Medical Tourism and Bumrangrad in Thailand

I am considering nasal surgery (polyp removal, not cosmetic) at Bumrangrad Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. Has anyone used this hospital? Can you give me any feedback?

Bumrangrad is a good hospital. There are also other better options in India if you want. Today technology has matured and you can directly get lot of initial consulting done via telemedicine.

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Rina
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[ Edit: Sorry, no promos please. ]

Visiting Bangkok since the 90's, and living here since 2007, I have had the opportunity to try various hospitals (common out-patient stuff). Since visiting Bumrungrad, about 2 years ago, I use no one else.

Or, you can had on over to India....

Caveat Emptor!!!!!!!

THe medical institutions of Thailand are extremely erratic in the services they offer and there is in many cases absolutely no customer comeback if you experience a problem.

Think very carefully before coming for medical care in Thailand - if you can get it done in your home country, you will be much safer.

I urge you to read this thread on ThaiVisa .....

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Bumrungrad-Hospital-Ordered-Pay-Bt-t324867.html

Read Bumrungraddeath.com. He even accuses the hospital of premeditated murder! Death, especially of one's offspring, is difficult....

I have read good, bad and indifference. My "insights" are based on only my personal experience.

Although I have had different levels of satisfaction at Bumgrungrad, overall, I would rate them as good as any, and far superior to most I have visited. In the States, I had/have good health insurance. My experience isn't based on free clinic visits.

I have friends in medicine and realize that they possess all different levels of skill and vigilance. None of them possess any mystical powers. All have had successes and failures.

And, of course, your mileage can vary......

The web site actually makes an important point for all of us when using healthcare in Thailand – no matter how major or trivial a problem may be – the hospitals will move HEAVEN AND EARTH to avoid any culpability or bad publicity. This is the Thai way and it pervades all aspects of customer service in ALL businesses including Healthcare tourism, shopping etc etc.

The above poster also makes a good point – those involved in health care do NOT have mystical powers – however what is it is really alarming is the lack of even basic knowledge most patients have of all things medical. This leads them to believe blindly in everything a doctor says and when they leave hospital “cured” or whatever, they have a huge feeling of gratitude to the doctors and the hospital, but usually have no idea that the treatment they received may have been second rate or even inappropriate.

INSURANCE – this is very much a double edged sword – whereas it guarantees you'll get treated, the temptation in many hospitals is to offer the most profitable or expensive form of treatment rather than the most economical or appropriate one.

In western countries hospitals make mistakes – serious ones – we read about them all the time – and THAT IS THE POINT – in the west there are effective checks and balances and more often than not blunders and scams are exposed for what they are – in Thailand this is NOT SO!!!!.

there is a culture in Thai hospitals that the Doctor is king. Doctors are arrogant and nurses are poorly trained and treated like scum – Doctors cannot be criticised; to do so would be to risk one's job – Doctors are a law unto themselves, if a mistake is made then the “friends” network and PR cover up is brought into play – everything is done to “make it go away”.

This is not to say that there aren't excellent doctors and nurses (training is another suspect field here), but getting treatment from them isn't guaranteed.....even in the “top” hospitals.

Remember, just because a hospital has leather “Le Corbusier” seats and fish-tanks it doesn't mean it's a good hospital.

[ Edit: Edited on 17-Jan-2010, at 18:32 by wildfk ]

As for TESTS - they are a primary CON used by hospitals in Thailand - quick and cheap they are highly profitable and the vast majority serve little or no purpose ........

read this quote from the site below...."Often, patients seem to fall into two extreme categories: those who get no routine medical care and those who excess medical care including screening tests, even though they do not really 'need' them. Periodic tests and examinations should not become routine or part of a standard 'one-size-fits-all' package. In order to be really effective, they need to be tailored according to a person's age, sex , family history and personal risk factors. Unfortunately, due to the widespread fallacy that the human body is no better than a machine, we have been taught that the body needs 'routine maintenance' which should be performed by a doctor, much as your mechanic tunes up your car periodically. However, medical experts have debunked such an analogy as being a gross oversimplification. They have emphatically stated that screenings and early detection are not a universal panacea to ward off all ills. "

http://www.thebestmedicalcare.com/book/ch25_1.htm

[ Edit: Edited on 17-Jan-2010, at 18:42 by wildfk ]

Hello Lakegirl,

My name is Scott, and I work at Bumrungrad International hospital. I believe on this forum that I am not allowed to post links, so I apologize for not giving you direct access to the right pages. However, you can go to my profile to get a link to our website.

In terms of referrals, on our home page there is a link to testimonials, where you will find many testimonials about our service.

In addition, our hospital services over 1 million patients a year, around 400,000 of which are international patients, a good number of which are from US, Canada and Europe. We were the first hospital in Asia with JCI accreditation, and have been re-accredited twice since then.

If you want to see more on the facilities, room videos, etc., we do have a Facebook page which has more information (and the website has a lot as well, of course).

If you would like additional information about our services, please feel free to PM me.

Best regards,

Scott