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This report comprises 4 pages. Hopefully you can benefit by scanning them all.
Page 1 (this page) - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4
While Thailand is at the moment becoming a destination for health treatment and there seems to be a very actively pursued policy of promoting Thai health facilities for medical tourism, we will attempt to describe the flaws of the hospitals and health care provision in Thailand.
[related : Benefits of Thai hospitals | Medical Tourism in Thailand]
(comments are applicable to visitors, tourists and foreigners residing in Thailand ; we have both a medical education, and have been admitted for some ailments in Thai hospitals, so we think our comments have some foundation)
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The 'lobby' of Bumrungrad Hospital, located between Soi 1 and Soi 3 on Sukhumvit Road. |
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Shorthcomings of the health care system in Thailand :
1) There is no established primary health care system
Doctors in Thailand are mostly specialists. So you will not find a good reliable allround physician at the corner of your street for your minor ailments. As a foreigner you will have to visit a general hospital, where you most likely will be examined by a doctor, specialized in one field or another. Since we usually have different possibly small medical problems that might interact, this is not always easy to handle for a medical specialist. For example, it is rather better to go and see a gastroenterologist, rather than to ask your cardiac surgeon about some stomach aches.
The best way to go if your ailment is not quite clear, is to ask a general medicine (internist) evaluation, and take it from there.
We can only report that the Thai health care system relies heavily on specialized medicine. However, we have been informed that
most major hospitals (private and university hospitals) do have family doctors, or even board certified general practioners (GP's). So ask for them, if appropriate.
2) Most Thai doctors working in hospitals do not do so fulltime.
Physicians and surgeons have working schedules in different hospitals, spread over the Bangkok and go from one place to another to do their clinics and perform medical procedures (like surgery). Besides working in hospitals, they are also likely to have a private clinic somewhere. They work altogether long hours, also often in the evening, and spend quite some time travelling by car, we can presume. One can imagine the complications this can create. Suppose you had some surgery done in hospital A, and some problem turns up after surgery. Well, you surgeon might be working in another hospital, or stuck in traffic, trying to solve you problem on the mobile phone, communicating with the nursing staff.
Another result is that you will not see your doctor that often while you stay in the hospital, and he or she will turn up at unusual hours, after doing his clinics (at various places).
Next page : About emergency services and the importance of money for your treatment.
Shortcomings in the Thai health care system : Page 1 (this page) - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4
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