Ravipas Chaloenchansa,
CFA, CFP®
Thailand
Finance & Retirement
Healthcare in Thailand
starts with knowing
where you would go.
Living here is easier when you have looked, before you need it, at where you would be treated and how it would work.
Before you need care
The place, the people, the process and the bill.
Understanding healthcare in Thailand
Most care is ordinary. It is easier when you already know how the ordinary part works.
This page sets out how healthcare works in practice for someone living in Thailand: where you might be treated, what routine and urgent care involve, how hospitals work with you, and how care is paid for. It is a place to start, not medical advice.
Choosing where to be treated
Start with what
is near you.
Where you would be treated depends on what is within reach of where you live, and on who you would see when you get there.
Worth doing once
Visit the hospital you would use on an ordinary day, before you need it.
The hospital
Which hospitals are within reach, and what kind is each one?
The doctor
Can you see the same doctor each time, and the specialists you may need?
The distance
How long does the journey take on an ordinary day, and at night?
Routine and planned care
Most care is the
ordinary kind.
Check-ups, prescriptions, a specialist now and then, and sometimes treatment you can plan for.
Routine care
- Where would you go for a check-up or a prescription?
- Can you get your regular medicines here?
Planned treatment
- How do you get an estimate before you agree?
- Who coordinates the stay and the follow-up?
Emergency care in Thailand
Decide what you
would do before
you have to.
An emergency is the wrong moment to find out where the nearest hospital is. A few answers, written down, are enough.
- Which hospital would you go to, and how would you get there?
- Who would you call first?
- What would the hospital need from you when you arrive?
Worth writing downIf something happensNearest hospital with an emergency departmentHow you would get thereWho you would call firstInsurer and policy numberSomeone who should be toldThailand Ready
Hospitals, specialists and coordination
What a visit is
actually like.
Every hospital has its own way of working. These are the four moments worth understanding before your first visit.
Before
Booking
Can you book in English, and how far ahead?
On the day
Arriving
What do you need to bring with you?
In the room
Seeing the doctor
Is there someone to interpret if you need it?
After
Afterwards
Who follows up, and where are your records kept?
Before you agree to treatmentAsk for the estimateDoctor’s feesTests and scansMedicinesRoom and nursingOther chargesTotal
Healthcare and health insurance
Where you are treated and how you are covered are separate decisions. They meet when the bill arrives.
Cover is its own subject, with its own hub.
Health insurance hubHealthcare where you live
The care around you
depends on where
you settle.
What is within reach is different in every place, so healthcare belongs in the decision about where to live.
- Which hospitals are within reach of home?
- Which specialists are nearby, and which mean a journey?
- Where is the nearest emergency department?
- What would change if you moved later?
Planning healthcare for later life
Care needs change.
Plan for the change
while it is easy.
The care you use at sixty is not the care you may need at eighty. It is easier to arrange while nothing is urgent.
- Is the care you may need later available where you live?
- Who would help at home, and who would arrange it?
- Would you want to live closer to a hospital?
Our experts
Our experts contribute to Thailand Ready content and guidance within their respective areas of experience and professional background.
Ravipas Chaloenchansa,
Noppakun Sasipibool
Thailand
Insurance
Ravinun Poovatanakul
Thailand
Tax & International Tax
Lattapon Chaloenchansa
Thailand
Visa & Relocation
CFA®, Chartered Financial Analyst®, CIPM®, and GIPS® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ are trademarks owned outside the U.S. by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. Thai Financial Planning Association is the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in Thailand, through agreement with FPSB.
Where to start
Three guides to read next, and the hubs that sit beside this one.
Know where you would go before you need to go.
Start with where you live. We’ll help you work out the rest.