Two Days at a Thai Hospital

[MidTMike]

Hospitals in Thailand are much different than they are in the United States. First of all the hospitals here are much cleaner and better organized than they are in the USA. I had some problems with my legs and so I made an appointment to see a doctor at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok. http://www.bumrungrad.com

The main difference between the hospitals in Thailand and the hospitals in America probably comes in the customer service that is presented at the hospitals in Thailand. When you walk into the hospital, you can go to pretty much any doctor that you want to see. You do not have to go to the emergency room in order to see see a physician. You check in at the information desk on the first floor and tell them what is wrong and they will point you in the right direction. You can go for any ailment or issue and not have to pay the high emergency room fees.

For me they sent me to see a cardiologist. The cardiologist was on the 15th floor of the hospital. Once they determine what kind of a doctor I need to see, I went up to the floor and gave my information to the nurse at the front desk. Once she had my information they do a blood pressure test and check your weight and then you are asked to sit back down and wait for the doctor to see you. The wait is never long. Or, I should say, not as long as the wait in USA. Once the doctor sees you he makes a plan of what he wants you to do in order to find the problems. For me this was a Doppler x-ray of my legs, a urine sample, blood work, a chest x-ray and some other odds and ends.

For me every time I would go to a different part of the hospital a nurse would walk with me and direct me to the next reception area in order to check in. Once I finished in that area, another nurse would take me to the next area. And so on and so forth until I got back to my main doctor.

I have had some problems with my legs swelling and my feet swelling since I was in the USA for about 3 to 4 weeks. The doctor in the USA gave me a pharmacy for Lasix for 20 mg. For the last few months I've seen three different doctors in the USA. None of them seem to help at all.

None of them also did any test except for some blood work to check to see if there was a problem with the kidney, liver, or the heart.

This doctor however prescribed for me to see a radiologist and have a Doppler scan of my legs to be sure that there was no blockage of the arteries that was causing the problem. He also had a chest x-ray and several other x-rays done. All of them actually turned out normal and I had no blockage and I had no problems with any of the x-rays.

He prescribed for me 80 mg of Lasix twice per day as opposed to one dosage of 20mg per day. Today was the first day that I've actually seen the size of my legs decrease and the swelling on my ankles decrease. All in all I spent two days at the hospital, I saw a cardiologist, radiologist, a regular doctor, several nurses I had time to test done I was there about six hours each day for two days. The total cost for the two days was right around $1100.

Not only is the cost much less than what is in the US, you also get much better service in a Thai hospital then you would get a hospital in the USA. That said, this hospital is a pay hospital is a for-profit hospital. This is not a typical hospital that many Thai people would go to. This is something that is very expensive for their culture.

The hospitals clientele consists mostly of foreigners. The majority of those foreigners come from the Middle East. The reason for this is many Middle Eastern countries send their citizens to Bangkok in order to be treated at the hospital. They have an agreement with the hospital to wear any of their medical needs the baby is covered by that country.

My Blue Cross Blue Shield policy covers me while I'm overseas but I have to pay out-of-pocket and then get reimbursed from Blue Cross Blue Shield in the USA.

I had a very good friend that did a got stamps from the hospital last year. He received three stents was in the hospital for one week and the cost of the entire surgery including follow up visits and consultations and meds was less than US$10,000.

For me, the doctors appointment with the cardiologist each day was less than US$25. The cost for the radiologist was a bit more rounded to be about US$100. The radiologist actually did the Doppler of my legs and spent the entire hour with me and didn't outsource this to a technician.

The price that I gave you for the cost of the entire two days also included all medicines that they prescribed for me on both days as well as a pair of socks that I that were prescription that would go on my legs. The socks were over 80 USD, which is insane. LOL They cost more than seeing my doctor. I did get a break down of the bill which was fascinating as the costs were so low compared to anything I could get done in the USA.

The biggest problem that I have with the hospital is the area that it is located. The area is not a bad area for violence. However the area is a very bad area for traffic. It took me an hour go from my hotel to the hospital which is less than 5 miles. There is a sky train in Bangkok that is available for anyone to use, however it is not really convenient for this particular hospital.

I have told my sister for many years that if I ever have a major medical problem but I wanted to be in Thailand to be treated. The main reason for this is the friendliness of the people that work in the hospitals, and the cleanliness of the hospitals. Hospitals in Bangkok Thailand in general that expats use really do look and feel more like a hotel that they do a hospital.

My one night that I stayed at a hospital in Thailand had a balcony, a mini bar, and a huge well decorated room. As someone who likes to be treated in a certain way, the hospitals and Thailand certainly do not disappoint.