Popularity of Medical Tourism

[Foreigner]

From today's News.com.au website:

Plastic surgery and medical procedures in Thailand: Why more of us are doing it

Quality medical procedures, esp. in Thailand. And significantly cheaper than costs in Australia.

 

[SamR]

But there are also many stories out there of people who do that and then have to have corrective surgery here to fix the cough ups. I wouldn't do it. The cheapest way is often not the cheapest way in the long run.

In fact, when my management at work want me to do something the el cheapo way and I can foresee problems with it, I liken it to a Bangkok facelift.

 

[astrosly]

Around 2.5 years ago I needed a crown and was quoted $1600+ by the local dentist. I was travelling OS in a few months' time to Europe and had some time to stopover on the way back if I wanted to. I spoke to a few friends about such an option and one female friend of advancing age said that she has got a lot of her dental work recently done in Bangkok and had signficant savings (and a nice holiday) and gave me the details of a dental clinic there. I checked out their website and a few others and then booked an appointment and 4 nights in BKK.

When I arrived the clinic was just like any I had visited in Australia and the staff spoke excellent English. Throughout the assessment, fitting the temp and then the crown I might as well been in a clinic in downtown Ashfield, Sydney: the staff were very professional, the clinic extremely hygenic and I walked out a happy customer with a gold crown and a couple of fillings for ~$600 (it would have been cheaper but I was a "rush" as I was only there for 4 days). Considering it was on my way home from a trip I was already on I found it excellent value and would not hesitate to do it again if I needed more major dental work.

To put some of the value in perspective, the quote from the Aus dentist was for a ceramic crown and I would have paid significantly more for a gold one. I could have got similar for a cheaper price in BKK (about $350) but a gold lasts up to 50 years and the ceramic is only rated up to 10 years and I really did not want to go through that again for decades

Plastic surgery is a different matter though of which I think has major risks no matter where you have it done!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

But there are also many stories out there of people who do that and then have to have corrective surgery here to fix the cough ups. I wouldn't do it. The cheapest way is often not the cheapest way in the long run.

In fact, when my management at work want me to do something the el cheapo way and I can foresee problems with it, I liken it to a Bangkok facelift.

I think it depends on the provider in thailand (or any other country for that matter).

Dental work - i have a friend there who is a dentist and sent my folks there for a bridge - cost $3500 in thailand compared to $13000 they wanted here (4 teeth). Saving of just under $10,000, and completed in 7 days (impression, wait for a week and then fitting. No need for a second visit even as the bridge fitted perfectly first time).

The $3500 was for top-of-the-line fittings and crowns and everything else. The cost for entry level was around $1100.

Now the implants were a different matter. Have heard some horror stories with those, so we had them done here in Australia (the cost saving of Thailand would only have been about $1000 - which is hardly worth it by the time you get a private health insurance rebate and factor in airfares).

For other medical procedures - there is cheap and 'cheap'. If you go to one of the three or four top international hospitals the results are good. Just as good as Australia from what I have read and been told by people I know who have gone there. But going to a cheap 'clinic' for something may well be asking for complications down the track.

There is a lot of research to be done, and recommendations are vital. But that is no different to getting work done in Australia. You can have botched jobs here as well and suing a doctor here is not without difficulty. And even then, you still need the corrective surgery.

 

[TheEmu]

My sister is heading to Thailand for dental work (similar value described by MEL_Traveller) next month.
A good friend of hers has had the same procedures done last year and is extremely happy with the result. The facilities, staff, hygiene and care were all excellent, and the savings more than pay for the airfares and a holiday in Singapore.
The icing on the cake for them is that I have booked the flights for them using LifeMiles: their first international J flights.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Id definitely consider this if I have the need in the future.

 

[wandering_fred]

The emergency medical care available in Bangkok is world class and very reasonably priced. The one time I needed it, the physician handling my "problems" was USA board certified. The dental work I priced (not including the implants) there was roughly what I would have expected top pay in Australia AFTER the insurance rebates. As well, the dental only clinic was definitely in hard sell mode with respect to "additionally recommended" work.

Call me foolish if you wish, but I had the dental implants completed in Colombo. Almost two years later there have been no problems. OTOH I have a friend near Colombo so am not totally at the "mercy" of travel agents and tour planners. The dentist was (and probably still is) wondering where the strange foreigner came from and why he was so persistent.

Oh yes, about two months after I had cataract surgery, I got two sets of tinted eyeglass lenses in Colombo for about $20 each (distance only) at the Eye Hospital. Also not foreigner oriented. The eye exam was very inexpensive ($2-3), though conducted at about the standard when I was a teenager. Even so the result was remarkably close to what the Aussie optometrist came up with a month later.

 

[Foreigner]

On the one occasion when i had to be treated at Bumrungrad Hospital, those US certified docs were spot-on with diagnosis and treatment. And very humble. Within hospital they referred to other specialists when necessary.

 

[Pushka]

Our office was based in 'Specialist' street in Adelaide. We noticed a lot of media activity and 'nasty stuff' left near our gates. Turned out a young girl had died in that clinic a few days after cellulite treatment. Things can go bad anywhere.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

Back in 2001 I went to BKK to do the LASIk surgery. back then it was roughly $8K to do it in Sydney. I was able to get it done in BKK for about $2400

Had the best level of care and was able to have a great 3 week holiday and surgery for about hald the cost of the surgery in Sydney.

 

[Deleted member]

But there are also many stories out there of people who do that and then have to have corrective surgery here to fix the cough ups. I wouldn't do it. The cheapest way is often not the cheapest way in the long run.

In fact, when my management at work want me to do something the el cheapo way and I can foresee problems with it, I liken it to a Bangkok facelift.

El cheapo or lower relative cost.
I agree with you if you are say buying an inferior product. But if the product is comparable , but the price point lower , I don't see a problem.
That said, we export plenty of jobs every day by buying cheap imports over the locally produced item.
It's a bit poor to pick on medical procedures whole putting Aussie farmers out of work to save 10 cents on asparagus.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm wondering about an ( single tooth) implant as well. My dentist is talking about $6k. What would I pay in BKK?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'm wondering about an ( single tooth) implant as well. My dentist is talking about $6k. What would I pay in BKK?

I just went back through my notes to try and find the quote we got for work. Looks like the cost of an implant with crown was between AUD2000 and AUD2799 depending on the quality and maker of the implant (prices as at April 2014, adjusted to already include the depreciation of the AUD). Most of that price is for the implant.

Given the airfare, Bangkok hotel (including time needed for post-op check-ups), potential time off work while sitting around bangkok, and the benefit of having the work done in Australia in case of any complications... the implants themselves worked out to be about more or less the same price/value here or in Bangkok.

Where the big savings come are if you want crown or bridge work. That's fairly 'risk free' (compared to the implants themselves), and dirt cheap, even for top quality.

If you have the x-ray from your dentist, getting a quote from the big hospitals is easy... email the x-ray and they reply in a day or so. The big hospitals are probably about 30% more expensive than a top quality private dental practice (but you need to know the city and where to find them).

Prices for 'corner' dental shops you see all around Bangkok are even cheaper still, but I wouldn't say worth the risk!

 

[amaroo]

It's alway good to see competition enter the medical market. I'm all for it if the need arrives...

Only need to look how the AMA reacted to the recently announced MBS review ... all protected workshops need to be given a shake.

 

[wandering_fred]

My vague recollection of the Bangkok prices from two plus years ago would agree with MEL_traveler. Although based o the price I paid in Colombo, the Bangkok dental groups are making a nice profit on the implants...
To reiterate the process -
1. Review xrays and inspect - at least 6 months after original tooth removal.
2. A day for the implants - a few days to ensure that nothing bad happens.
3. 4 to 6 months (or more later) return and open jaw skin for accessing implants - new temporary top
4. Seven days later - Skin re-healed take gum impressions
5. Seven days later - or as fast as the lab can build the crown/bridge - install the top parts
6. A few days - inspect and adjust if necessary.
The real issues are the two trips and the second one requiring ten to sixteen days.

Happy wandering

Fred

 

[drron]

Always research well.Medical competence isn't the only yardstick.Eg in India MRSA is endemic and VRE is very common.Infections with these can be fatal.