My husband injured his lower back and after 2 days of rest, ice and anti-inflammatories, doesn't seem like the pain is going away. What hospital would you recommend for this kind of injury? How much do you think an ER visit would set us back?
I appreciate the help!
Posted May 3, 2017, 2:54 AM UTC
How much do you think an ER visit would set us back?
I'm going to presume you don't have insurance given you asked that question, if you do the best hospitals in town are Bangkok and Chiang Mai Ram but they cost and arm and a leg.
Take a look at Rajavej which is located opposite the Holiday Inn, it's a decent private hospital with English speaking doctors and they even have a "foreign patient" consultant who comes from Australia who can help you with the paperwork side.
I've been admitted as an inpatient twice, once I had a suspected broken ankle (turned out to be severely sprained), x-ray, consult, cast, crutches and various pain killers and the bill came to 3,000 baht. Second time I had a suspected heart attack (turned out to be a severe bacterial infection causing my heart rate to go through the roof), ambulance, 4 days in hospital, lots of drugs and various consults came to 30,000 baht.
As an outpatient (which might apply to your husband, depends on how bad the injury is whether you get referred to emergency or not) a consult is about 400 baht and I've never spent more than 800 baht in total including medicines.
In terms of appointments, none required, simply turn up and you'll be seen, longest I've ever waited was 30 mins. Be sure to take your husbands passport if you go.
Wow, those were some serious situations! Glad you got the care you needed without breaking the bank.
We don't have insurance, no. But we saw the thread replies a bit too late after we'd gone to Chiang Mai Ram (it was close to where we were). While it was certainly more expensive, wasn't bad at all. 1,500 for an outpatient consult and x-ray. A lot cheaper than it would've been in the US with insurance given our deductibles.
Thanks for the feedback on Rajavej, I'll keep it in mind should anything else happen.
No probs
. 1,500 for an outpatient consult and x-ray. A lot cheaper than it would've been in the US with insurance given our deductibles.
It's not just cheaper than the US it's cheaper than just about every other western country in the world and the service is first class. Happy to hear you got it all sorted.
[deleted]
Thank you. That's generally been my attitude all over the world but after living in the US (even with good insurance!), I think I started to overthink these things a lot more lol
[deleted]
Highly recommend it. Was in Chiang Mai a few weeks ago and my gf had a hook worm in her foot. Went on a Sunday afternoon and it took an hour from in the door to out with medicine. And was only 1300 baht. Better than any hospital I've ever seen in the US. Good luck.
I have to agree. We ended up going there yesterday and came back today to their Physical Therapy center to do a session and it's top notch! The session was 600baht, certainly expensive by Thai standards but it's ~USD$17... I used to pay hundreds back in NYC for similar stuff!
Hope you guys are all good and the husband gets well. We miss chiang mai so much! Have fun and get better. Glad you god good care.
And if you haven't yet, check out Wat Umong while you're there. You won't be disappointed.
In Chiang Mai I've only ever been to Bangkok Hospital which was decent. Will let some of the CM folks chime in if others are better.
It's a bit of a different system than in the US that you walk in and then are referred to the right department depending on the issue at hand. Then you wait for a doctor to be available. If it's a minor issue with some medicine prescribed it shouldn't be more than a couple thousand Baht.
Though the doctor may want to do an X-Ray or whatnot if your husband fell. In general you'll find healthcare costs are much more reasonable in Thailand than back home.
To shorten waiting times (which normally aren't crazily long) you can call ahead to make an appointment.
Compared to most places I've lived in, yes they were! And the wait time was only 5 minutes, I'm definitely impressed. Thanks for sharing.