siamedic.com bLOG

Medical Hub Thailand in ICU

My colleague found a controversial artikel on the development of the Medical Hub Thailand in today´s Bangkok Post. An economist takes a look at Thailand´s ICU-capacities and finds them very insufficient. But does the articel answer any questions? Questions that are brought up by the author? Well, you can inform yourself by reading Making Thailand a "real" medical hub.

Dr. Tientip will definitely receive some comments on the article. Here is what my colleague has to say:

---

Firstly I would like to say sorry about your friend and I wish her all the best and a speedy recovery.

Now about your story in the Bangkok post.

The hospital business is a business and I heard somewhere that the business of business is business. Therefore they are in it to make money, not to help people, or to break even.

Chulalongkorn and Siriraj are actually better than the private hospitals and they are ran like hospitals and not businesses like Bumrungrad and BGH Group which are ran like a business.

Everyone thinks only about Bumrungrad and Bangkok because they spend thousands of USD$ on marketing, advertising, and their overseas offices. Plus BGH group operates about 18 hospitals across Thailand . You could call them the Starbuck of hospitals. And the fact that you and everyone else mentions them when the term medical tourism or hospitals in Thailand comes up means that they are doing a good job.

But, there are like 400 private hospitals in Thailand.

I believe all of them have three or four different prices ranges, one for Thais and other Asians, one for Arabs about 50-60% more than Thais, one for foreigners who come just for medical treatment about 20-50% more than Thais and then one for expats who live and work in Thailand and some of them are not rich as Thais think they are.

Yes it is true not all farangs are rich. Otherwise why would they look for cheaper medical treatment in a developing country? It's not only about some 60 year old wanting to get a face lift and a boob job. It's patients whose kid is sick and their insurance doesn't cover them and the cost is the US can eat half their pay check every month.

Is this fair? Should airlines charge different prices, what about hotels and restaurants?

Hello Miss where do you come from? America ! Ok your bill will be 50% more than the table next to you with the Thai guest because you are so rich and they are so poor, only the family of the Central development and mall group.

There is an idea maybe the central group can build something else other than a mall or hotel, like maybe a hospital for the real poor Thai people. Or the 50% extra that some private hospitals are charging to the foreigners they can use it to help poor Thais. Although I think bangkok really needs another Mall and a hi so condo.

If you look at the main area Bumrungrad and Bangkok Hospital are located close to the sky train and major condo developments you can not find an apartment for under 20,000THB a month and at the current dollar-Bhat rate this is around 600USD a month and if you want to buy, good luck finding something under 3,000,000THB. Maybe be Thailand needs to ease up on the visa requirements to make it easier for foreigners wanting to live and buy in Thailand . Or maybe build some affordable housing for the Thai people who only make 15,000-30,000 a month. I know most Thais make more like 3,000-8,000 a month. Good lick trying to beat traffic on that salary.

This is why the boats and buses are packed every morning and the traffic is hell because 80% of the Thai people can’t afford to buy a condo close to their place of work.

I’m sorry, but the Thai government doesn’t not really support Thailand as a medical hub if they did they would support the government and university hospitals and they would have statistics on the number of medical tourist for the years 2006 and 2007. If they have it, I can not find it, so please tell me. How much money has the Thai Tourist Authority spent on advertising Thailand as a medical hub?

I see you have a doctorate in Economic, so maybe you should have added some ideas on how to fund these new hospitals and ICUs? Like the one I mention with the Central group.

Here is another idea how about we turn Laos into the medical hub for Thais? The Lao language is very similar to Thai so communication wont be a problem and both land and labor is cheap, plus there are cheap flights there. If you build good hospitals in Laos there would be an increase of flights there. You know what Thailand would also be doing something good for their neighbors who are in dire need for good medical systems including doctors, nurses, and equipment.

The Lao people can charge Thais a little bit more because Thais are so rich. “A friend in need is a friend indeed,” Right?

I almost forgot because of the dollar becoming weaker, the THB becoming stronger, and the rising prices of medical treatment in Thailand a lot of treatments cost are becoming the same as in the west. Than you have to add the cost of the flight, flight time which can be over 24 hours without layovers, hotel, food, time taken off work, etc you find that the savings are very little or none at all. Also sorry to say but the English level of the staff at these so called international hospital is very poor.

Plus there is Singapore with very good medical treatments, and India these are just in Asia . North Americans go south and Western Europeans go to East Europe . Look out Thailand .

---

This one´s English only - Sorry folks!

Personal information

Name (required):

E-Mail:

URL:

Remember your information?

Ja Nein

Comment

Your message (required):

Alle HTML-Tags außer <b> und <i> werden aus Deinem Kommentar entfernt.
URLs oder Mailadressen werden automatisch umgewandelt.