reader Posted November 5 Posted November 5 From The Thaiger High blood pressure has muscled its way to the top of the health pile, becoming the most common condition treated under Thailand’s universal healthcare services in 2023. That’s the latest from the National Health Security Office(NHSO), which has revealed the nation’s pulse. NHSO’s top doc, Jadet Thammathataree, spilt the beans on an eye-watering 99.7 billion baht budget allocated for the fiscal year 2023, set aside to care for the 47.727 million Thais who qualify for the gold card scheme. That adds up to a tidy sum of 3,385.98 baht per person. Breaking it down, 1,344.40 baht went to outpatient services, with inpatient care costing 1,477.01 baht per head. The gold card scheme, affectionately dubbed the gold card service, was a hive of activity with a whopping 170.39 million outpatient visits in 2023. That’s a sharp rise to 3.63 visits per person per year, up from just 2.45 when the scheme kick-started in ’03! The outpatient top 10 is a who’s who of health woes: high blood pressure, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, lipoprotein metabolism issues, flu, chronic renal failure, soft tissue bothers, tooth decay, indigestion, muscle niggles, gingivitis and periodontitis took the spotlight. Breaking it down, 1,344.40 baht went to outpatient services, with inpatient care costing 1,477.01 baht per head. The gold card scheme, affectionately dubbed the gold card service, was a hive of activity with a whopping 170.39 million outpatient visits in 2023. That’s a sharp rise to 3.63 visits per person per year, up from just 2.45 when the scheme kick-started in ’03! https://thethaiger.com/news/national/high-blood-pressure-tops-thailands-universal-healthcare-cases-in-2023 Quote
