Major Bangkok hospital as scene from Chao Praya River

Photo by Chou Wen Cheng on tour in 2008

       A complete list of all the hospitals in Thailand would number in the hundreds.  There are public hospitals and more than 400 private hospitals throughout the Kingdom.  Of course the largest and by far the best known are the outstanding hospitals in Bangkok and other urban centers. The large number of Thai  medical professionals are trained in the United States and Europe.  In the major hospitals, many speak excellent English and language is not really a major problem when it comes to health care.  It is estimated that some hospitals treat over 400,000 medical tourist to Thailand each year.  Of course, there are very few hospitals in this category but medical tourism has become a very big business in Thailand.  The medical tourists come to Thailand from almost every nation in the world, but the majority are from, Japan, the Middle East, United States, China, United Kingdom, Western Europe and Australia. 
     There are many factors as to the booming medical tourism trade.  The quality of the treatment and advanced training of the medical staff, newer techniques and equipment are all factors.  Given the state of the art, treatment and the low cost when compared to other countries it is not surprising that more and more people are going to Thailand on medical vacations.  A whole new industry has developed to provide apartments and out patient recovery services for people who have had major surgery.  While cosmetic surgery is certainly high on the list for many medical tourists, cardiac procedures, orthopedic surgery, dental procedures and medical check-up programs are very common.  
      One problem with the medical staff in Thailand is that Thai doctors tend to be specialists rather than general practitioners.  Finding a doctor for a very specialized area of medicine is really pretty easy, and the fact that they are well trained and have the best of facilities to practice in is very reassuring.  A person with several different ailments or several very common minor problems might have a slightly harder time to find one doctor who could treat all their symptoms. However, finding an internist or general practitioner for a problem while visiting the country is usually not really a problem. A good thing about going to a Polyclinic, is that most test results are done very quickly and the hours of operation usually include evening hours. Prescriptions can be obtained from a local pharmacy which are readily available in all corners of the Kingdom. I have found those Pharmacies that display the green cross to be the most reliable and, once again, they usually  have trained professionals who speak English. 
      Two slightly dated but very interesting United Nations reports on the health care system in Thailand are Thailand: Universal health care coverage through pluralistic approaches published by the International Labour Organization and Country Health System Profile: Thailand published by the World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia.
  

                        Construction for expansion of the same hospital two years later
Photo taken by Lee Porter on tour in 2010

      Communications in Thailand have played an important part in the recent history and the development of the current political situation in the Kingdom.  The communication networks of Thailand were deregulated and privatized a number of years ago.  The Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) is now the TOT Public Company Limited and the Communications  Authority of Thailand (CAT) is now the CAT Public Company Limited.  A number of private companies vie for the mobile phone business which is very extensive in Thailand.    
      Telephone service is provided to most places in the Kingdom, although the quality and type of service is not universal.  Landlines are not as common as in the western world and in some of the more remote areas, satellite phones are used rather than mobile phones.  However mobile phones are very common and one will find mobile phones with all the latest and greatest features available.   Thailand mobile phones are on the GSM (Global System for Mobiles) and buying a SIM card is as easy as going to the closest 7 To 11 store. The only problem is deciding which chip to buy as there are several major service providers.  Once your phone is SIM enabled, you can add minutes by purchasing prepayed phone cards.  Also, because so many people now have their own cell phones, finding a public telephone is sometimes difficult.
       Some public phones do not accept change but work only with prepaid cards. To buy a prepaid card you must know what color of telephone you are going to use.  Different colored phones are for different purposes, ie. local, or international, and one providers prepaid card will not work in another providers phone.  Blue public phones are used for local calls and many if not all accept coins instead of prepaid cards. Red phones are also used only for local calls.  Yellow phones are owned by TOT and can be used for both local and international calls. You must have a prepaid card to use them and each phone is marked as local or international.  Green phones are also for international use but only work with certain prepaid cards. To add a little more mayhem to an already frustrating situation, most public phones are placed on very busy streets where the noise of traffic make it almost impossible to hear.   
     International calls can be made from the vast majority of hotels.  Many times there will be a hefty surcharge involved in these calls. Trying to figure out the ins and outs of the public telephones can be a nightmare and many people are happy to pay up to 50% more to use the phone in their room.  Many international calls require an access code before you dial the the country code and the subscriber number.  This access code determines the carrier that will be used and each carrier has different rates and service quality.  
     While most people do make and receive calls without difficulty, the possibility of having a slight problem is always present.  Always remember the Thai sayings that was in a previous newsletter : Jai yen yen.