Eating my Words on Bumrungrad

[TotallyOz]

Over a year ago, I took the BF to this hospital and it was a horrible experience. But, recently a friend had a procedure done there and I spent 3 days at the hospital. I was very impressed with the staff, the experience and the doctors.

 

To say I was impressed with the place is an understatement.

[Guest HeyGay]

Believe me your Eat your Words when you get the bill, I was there for a serious ailment the Doctors told me if we can catch this early enough, we can cure you, if not your be dead in 18 months, but it may cost at least $150,000. I booked in they tried every trick in the book to boost my bill with non needed treatments according to my observations and A Consultants Doctor friend of mine, so even though I had BUPA it was getting to the limit and I needed the latest Stem Cell treatment, to make sure this nasty virus did not ever come back, I spoke to the Professor treating me, told him my concerns he said I have a Clinic at Chulalongkork Hospital come there it will be

[Guest]

The whole thing sounds like some kind of scam.

[Guest fountainhall]

I first went there about 12 years ago with a gastric complaint which was quickly diagnosed and treated. I found them to be efficient, fast and generally to provide excellent service.

 

A couple of years later, I visited one of the departments with abdominal discomfort. I explained I had had a roughly similar condition many years earlier which was treated with a 6-week course of medication. I went through an examination and several tests, to be told that it was more likely something else. That was the start of 5 years of recurring discomfort, always in the same area, almost every test in the book including all the camera work known to man, x-rays, allergy tests, CT scan - some of them several times. You name it, I had it and my insurance company thankfully paid for it all.

 

Finally, the doctor said he'd try a new pill - he'd already tried most of the others! It was like a miracle sure. From a couple of days later, I never had that trouble again. When I checked with another doctor (my brother!), I was shocked to learn that the pill is the type commonly used to treat the condition I had thought it was in the first place! I suppose the moral is: always get a second opinion. But for any doctor, however well-meaning, to rule out a previous condition as the cause of a present one, is in my view quite disgraceful. And whilst I am clearly pleased that my abdomen has been subjected to so many tests, I know there is nothing more serious lurking there, that could have been achieved in one major check-up. So Bumrungrad earned very substantial fees for what was essentially a mis-diagnosis.

[bkkguy]

My one personal experience with Bumrungrad was a while ago when I was an in-patient at BNH (Bangkok Nursing Home) intensive care ward. I need a diagnostic procedure that BNH could not do but Bumrungrad had the machine.

 

not being a Bumrungrad patient, access to the machine was limited to "out of hours" so I was dragged from my BNH ICU bed at 5:00 AM and transported to Bumrungrad in their "patient transport van" (lets not glorify this by calling it an ambulance!). I had a very bad reaction to the die injected for the procedure and spent most of the time there throwing up.

 

barely awake and still throwing up I was then wheeled on a gurney to the reception at Bumrungrad and told to stay conscious and get my hand steady enough to convincingly sign a credit card charge slip else I would not be allowed back into the "patient transport van" for transfer back to BNH - BNH had at least previously advised me to keep a credit card clutched in my shaking hand else I would never get out of Bumrungrad!

 

if Bumrungrad can't even arrange to do inter-hospital billing with a hospital like BNH then pity help you if you arrive there as a medical emergency without an Amex Gold Card or a top rate medical insurance policy clearly attached to your unconscious body!

 

while they clearly have some very well trained and qualified doctors, most stories I have heard from ex Bumrungrad patients have usually been about miss-diagnosis, medication problems, over-servicing and overcharging - but then people usually don't comment on good service in a hospital! and BNH is not much better as far as over-servicing goes!

 

bkkguy

[PattayaMale]

My experiences at Bumrungrad are very different. I had 3 stents inserted. I had my rotator cuff repaired when I fell and had 5 pins inserted to repair it.

 

I have had other medical problems that I feel were handled very well and I am very satisfied.

 

Yes insurance covered all my expenses. Compared to the USA fees I feel it was well priced and the nursing services and rooms were very nice

[Guest Thor69]

Bumrungrad is a life saver in many ways if you have been exposed to the way hospitals are run in the United States. In January I had some tests done that would have cost me about $3500 in a US hospital for about $365 at Bumrungrad.

 

My insurance would have covered most of the cost, in the US. I didn't want these tests to show up on the MIB (Medical Insurance Board) as this information is shared by insurance companies, etc.

 

I'm taking a friend to Bumrungrad in March for some surgery. The care be better than hospitals in the US and his recovery time will be spent in nicer quarters.

 

Check Bumrungrad Hospital out when in bangkok. I think as far as hospitals go it is one of the best I have ever used.

[Guest loneranger]

My experiences with Bumrungrad are mixed. While I am very satisfied with my cardiologist, treatment by an ophthalmologist was less satisfactory. She seemed to have very little time to treat me. This may just be a personality problem as in no-bedside-manners. Bumrungrad and Bangkok Hospitals are certainly the most expensive, commonly used, hospitals in Bangkok but they are a steal in comparison to any in the USA.