Look, Thailand is the third world. Like it or not, it’s the truth. In more PC parlance, we might say “developing” world. It’s something about the ordination, I’m told. But it doesn’t change the story.
And yet, things work. Among them, healthcare. And by work, I mean it works if you have the money.
In the past month, we’ve had two experiences with Thai healthcare, and both have been positive. The first involved a fairly invasive diagnostic procedure and general anaesthesia (colonoscopy, if you’re real interested). It cost 25 000 baht, about a thousand bucks Canadian.
The colonoscopy was actually kind of an interesting experience (not from the recipients’s point of view, but you understand what I mean). From start to finish, from initial consult to test results to discharge, took exactly six hours. Money up front, of course.
(It all turned out well, by the way, no no stress about that.)
More recently, however, I had a second brush with an emergent healthcare issue. But this time, I could not choose a world famous international hospital (the Bumrungrad) in Bangkok. Instead we had the McCormick Hospital in Chiang Mai. (You can check out this guys’s experience with the same hospital.)
Here I am after checking and just as the drugs are taking hold.
So, what happened… (Warning: possibly TMI forthcoming.)
Waking up on Friday morning, I had a sense that something “wasn’t right”. I had to pee, and when I did, it didn’t feel right. Not painful, just “funny”.
We went on with our day, renting a motorcycle to bring the three of us up to Doi Suthep. We’d been planning on a day-long tour around the countryside, but on the way down, I knew we had to change our plans. So hit the mall for a bit (The Maya, a new one on the Superhighway).
I started feeling worse. After no little amount of angst and worry, I got us home, and our nice guesthouse manager, Mr. Lucky, motorcycled me to the local hospital, two minutes away. This was the McCormick, run by the Church of Christ (not sure if they’re the Mormons or not).
I crawled off the motorcycle and onto a gurney where in my pain induced hysteria pointed to my left side and said “it hurts”. This was 18h00. (It actually, by this time, hurt real bad. Worst pain I’ve felt in my life, at least sine the last time I felt this which was seven years ago. A solid 8/10)
Symptoms were severe internal pain radiating from my left lower abdomen towards the back. Kidneys. Kidney stones was my guess, wrong side for appendix.
After handing up my passport, checking on allergies, and an initial consult with the ER doc, she ordered up pain meds STAT and then blood and urine testing, and an x-ray. But the doc said “first medicine for pain, then tests.” She didn’t seem concerned.
By 18h15, I was medicated with 40mg IV Dynastat (Paracoxib), one of them nifty new COX-2 inhibitors, and feeling just a bit disappointed that I wouldn’t be tasting the sweet sweet taste of milk of poppy for the first time. Too much Game of Thrones.
After tests and x-rays, I was brought to the seating area/waiting room and left to my own devices. At least I wasn’t writhing around in pain like a half hour before, but it was out in the open, and very public. What left to do but sleep, which I did for a couple of hours. I don’t think I snored.
I was awoken by the doctor who let me know that x-rays were clear (did I mention that they didn’t use a lead codpiece on me? Good thing I’ve had my children!), that my kidney function was normal (yea!), but that I had some blood in my urine, diagnostic of kidney stones. I was given an appointment for follow up with the urologist two days later, and I promptly went back to sleep.
I was back in my guesthouse, well medicated and feeling only slightly uncomfortable, by 19h00. The total cost for the evening was:
- Medication (two different kinds of pain meds, NSAIDs) – 1012 baht
- Medical supplies (IV, bandages) – 480 naht
- X-Rays and investigations – 300 baht
- Blood and urine tests – 290 baht
- Nursing Fee – 125 baht
- Outpatient Hospital Fee – 50 baht
- Doctor’s Fee – 170 baht
2 427 baht in total, about 95 bucks Canadian.
And the follow up…
I returned to the hospital today to see the specialist. A nice young guy who spoke enough English for me to understand what was going on. My appointment was for between 13h00 and 13h30.
I arrived early, hoping I might get out early. But nope. Was invited into the inner waiting area at 1315, and as led into the examination room at 13h20.
We went through the test results and imaging, and suggested that I might have passed the offending kidney stone already, but that a bit more diagnostics might be in order. The “gold standard” diagnostic would have been Intravenous Pyelogram, IVP, but it is relatively invasive, so the Doc suggested ultrasound instead.
By 13h30 I am led to the Ultrasound Department, where I am asked “do you have to go pee?”. Why, no, not really. “OK, here, drink”. I was handed two bottles of water and told to knock on that door when my bladder was full.
At 14h00 my bladder is full, and I knock on the door. A head sticks out (the same one as before): “do you have to go pee?” Why yes, yes I do. “OK, come”. A kindly young US operator gets me to lay down, shuck most of clothes and proceeds to US examine me.
The machine is about five or six years old, she tells me (after I ask) and says that it is not the most modern but works just fine, so why spend the money. They are saving for a new mammogram machine instead. Okay.
14h15, and I am back in the urologists exam room and we are going over the results. Both kidneys clear, no stones. No stones in the urethra, nor in the bladder. Looks like I passed the test, so to speak. Haven’t been on pain meds for 24 hours either, so I suspected as much.
14h25 finds me at the cashier, paying
- Medication (top off meds, in case it happens again) – 761 baht
- Nursing Fee – 125 baht
- Outpatient Hospital Fee – 50 baht
- Doctor’s Fee – 170 baht
- Ultrasound – 1200 baht
2316 baht in total, about 92 bucks Canadian.
All’s well that ends well. Under 200 bucks for first class and speedy care. I’m very happy with my experience. Except for the experience itself, of course.
And another thing…
Back home in Calgary, we’re having a debate about public spending. Some small thinking Councillors think it would be a good idea to shave 0.17% of the municipal budget by cutting a a program whereby for every capital work constructed in the city, a small portion goes towards public art.
As I was leaving the hospital, there was this guy, a piano player.
Now, I’m not sure if this fellow is funded publicly or privately, or whether he’s a volunteer. But I’m left with the thought that if Thailand, an Asian developing nation can afford to have a pianist in a public hospital in Chiang Mai, how the hell are we having this discussion back home.
Small minds with small ideas really tick me off. Councillors Demong and Chu, I’m looking at you.