 'normal' needles must be a different case I suspect ?

The same with me.

I don't know how much they would save reusing needles. Unless they give thousands of injections a day, I can't imagine it would that great.

I use Bangkok Hospital and based on what they charge me, I hardly think they're losing money!

[darksidedog]

9 hours ago, unclesteve18 said:

Dont often reply to forum,  however;  this story hit a personal chord.

Have been going to Rajavej for 14 years and the Dr quoted is my personnal doctor.

Dr Will  (nickname) , is one of the most reputablle doctors I have met. The reason he gave his name ( which is unusual) I beieve is that he wants to defend his facility publically and personally as he is the new director

I would recommend Rajavej highly, and  assure you Dr Will can be taken at his word.

Thank you. I read a lot of the posts that seemed to be taking the accusation as proven fact.

I know those of us who have been here for many years have seen a lot of very poor stuff go on and have become very sceptical.

It does not however, mean that every report is automatically proven. I felt the Doctors explanation was very reasonable, and given the post above, very believable.

Can we try to restrain ourselves from stooping to the levels of Donald Trump and leave out the "fake news" please?

[thequietman]

He stressed further that despite international regulations that hospitals could use needles up to five times for insulin jabs his hospital had a policy of one use only for injections of all kinds.

 

Then he goes on to say that the needle belonged to the patient who had used it before. They then used it again. So......... what happened to the 'one use only' policy? Clearly this is at least the second use of the needle. 

[Rojelio]

Those of you making negative comments about the medical care in Thailand are obviously using the wrong hospitals.  In my many years of experience of making use of Thailand medical facilities, I can only compliment them on their entire operation and many aspects of Thai medicine is far better than what I've experienced in western facilities in several first world countries.  If you live in Thailand and are denigrating Thai medical facilities you should make sure you have personally researched and found that what you are espousing is correct.  I say: many kudos to the majority of Thai medical facilities and their staffs.  If there are problems, find them, fix them!

[peergin]

My wife and I were regulars for a number of years. We never went anywhere else for our annual medical check-ups (way more comprehensive than its standard check-up programs) and for every small medical problem we had. Then, one day, I went there for my regular FBS (Fasting Blood Sugar) glucose test and a related HbA1C test. The cost was exactly B 1.200.

I did not want to consult the hospital’s elderly diabetes doctor anymore because he always just looked at the test results but never offered any advice.

 

So, I went straight to a private clinic owned by a well-known diabetes specialist doctor. This physician returned the test results to me with a comment that they were impossible and useless. He said to go elsewhere and have the tests re-done.

 

I took the doctor’s advice and went straight to Sriphat Medical Center. This is also a private facility which is operated by faculty members of Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Medicine. It efficiently performed the same tests and charged me only a fraction of the cost I had to pay earlier: just B 330 instead of the B 1,200.

More importantly, the next day, on my second visit to the same diabetes specialist doctor he confirmed that Sriphat’s results were reliable. He based his advice on these figures.

 

Next, I wrote to the hospital, enclosed the evidence, and requested a refund for its useless test results. Some time later, after complete silence, I dropped in. I first talked to the lady in charge of the laboratory because I wanted to know how her results could be so wrong. She candidly explained that her lab equipment had not been calibrated..… She offered her apologies but that information prompted me to insist on a refund of the amount I had earlier paid for the tests. I left the matter in the hands of the customer relations lady. She must have taken action because later I received an e-mail from the hospital in which it denied responsibility and refused a refund.

 

I can afford B 1,200 but I felt cheated. Obviously, my wife and I never went back. The hospital saved B 1,200 but lost out on a lot of money which we subsequently needed to pay for major medical treatment in the following few years:

= for my wife 3 in-patient stays including 3 operations, including 1 time ICU treatment due to accidents;

=for me 3 in-patient stays including 1 operation;

=for our usual annual health check-ups;

=for the occasional minor medical treatment.

 

A splendid example of penny wise, pound foolish!

 

On a positive note though I found Dr. Choksupan Deevijit (a surgeon) and Dr. Sathit Charuroteskulchai wonderful, highly knowledgeable physicians. The nurses and the supporting staff were also exemplary.

 

Finally, one more note: I used to buy the diabetes medicine which the hospital’s diabetes doctor prescribed from its pharmacy department. That is until one of their pharmacists made a serious error. The doctor proved to me that it was not his fault. Indeed, the lady in charge of the pharmacy department admitted guilt and apologised. That prompted me to start buying the medicine outside. It was then that I found out that the hospital’s price was 6.5 times higher for exactly the same medicine!

Edited February 21, 2017 by peergin
re-formatting

[Thechook]

I actually like the Chiangmai Ram Hospital.  Good service, good doctors and they dont increase prices for farangs.  The new Bangkok Hospital has recently opened.  Another private hospital so could this be a slur campaign against the opposition?

[sandgroper2]

23 hours ago, Shaunduhpostman said:

Your odds of seeing a doctor who is actively trying to wreck your health, or who can't be bothered, or who is a full blown nutcase, or utterly incompetent are about 50/50. Throw in not being able to communicate in Thai let alone English, with 99% of them and anyone would be advised to seek medical help elsewhere such as Malaysia, Taiwan, or Singapore.

Ive had two detached retina  ops and a back operation  in Thailand. Digitum extractum  .

[DieterWiehe]

On 2/21/2017 at 8:48 AM, klauskunkel said:

Ok, I (mis)understand... So, who's counting?

could use needles up to five times for insulin jabs .

on one and the same person i don't see a problem with that.

one does not give himself HIV this one only get from an other person

[blorg]

Needles cost next to nothing, really next to nothing, the idea that a respected private hospital here is reusing them to save money is on the face ludicrous. To save what, 1 baht per injection? If that? I was charged 8B for the last injection I had for the drug they were injecting, needles cost so little they don't even itemise them, it's just rolled into that or the 50B doctor consult / nursing fee. It's NOTHING.

And there seems to have been a very reasonable explanation, confirmed by several diabetics, that it is quite normal to reuse ONE'S OWN injector.

[BwindiBoy]

On ‎21‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 4:25 AM, TravelerEastWest said:

I have seen diabetics in the US use the same needle (their own) or lancet two or three times (after wiping with alcohol).

 

I think the hospital may not have done anything wrong here just as they claim.

 

Amazing how people can jump on others without knowing the facts.

But even in his answer, the doctor contradicts himself, saying the needle was a patient's own so it was OK, but then going on to say it's the hospital's policy to only use a needle once (even if same patient).  One way or another, he's not telling the truth.

[BwindiBoy]

On ‎21‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 4:36 AM, unclesteve18 said:

Dont often reply to forum,  however;  this story hit a personal chord.

Have been going to Rajavej for 14 years and the Dr quoted is my personnal doctor.

Dr Will  (nickname) , is one of the most reputablle doctors I have met. The reason he gave his name ( which is unusual) I beieve is that he wants to defend his facility publically and personally as he is the new director

I would recommend Rajavej highly, and  assure you Dr Will can be taken at his word.

Which word is that then?

 

The one that says, ""It was the diabetic's own personal needle that they had already used at home to inject insulin.""

 

OR

 

when he says, ""...that despite international regulations that hospitals could use needles up to five times for insulin jabs his hospital had a policy of one use only for injections of all kinds.""