A Short Guide to Medical Tourism in Thailand

Every man is the builder of a temple called his body. (Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862).

That quote is obviously from pre-PC days! But whether man or woman, are you thinking of improving on the original version of your body? Or perhaps you ‘want to go private’ for some medical treatment or surgery, but just cannot afford it at home.   Do you want laser eye surgery? Dental implants? Some form of body sculpting? Stomach banding? Do you need some form of specialised surgery, such as gender reassignment, that would not be considered on your health service or insurance?

Have you considered coming to Thailand?

Thailand is a leading destination for medical tourism with approximately 400 hospitals throughout the country offering procedures. Not only does Thailand have the largest private hospital in Asia, but one of its centres was the first to receive the ISO 9001 certification in Asia, and currently 14 hospitals are listed as accredited (for various programmes) with the JCI. (Joint Commission International: which sets standards to improve patient care.)

You can learn about the JCI at www.jointcommissioninternational.org/about-jci/ and if you go to ‘Find Accredited Organization’ at the top of the page, you can search Thailand for a list of hospitals. It will show in which programme they are accredited, and you may wish to contact the hospital to check that their accreditation covers things that you want it to cover.

Procedures vary in cost from a tenth of the US rate, to at tops about 80%, and of course final rates may well depend on your own personal health history, once your chosen physician has taken all the details he/she needs.

Of course, by having to travel to your hospital destination you have to take into account your fares and some recuperation stay after you come out of hospital, but even so, you may be pleasantly surprised by how much you will actually save by travelling to Thailand for your treatment – and having a short holiday afterwards!

www.health-tourism.com/thailand-hospitals/ gives you information on all the hospitals in Thailand which cater for medical tourists, what procedures they offer, and whether they are JCI or ISO accredited.

The Bangkok Hospital Samui on the island has ISO certification, and if this hospital is your treatment choice finalist, and you want some pampering and relaxation after your procedure, check out our Koh Samui Villas.  We will help you recover by making your stay totally stress-free and relaxed.

BUT – be sure to -
• CHECK each hospital’s accreditations carefully before making a decision
• CHECK that the hospital and its consultants are fully cognisant of what you want to happen while you are there
• INFORM your own GP or consultant what you are considering doing well before you actually book anything: he/she may be able to help you.

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