Recommended Pharmacies in Bangkok
Our present preferred pharmacy is located in the Silom Area. It is called PMK Pharmacy (formerly S.C. Drugstore) and is located on Rama IV road. If coming from Silom Road, turn left along Rama IV. The pharmacy is located just past the giant Crown Plaza Bangkok Lumpini Park Hotel. The store end 2023 was completely renovated and changed its name. They also sell medical equipment like wheelchairs. It seems like a pharmacy with a lot of clientele and staff, that has been operating for many years. Most medication is sold at often substantially lower prices than at other pharmacies. It operates with a service arrangement that seems common in the more busy pharmacies. On one counter, you order, on a second counter, you pay for your order, and you collect on the third counter. Interestingly, just a few meters further along Rama IV there are at least another three pharmacies. So if you do not find what you are looking for at PMK Pharmacy you may try your luck at one of the other pharmacies. In an way they are all opposite Chulalongkorn Hospital, on the other side of Rama IV.
PMK Pharmacy on Rama IV road, opposite Chulalongkorn Hospital
In the same area, connected to the Sam Yan BTS station (climb the stairs to the right), on the ground level of Chamchuri Square, is another also modern pharmacy we can recommend. Pharmax pharmacy is part of a small chain of pharmacies in Bangkok. There are a number of mostly young pharmacists, and you can walk around the pharmacy to find over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, skin products etc. The prices are cheaper than at most places. One additional benefit is that one can become a 'member' through the Line app (they will help you with your application, which is in Thai language), which will get you another 5 % discount on purchases. The pharmacy will send you thereafter monthly promotions via the same Line app.
On Sukhumvit Road, we for a long time have favoured South East Pharmacy, which is located about equidistant from the Nana Intersection and Asoke road. The pharmacy has been renovated a few years ago, and the staff working there seems to be always changing. It used to be also very competitive pricewise, but lately (the last few years) prices have been creeping up to the same level as their competitors.
In any case, we would advice against using any of the smaller pharmacies that are scattered close to Nana intersection (Nana Plaza) or Soi Cowboy. Quite a few seem to exist just to sell 'stimulants' to the nightlife crowd, and at inflated prices.
Pharmax pharmacy at ground level Chamchuri Square Bangkok
Boots' and Watsons' often have a pharmacist on duty, likely to be more knowledgeable than most pharmacy operators, but prices for medication tend to be high. Estimate to pay at least 50 % more than at a run-of-the-mill pharmacy.
Interesting 'alternative' pharmacies to visit, are those run by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO). There are some branches in hard to locate places. The most suitable to visit is the branch located in the basement at the Immigration offices on Chaeng Wattana Road.
In central Bangkok there is also a branch located close to Victory Monument. If coming from the BTS station, follow the exit to where all the hospitals and health facilities are located (Ratchawithi road). Walk on the left side of the road, and look for a doorsign saying GPO (can be missed). We estimate it is about 400-500 meters from Victory Monument. You can spend a few minutes inside browsing around what is on offer. Common drugs can also be bought here, likely cheaper than anywhere else. Ex. paracetamol 38 baht for 100 tablets of 500 mg ; vitamin C 500 mg, 100 tablets for 125 baht, etc; Centrum brand multivitamins here are a few hundred baht less than in most pharmacies.
GPO sells a variety of Thai and internationally known herb capsules like cinnamon, turmeric, Ginkgo Biloba, moringa, Bocopa Monnieri and many others we do not have a clue about. Often the herbs are manufactured under the GPO brand, so likely the production is reliable. You can also find very good cheap plasters.
Sports Supplements and 'esoteric' other Supplements
When looking for things cheap, be aware that this does not apply to sports supplements (carnitine, creatine), though you can find some not expensive local protein whey powders. Supplements like resveratrol, coenzyme Q, lutein, ginseng, DHEA etc. can be much cheaper when ordered and imported from abroad. One local supplement you can find at very cheap prices is 'Moringa' in powder or capsule form. You may want to read a bit online about this herb, it seems to have quite interesting benefits. There likely is a wide selection of online pharmacies in the U.S.A. that can provide supplements to Thailand. Lately we have been ordering with iHerb.com which lists products from multiple producers and they seem very reliable. Most products will arrive after about 2 weeks.
There is one caveat with ordering supplements online. When the order exceeds 1,500 Thai Baht, you are liable to pay import taxes, which will add a few hundred baht more to the cost, and you will have to make time to pick up the package at a post office, which may not be nearby. For maybe years, this hardly ever happened, and packages arrived without any added costs. Since 2023, taxes are more likely to be collected.
Street Pharmacies vs. Hospital Pharmacies
The way drugs are prescribed and obtained certainly is somewhat questionable in Bangkok and Thailand. The problem can be summarized as follows. When in need of medical treatment, it basically can only be obtained in hospitals.
When going to the hospital one usually gets medication prescribed. You can get your medication at the hospital pharmacy. Drugs obtained at major hospitals are more expensive. (more about this topic)
So the many pharmacies outside the hospitals do not see any patients coming to them with prescriptions. So how are they to survive? Well, they can distribute medication, as freely as they are allowed or feel comfortable with, to anyone who comes in and asks for it.
The way to reform the system would be to allow the physicians at major hospitals to prescribe drugs, that can either be obtained at the local hospital pharmacy or outside the hospital. Since this would have the effect of lowering overall prices for drugs, it would reduce medical expenditure in general (for both patients and insurance companies). Of course, hospitals would loose part of their income.
Another interesting issue is the use of generic drugs. These actually are widely available at outside pharmacies at a fraction of the cost of 'brand name' drugs. When going to a hospital however, you invariably will be provided with the expensive variety. We do recall however one day getting some cheap generic paracetamol at a reputable hospital. Just maybe one day, hospital pharmacies could put their heads together and make a list of reliable generic drugs available in Thailand (many actually produced locally) and start using them and having them prescribed by their physicians.
There is occasional talk about 'fake' medicine. We think this is largely overblown, and that medication not obtained in some obscure off the road pharmacy in the middle of nowhere, is reliable. The same of course can not be said about drugs peddled on the street. There seem to be close to 10 stalls offering Viagra and Cialis on Sukhumvit Road, with the drugs displayed in the plain heat of the hot Bangkok sun. Not sure if we would trust that.
During 2019 and 2020 there were repeated reports in the Bangkok Post, that private hospitals would be required to list the prices of the procedures they perform, and the prices of most standard drugs their physicians prescribe. The hospitals would also be categorized by some coded colors, indicating how cheap or expensive they are. However, as fast as these comments are first published, they also disappear from view, so as of 2023 nothing much has come out of it, with a small selection of hospitals at present listing the prices of some standard procedures.