Irish medical tourism
Just got a mail from an old friend, Caelen, who’s got a new start-up going with an interesting angle. Caelen and his (now-) wife, Barbara, spent a while travelling around Asia around the same time as we did. As I noted back in 2003, one thing he tried out, which I found particularly intriguing at the time, was to have some minor surgery in Bangkok:
This may seem foolish at first, but despite being in the heart of South East Asia, in what is generally thought to be a developing country, the Thai medical system is unbelievably good. Not only is it the medical hub for expatriates throughout the region, but tens of thousands fly here each year to have elective surgery, from laser eye treatments to boob jobs and face lifts. There are lots of reasons why they come to Bangkok but invariably quality of surgery and care comes top of the list. Simply put, medical care in Thailand is amongst the best in the word, available at a fraction of the cost.
The Thai government sees health care as the next logical step in its hospitality industry. As holiday makers in Thailand reach saturation point, growth has to come from other sectors and international healthcare has many of the same requirements as the tourism industry: good flight connections, plentiful accommodation and above all staff that are understanding and friendly. Gleaming hospitals, which could be mistaken for 5 star hotels, not only have rooms with all amenities but also have suites, restaurants, shops and cinemas. Menus from the finest restaurants in town are placed in the best rooms. Going to hospital doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun - this is Bangkok after all. This is a long way from the cold greasy egg served by the kitchen’s ‘Miserable Person of the Year’ award winner we get at home.
Back in 2002, this was pretty unprecedented — of course, nowadays, the concept is a lot more widely practiced, what with healthcare costs rising in the US and waiting lists rising in the UK.
I can vouch that the quality of care in Bangkok was fantastic, by all accounts; fastidiously clean and professional. (I never did it myself, but many people I knew at the time took advantage of the opportunity, rather than risk something flaring up in the less, er, reliable settings of Luang Prabang or Phnom Penh.)
Anyway, turns out Caelen has come up with a new site that is related to this – Reva Health Network. He says, ‘basically, we are a medical tourism search engine where consumers can find and compare hospitals and clinics from around the world. We cover everything although the bulk of our business is currently in dental.’
If you’re looking for some work done, it might be worth taking a look; it’s at revahealthnetwork.com.
Tags: bangkok, dentists, health, healthcare, india, medical-tourism, reva-health-network, surgery, thailand, tourism
Mat Honan said,
June 14, 2007 @ 5:35 pm
My wife and I both received medical care in Bangkok (for Dengue). She was admitted to the hospital, even. We were both extremely happy with the care we received. I was so taken that I went ahead and had a bunch of dental work done that was going to set me back a few grand in the States, but cost only about $100 over there. Again, I was extremely happy with it. Until I had been back a couple of years and my crown came off. And I had to subsequently have all the work re-done.
Still.
It bought me some time and let me get work done that I otherwise couldn’t have afforded and really needed to have done.
Justin said,
June 14, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
hey Mat –
eep! That doesn’t sound so great. (mind you, I think crowns occasionally will come off anyway — it may not be a reflection on Thai dentistry, I hope…)
nishad said,
June 14, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
That’s right, white people. Keep outsourcing everything to us. Soon, we will own your ass and sell you all into slavery and prostitution, HAHAHAHA!
PS. Justin, your damn anti-spam test is case-sensitive. Please fix!!!
droid said,
June 14, 2007 @ 9:05 pm
Good for sick people - but terrible for carbon emissions…
ian said,
June 24, 2007 @ 11:22 pm
Caelen and Barbara are married???
Justin said,
June 24, 2007 @ 11:36 pm
they’re not? I just assumed they were. whoops. ;)
Dan Trenner said,
June 25, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
Hi Justin,
I appreciated what you had to say about medical tourism and Caelen and Barbara’s site looks great. There is another one you should know about. Three Americans living in Mumbai (Bombay) for 20+ years have put together http://www.americasmedicalsolutions.com I used them and LOVED them. Even got to see Mt. Everest on a flight arranged. They actually have an Indian company called America’s Medical Solutions Pvt. Ltd. I personally have been a patient at three different hospitals, Asian Heart Inst., Wockhardt, and one of their dentist and I cannot say enough good about the treatment and the prices. By the way, crowns will definitely come off. I had one fitted from the States and it came off TWICE. Both times I was overseas when it happened. :-/ But having to have an entire job done over sounds a bit much. The dentist I used has the very latest and expensive equipment. I have never had as good a treatment in the states. Another hospital I visited for my mother is Shroff Eye Hospital. She has wet macular degeneration and cataracts. This hospital is at least in my opinion the best one in the world as all of them have been practicing on patients with equipment not yet available to Americans in the States for more than three years. I know Cathy who had her hip resurfaced at Wockhardt who is recently in the news and she has an entirely new life thanks to Wockhardt. Best! Dan
Justin said,
June 26, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
Caelen sent on this press release:
Medical Tourism in Portugal said,
December 3, 2007 @ 3:22 pm
Portugal and Spain are new markets as well.
Richard RothHaas said,
March 27, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
Do you keep stats of how many people fail the moronic anti-spam test? Thanks for the good comments about medical tourism in Thailand. We’d very much like to know where your reader got the dental work that failed and where he got it completely redone. Like one other reader mentioned, it seems unlikely that was warranted so we are actually more interested in learning more about the second dentist than the first. These types of reports help us advise patients about the current best value for money in Thailand. May I also let people know that there are currently about 1,500 people in the world who now believe they made a MISTAKE to get a sex change. So don’t be so sure it’s a good thing that some doctors in Thailand will let you get SRS GRS with no psychiatric approval letters as specified by the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care. One hospital with a very high opinion of itself only delays the sex change a week if you don’t come with psychiatric approval. For the moronic readers: THAT IS NOT A GOOD THING. Believe me, it is no easy matter to turn a guy back into a guy after a doc in Phuket turns him into a girl. And you cannot get that done in Thailand. We only know one professor of urology in Belgrade that can do it well. It costs plenty and can only be done in multiple stages over many months. And for the other moronic readers who think the sex change in Bangkok being advertised for US$1,625 sounds like a great deal. IT IS NOT A GOOD THING. Don’t ask us about it. We won’t help you get it. DON’T do it. Duh.