Tchiowa

Had a perfect example of why people come to Bangkok from the US and Europe for medical care.

About 2 years ago I came back to the US from BKK not feeling well. Any thing I ate came out pretty quickly, from various places. (which is all the detail you need) I wasn't near my California home so I went to an emergency room at a hospital in Salt Lake City. Spent about an your. As soon as I mentioned Bangkok they said there was a rash of cases with a water borne parasite. They did a test to verify. Gave me some medication. Within about an hour I was on my way and by the end of the day felt fine.

Total cost for 1 hour and talking to 1 doctor and 2 nurses and medication? $1,400 USD.

Earlier this week I had a bout with kidney stones. No fun. In the middle of the night I gave up trying to "hold out". I went to the emergency room at Bumrungrad at about 1:00 AM. Again, was there for about an hour. I got an injection, a couple of prescriptions for pain. Within an hour I was on my way and by morning felt fine.

Total cost for 1 hour and talking to 1 doctor and 1 nurse? 3,725 THB. Roughly $115 USD. Including medication.

$1,400 vs. $115 for the same amount of time and a satisfactory result. Yeah, I prefer to get my medical care in Thailand.

Transpacificflyer

Hardly medical tourism. I would strongly counsel against many surgical procedures because of three demonstrable factors;
1. The risk of post surgery complications (i.e. infections is higher). The overuse of antibiotics in Thailand is a known fact and the drug resistant infections are more severe.
2. The surgical techniques and equipment are often several years behind that found in North American and EU hospitals. A classic example is cataract surgery. In the better private clinics in North America the surgeon can measure the underside angle needed for the lens. Still can't do this in Thailand. The laser based equipment is the latest, and training is up to date. I believe Thailand lags. Also, the costs are sometimes better in North America. E.g. Cataract surgery is available in Canada as a private service @ $2500- $4000 on average and offers the best of the best if one uses the right clinic.
3. Almost no recourse in Thailand in the event of malpractice. In fact, there is no way of a patient ever knowing if a physician has been disciplined or suspended or sanctioned.
Malpractice happens. The Thai approach is to deny and obfuscate.

There is a reason why Thai hisos seek medical treatment in Singapore, Europe, Australia and the USA.

Dr. HFH

I think that the arguments on both sides of this are valid. For me, if I have a problem, it's Bumrungrad. So far, that's included two broken feet (one current; I'm on crutches), one broken arm and one pretty bad case of food poisoning which resulted in being inpatient for three days. For the first two broken bones, When I got home and went to my orthopedic surgeon, he said that Bumrungrad did exactly what they were supposed to, and did it well. (I'm going home next week to see what the story is with the current broken foot.) I do find that they grossly over medicate, however.

That said, if I need surgery, I'm going home. Same for any very serious illness like cancer. The care may be excellent here; but I know that for that type of problem, I'll feel more comfortable at home.

arlflyer

Always seemed to me like the whole "medical tourism" thing (regardless of country) focused largely on semi-elective, non-time-sensitive procedures where one would go based on the strength of reputation of a given practice that specializes in that area and has a very sound track record. Emergency medicine and major illnesses are, I'd think, a whole other can of worms.

zarkov505

I've been hospitalized in Bumrungrad three times now for "acute gastroenteritis", once for three days, twice for one day each. In all three cases, the final bill was under US$1000. In the US, hospitalization starts at around $5000/day.

I had to hit their ER one other time, treat-and-release. I don't remember the bill, but it wasn't enough to get excited about.

I have had one bad experience with Bumrungrad's billing department. They tried to tell the nurse to keep me in the hospital for another day while they sorted out something on the billing. The nurse refused, saying that all the medical work is DONE and the patient is perfectly willing to hand you his credit card.

Bumrungrad is at least as good as any mainstream US hospital. Their ER is on par with the best I've seen in the US (and you do NOT want to spend enough time in ER to know how to spot a good one).

Some Thais don't like Bumrungrad, as their fees and some of their medication decisions are based on the assumption that the patient is foreign and thus has more money. I had to run a friend in one night, for an acute allergy attack. She refused to let me take her to Bumrungrad, and insisted we go to Police General Hospital instead (a few more blocks away, no big deal). I assume she had some kind of medical insurance, because the final bill was the equivalent of a few dollars US.

Tchiowa

For most people, yes. I wouldn't have major surgery in Thailand. But for routine stuff since I live half the time in Thailand I will always choose that option if it's available to me.

But for some people, if your choice is $50,000 that you don't have for treatment in the US or $5,000 for treatment in Bangkok that you do have, seems the only option.

transpac

"Medical Tourism" is a very popular buzzword here with the TAT, and publicly-traded health-care providers.

There seems to be a few core groups:

people from nearby countries which have poor medical facilities

people in need of inexpensive elective procedures



Transpacificflyer highlights the risks. For run of the mill stuff it's OK here but if it's an emergency procedure maybe best to buy a few amulets on the way to the hospital. If you're outside of Bangkok you might be better off treating yourself?


Some cosmetic surgeries might be OK here, provided you go to a real hospital - not a clinic - as they do so many procedures (breast augmentation, SRS, Rhinoplasty, skin whitening) that they have become relatively proficient.

whackyjacky

I used to go to Bumrumgrad, but I switched to Samitivej in Thonglor. IMO, it's every bit as good and at least 25% cheaper. I got a complete work up last year and it saved me 10,000B over Bum. It's not as easy to get too though. It's not close to BTS. LINK: http://www.samitivejhospitals.com/ho...vej-sukhumvit/

IAN-UK

Just for interest - has the king sought treatment outside Thailand?

transpac

Yes, certainly, that's a matter of the public record.

But more recently, and again this has been discussed openly on sanctioned public reports, all specialists, equipment, medicine(s) have been flown in to Thailand, probably because that is easier and safer than having the Monarch fly out.

arlflyer

To be clear, if you LIVE in the country, I don't consider utilizing that country's medical system to be "medical tourism". It's called...well...living there!

Tchiowa

I've had several of my friends switch to Samitivej in the past couple of years and they are quite satisfied.

BuildingMyBento

He was born in the US (Massachusetts) too...

transpac

Yes, while his parents were studying, as it happens, their respective medical fields, Cambridge City Hospital, NKA Mt. Auburn Hospital. Also believe the parents met for the first time at South Station.

http://www.cambridgeusa.org/listing/...ulyadej-square

https://www.google.com/search?q=KING...w=1920&bih=955

Tchiowa

The example given was to show the massive difference in cost which is what drives medical tourism.