rnoldh
Stylish Dinosaur
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2006
- Messages
- 16,976
- Reaction score
- 3,135
I believe Thailand has more medical tourists than Singapore and Thailand's medical tourism business is growing too.
Again from Wikipedia so consider the source:
"Thailand
Medical tourism has been a growing segment of Thailand's tourism and health-care sectors. In 2005, one Bangkok hospital took in 150,000 treatment seekers from abroad. In 2006, medical tourism was projected to earn the country 36.4 billion baht.[88]
Treatments for medical tourists in Thailand range from cosmetic, organ transplants and orthopaedic treatments to dental and cardiac surgeries. Treatments also include spa, physical and mental therapies. Thailand offers everything from cardiac surgery to organ transplants at a price much lower than the US or Europe. Thai medicine also features a higher, more personalized level of nursing care than westerners are accustomed to receiving in hospitals at home. One patient who received a coronary artery bypass surgery at Bumrungrad International hospital in Bangkok said the operation cost him US$12,000 (8,200 euros), as opposed to the $100,000 (68,000 euros) he estimated the operation would have cost him at home.[89] Bumrungrad treated approximately 55,000 American patients in 2005 alone, a 30% increase from the previous year.[90]
Hospitals in Thailand are a popular destination for other Asians. Bangkok Hospital, which caters to medical tourists, has a Japanese wing, and Phyathai Hospitals Group has interpreters for over 22 languages, besides the English-speaking medical staff. When Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala needed medical care in 2006, he went to Bangkok.[91]
Today many Thai physicians hold US or UK professional certification. One Thai hospital, Bumrungrad International, states that many of its doctors and staff are trained in the UK, Europe and the US. Bumrungrad International was accredited most recently in 2005 by an American group in order to ensure an international standard of medical services.[92] Some of the country's major hospitals also have achieved other accreditations, and some have achieved certification by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 9001:2000 (However, ISO not an accreditation scheme). [93]
The US consular information sheet gives the Thai health care system high marks for quality, particularly facilities in Bangkok, although the World Health Organization ranks the Thai healthcare system at number 47, below the USA's ranking at 37 and the United Kingdom's ranking at 18.[94] The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office web site states "There are excellent international hospitals in Bangkok but they can be expensive".
Serious political problems during late 2008, including mass demonstrations and the complete closure of major airports, have made travel to Thailand less appealing than in the past, and the US State Department web site has expressed concerns about the country."
The complete Wiki article on medical tourism.
Again from Wikipedia so consider the source:
"Thailand
Medical tourism has been a growing segment of Thailand's tourism and health-care sectors. In 2005, one Bangkok hospital took in 150,000 treatment seekers from abroad. In 2006, medical tourism was projected to earn the country 36.4 billion baht.[88]
Treatments for medical tourists in Thailand range from cosmetic, organ transplants and orthopaedic treatments to dental and cardiac surgeries. Treatments also include spa, physical and mental therapies. Thailand offers everything from cardiac surgery to organ transplants at a price much lower than the US or Europe. Thai medicine also features a higher, more personalized level of nursing care than westerners are accustomed to receiving in hospitals at home. One patient who received a coronary artery bypass surgery at Bumrungrad International hospital in Bangkok said the operation cost him US$12,000 (8,200 euros), as opposed to the $100,000 (68,000 euros) he estimated the operation would have cost him at home.[89] Bumrungrad treated approximately 55,000 American patients in 2005 alone, a 30% increase from the previous year.[90]
Hospitals in Thailand are a popular destination for other Asians. Bangkok Hospital, which caters to medical tourists, has a Japanese wing, and Phyathai Hospitals Group has interpreters for over 22 languages, besides the English-speaking medical staff. When Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala needed medical care in 2006, he went to Bangkok.[91]
Today many Thai physicians hold US or UK professional certification. One Thai hospital, Bumrungrad International, states that many of its doctors and staff are trained in the UK, Europe and the US. Bumrungrad International was accredited most recently in 2005 by an American group in order to ensure an international standard of medical services.[92] Some of the country's major hospitals also have achieved other accreditations, and some have achieved certification by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 9001:2000 (However, ISO not an accreditation scheme). [93]
The US consular information sheet gives the Thai health care system high marks for quality, particularly facilities in Bangkok, although the World Health Organization ranks the Thai healthcare system at number 47, below the USA's ranking at 37 and the United Kingdom's ranking at 18.[94] The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office web site states "There are excellent international hospitals in Bangkok but they can be expensive".
Serious political problems during late 2008, including mass demonstrations and the complete closure of major airports, have made travel to Thailand less appealing than in the past, and the US State Department web site has expressed concerns about the country."
The complete Wiki article on medical tourism.
