Medical Vacation in Thailand - Page 4

A Series of Article by Joe Tapp
Medical Services Outside of the US | Medical Vacations Overseas | Medical Vacation in Thailand

What a Real One Looks Like

When we went to Thailand to economically solve our medical needs, one of the things we needed done was to get a good physical. I had to get one as a basis for my cataract surgery discussed elsewhere.

One of the reasons we selected the hospital we did was because they offered a really good health check up program. Actually, they offer several health check-up programs with different degrees of completeness based on your life style. We opted for the Platinum program, the most complete one.

The platinum program consists of 15 line items with 15 sub items.

1. Physical exam: Pretty much all you get in the US!

2. Dental exam: You get a CD with pictures of your teeth. A dentist examines your teeth and you get a list of things to work on

3. Eye exam: by Ophthalmologist Includes drops if needed.

4. Ear, nose, throat exam: Includes a sound proof booth tonal exam if needed.

5. Chest X-ray

6. Ultrasound of upper and lower abdomen

7. MALE -Barium enema They take about 20 2 ft by 2 ft x-rays

8. FEMALE- Pelvic exam and thin prep PAP test

9. FEMALE- Mammography and ultrasound of breast

Laboratory tests
CBC
ESR
Plasma Glucose
Kidney function test Reatinine/BUN
Liver function test SGOT/SGPT/Alkaline Phosphatase Total protein
Lipid profile
Thyroid function test Free T4/TSH
Calcium
Phosphorus
Alpha Fetoprotein
CEA
MALE-PSA
Uric acid
Urinalysis
Stool exam
EKG
MALE Vascular screening

13. Hospital: services and nursing services

14. Written check up report and discussion with doctor

15. Meal (mypersonal favorite)

The last three are not really tests. Services include having an attendant guide you to and from the departments. Each department has a sign the reads:

IF YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR MORE THAN 15 MINUTES SEE A NURSE.

We never waited more than 10 minutes. There was water, juice and often snacks available for patients as we waited.

The meal was actually a voucher for a really good meal in the cafeteria.

The hospital itself was more like a mall than a hospital as we know it in the US. There was no hospital odor. There was no sense that we were interfering with their profits and the staff did not look like they were in a war zone. They took their time, were thorough and professional.

We had two items we had to look into further. We back to the hospital, asked to see the appropriate doctor and were face to face with the Doctor in about 15 minutes. There was no appointment or long wait.

I feel that this exam would have cost about $5000 + in the US and had to have been done in several locations over a long period of time. It is impossible to get an exact figure in the US as our system is so fragmented.

At Bangkok Nursing Home Hospital it was done over a couple of days, mostly due to my being there for cataract surgery. The cost for each of us was $347.22!

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