Thailand Medical Tourism

Medical tourism is 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.

Thailand offers everything from cardiac surgery to organ transplants at a price much lower than the US or Europe, in a safe, clean environment. 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.

Hospitals in Thailand are a popular destination for other Asians. Another hospital that caters to medical tourists, Bangkok Hospital, 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.

 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 in order to ensure an international standard of medical services. The modern Thai medical system shares in an Anglo-U.S. inheritance, as Prince Mahidol of Songla, the King's father, earned his MD degree from Harvard Medical School in the early 20th century. Prince Mahidol and another member of the Thai Royal Family paid for an American medical education for a group of Thai men and women. Prince Mahidol also convinced the Rockefeller Foundation to provide scholarships for Thai citizens to study medicine and nursing. Funds from the Rockefeller Foundation were also used to help build modern medical training facilities in Thailand. The men and women who studied medicine and nursing as a result of Prince Mahidol's efforts became the first educators for the modern Thai medical system.

Today many Thai physicians hold US or UK professional certification. Several Thai hospitals have relationships with educational facilities in the US and UK (for example, Sheffield Hallam University has links with Bangkok). 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, which is below the USA's ranking at 37 and the United Kingdom's ranking at 18. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office web site states "There are excellent international hospitals in Bangkok but they can be expensive".

While a very small percentage of Thai are internationally accredited, there are a growing number of hospitals with Joint Commission accreditation. Again, international hospital accreditation may be one way for hospitals to demonstrate their worth, and increasingly Thai hospitals competing for business in this sector may need to expand their international accreditation, including looking towards other international healthcare accreditation schemes sourced outwith of the US, to augment their appeal if they are to remain competitive.

Thailand is considered by many to be the global leader for medical tourism Thousands of Americans and Europeans have been traveling to Thailand for decades seeking affordable world-class medical treatment, for both elective and non-elective procedures. Thailand also has a very large expatriate community from American and Europe that receive medical care from hundreds of private hospitals throughout the country. In addition to having a highly advanced healthcare system, with state-of-the-art equipment, first-class modern facilities, and an abundance of doctors with advanced medical degrees and board certifications from the US and Europe, Thailand is also world-renowned as a top tourist destination. Thailand is also well known for the generous hospitality of its service minded population, which is why the country is often referred to as “The Land of Smiles.”

Thailand medical tourism  is growing rapidly and as such more people are travelling abroad as an alternative to having surgical procedures done in their home countries. Thailand hospitals in general are among the best hospitals in the world with world class facilities and highly credentialed experienced surgeons.

See also: