Registering with a hospital in Hua Hin

[Bilbo52]

Hello Folks,

I have heard on the grapevine that foreigners can register at a local hospital. I live close to the Hua Hin hospital (Soi 10) and want to know if I can just go in and register myself as a (prospective) patient, with the aim of making things easier and quicker if I have to go there in the future.

Can I do that and what are the benefits, other than the one I have highlighted above? By the way I do not currently have health insurance, but that is another story and I am researching good options.

Many thanks.

[buksida]

Yes, very easy to do - they put you in the database and give you a little ID card. The only advantage I can see of doing it in advance is that you can skip the step when you are in chronic pain next time you visit!

[barrys]

Yes, very easy to do - they put you in the database and give you a little ID card. The only advantage I can see of doing it in advance is that you can skip the step when you are in chronic pain next time you visit!

Or don't bother with pre-registration and simply go the special foreigners' fast-track office on the ground floor the first time you need treatment.
Simply pay your 200 baht and avoid all the queue!

[Big Boy]

AFAIK they will still need to register you before jumping the queue - at least, that's what I had to do.

[Dannie Boy]

And when you go to register take some ID, either passport or yellow book if you have one.

[barrys]

AFAIK they will still need to register you before jumping the queue - at least, that's what I had to do.

The first time I went there for treatment, the fast-track office sorted that out too!

[JamesWest]

yes on the ground floor main entrance walk forward straight acroos the lobby and on the right side on the corner you will see the "farang person" sign. there is a office on the corner, don't be shy and poke your head in there. almost like VIP service.

when i was there for a health check up with a simple blood test and chest xray. a nice woman escorted me all over the hospital and stayed with me for every step. no air con in the lobby or on any of the floors i was on. the hallways were full of many, many thai people, which is cool. and almost like street vendors inside the open quad areas.

everything was great. good english. had to wait two hours for lab results so i just went to lunch on soi 6.

the dr. spoke english. went over blood test and xray looking for any problems.

of course, compared to Bangkok Hospital it is a little funky. BH is like a nice five star hotel that you are checking into.

[HHTel]

AFAIK they will still need to register you before jumping the queue - at least, that's what I had to do.

True. You get the registration form from the 'fastrack' office and take it to the registration window as everyone else does. The difference is that your registration form is marked 'VIP' and is treated as such.

It's worth noting that this service does not operate on Sat/Sun and will not include members of your family under 15 years. They can only service 'adults'.

[Bilbo52]

Thanks for the good advice, I will pay a visit later today and register (and take my passport along). Thanks again everyone.

[barrys]

It's worth noting that this service does not operate on Sat/Sun and will not include members of your family under 15 years. They can only service 'adults'.

And it only applies to out-patient treatment!

I.e. if you're an in-patient, you have to wait your turn for the OP room, doctor's rounds etc.
This cost me one extra day as an in-patient recently, though the level of treatment and service was otherwise excellent.

[jumusman]

yes on the ground floor main entrance walk forward straight acroos the lobby and on the right side on the corner you will see the "farang person" sign. there is a office on the corner, don't be shy and poke your head in there. almost like VIP service.

when i was there for a health check up with a simple blood test and chest xray. a nice woman escorted me all over the hospital and stayed with me for every step. no air con in the lobby or on any of the floors i was on. the hallways were full of many, many thai people, which is cool. and almost like street vendors inside the open quad areas.

everything was great. good english. had to wait two hours for lab results so i just went to lunch on soi 6.

the dr. spoke english. went over blood test and xray looking for any problems.

of course, compared to Bangkok Hospital it is a little funky. BH is like a nice five star hotel that you are checking into.

Yeah and the price difference between Hua Hin Hospital and Bangkok Hospital is quite a difference too!

[jungle]

Do they do a full health check ( like a MOT) the cost of this in the Bangkok hospital is crazy and it also includes a lot of checks i don't need ?

[JamesWest]

at Hua Hin hospital they give you a list of tests you want performed...

kidney function, blood sugar, white blood cell count, STD, AIDS, hepatitis, bacteria in urine... and many others. Each test has a individual cost, just like a food menu. You just put a check mark by the ones you want. some are very inexpensive. like 300 or 400 baht. I had many of the tests performed and I think the cost was around 2500 baht including a chest xray and doctor consultation. They give you a print out of all your blood values.

I am an American, so from my perspective, 2500 baht is almost free health care. The last time I was in a US hospital emergency room for a kidney stone pain, the cost was 386,000 baht for three hours in the emergency room. No over night stay, no surgery, just some pain killers and some basic tests and one CT scan. And I was treated like dirt. My insurance picked up the cost. My USA health insurance cost $4000 a year for just me and I have no major health issues at all.

In Thailand my insurance is Bupa and costs $2,500 for the Platinum level package.

[dtaai-maai]

and doctor consolation.

I frequently have to console my doctor after she sees my test results.

[JamesWest]

thanks i fixed it... i think...