Sukumvit Hospital : Review, Package Deals

Health Care at Sukumvit Hospital

First of all : Sukumvit Hospital writes its name as you now see it. Written the usual way, the name of the hospital should be Sukhumvit Hospital. We will keep on using the alternate writing throughout this page.

Now : Sukumvit Hospital came only late to our attention. Having spent many years in Bangkok, we never manage to either visit or be a patient at this facility. Never too late, and now with the advantage that the comments regarding this health facility now warrant a separate page.

Sukumvit Hospital is about 100 meters away from main Sukhumvit Road, and about 250 meters from the Ekamai BTS skytrain station

Sukumvit Hospital offers a few benefits :

1) It caters to local and foreign clients (as the famous internationally oriented hospitals in Bangkok). However, while offering a pleasant, modern looking environment, it does not offer the luxury facilities (that you also pay for) some hospital do. We rather guestimate (own effort) that overall prices for procedures and rooms should be about 20-30 % cheaper than at Bangkok General Hospital or Bumrungrad Hospital.

2) The hospital is located close to a BTS (skytrain) station. Other hospitals around town seem to require access by car, that is they are often located off the main roads.

3) Sukumvit Hospital seems to offer a variety of well composed check up programs at reasonable rates.

4) The prices of some of its procedures are clearly advertised in leaflets, and on advertising video panels on the entrance floor of the hospital, something that can not be said for all health facilities around Bangkok. Actually, hospitals seem to rather prefer secrecy about the pricing of their services.

5) Staff around reception, seem to be helpful and able to answer some questions about services on offer.

6) The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) (together with 65 Thai hospitals as off June 2019, which must say something about the level of medical care in the country)

Sukumvit Hospital offers a wide variety of Health Screening Programs, mostly at reasonable prices.

Check Up Programs

Sukumvit Hospital offers a variety of check-up programs, and we will try to comment on the essential components of these screening programs)

The most sought after are likely the various Annual Health Check Up Programs. We have been talking to lots of (mostly) older persons, who have the habit of regularly undergoing health check-ups and they may start looking at Sukumvit Hospital for this purpose. Whether it is wise to undergo batteries of tests quite often, is an enterily different matter, but once you have decided to do so, here are the possibilities :

The Silver Program offers basic blood work : CBC, Fasting blood sugar, lipid profile (including HDL-cholesterol), kidney function tests (BUN, creatinine), liver function tests (SGPT and SGOT), and urinalyis. In addition, you get a physical examination, a chest X-ray, an Eye screening exam, and an electrocardiogram (ECG). Altogether, this will set you back just 3,200 baht, which is without doubt a very good deal for what you get.

The Silver Plus Program also gives you the same as above with additionj of a Dental Exam, an Eye Exam by an Opthalmologist, Uric acid, Alkaline Phosphatase. You also get hepatitis B screening, and most importantly an Ultrasound Whole Abdomen, which we think can be a useful screening tool for various ailments. Total costs : 7,490 baht, again a good deal.

The Gold Program is different between males and females. It includes all the tests from the Silver Plus Program. In addition you get a HbA1c blood test, useful for evaluation for possible diabetes or follow-up of it. The is PSA determination for men (you should not have had sex the previous 48 hours, they may not tell you that in the hospital), which has 'some' use in prostate screening, the jury is still out on this one. For females there is a ThinPrep Pap Test scheduled. Prices are 9,490 baht for men, 9,990 baht for women).

With the Platinum Program prices go up substantially. Again divided in additional tests for women and men. There are additional tests for liver function, and more blood tests for cancer screening (CEA, AFP) for both sexes. Both sexes can choose between and Exercise Stress Echo (for checking coronary artery disease), or a Echocardiogram (better at checking anatomical anomalies, such as valve disorders). Also lung function is evaluated with a spirometry test. Females get the following additional tests : Digital Mammogram, clinical evaluation by breast specialist, bone density evaluation).
Now the most interesting test mentioned in this program is the Calcium Score test (done we presume with a fast CT). This is the first time we see this test mentioned among screening health check-ups in Thailand, and overall this is a good idea by Sukumvit Hospital. The test has better prognostic value than other tests if selected wisely (not much use to do this test when chances of having heart disease are low, or when they are high ; that is, in both instances the Calcium Score will not likely give you additional information, only a serious amount of not-warranted radiation).
Prices for Platinum Program are 19,900 baht for men ; 22,900 baht for women. We think good value for what you get, and when we visited the hospital last quarter of 2019 there was a further discount on this program.

The most expensive and elaborate Program is the Diamond Program. We are talking serious money here with prices at 42,900 baht for men and 45,900 baht for women. On top of those mentioned above, tests include : Carotid Doppler, an additional cancer screening blood test (CA19-9, for digestive tract), and most significant a Colonoscopy. On a separate leaflet we found the price for a colonoscopy mentioned at 18,500 baht, so the presence of this test explains most of the total price of the Diamond Program. Also here we have to mention that this is the first time we noticed a Colonoscopy mentioned within a 'standard' screening program.

Among all the test mentioned above, maybe the one missing is a stool examination for occult blood. Likely this test is considered too much trouble for both the hospital and the screened person.

Prices mentioned include doctor's fees and nurse's fee.

Ambulance (24 hours CCU), waiting and ready to go, at Sukumvit Hospital. Now, if the traffic is allowing for rapid deployment.