Medical emergencies - Is it still necessary to go to Bangkok?

[logos]

Post of the month, if not of the year, for its relevance to most of us, thanks SM.

[Barang_doa_slae]

I have undergone 3 surgeries here.
2011 a gastrointestinal related one at Sensok hospital also performed by an older khmer from france with a lot of experience there (Dr You Vath)
2015 and one week ago, 2 articulation bones related ones at CT clinic in SHV with a khmer educated in France but praticing since the 90s in Kampot (Dr phaan)

The rooms from khema are way nicer. Pricing is equivalent.
Surgeries quality were good for the first two, time will tell for the last one but so far so good.
In any case if you have one it helps a lot to have your khmer family around you, so if given the choice I prefer local solutions.

Edit: very much agree with kachang. I was always able to run a background check on the surgeons before committing to it.
Same regarding Aurore clinic. For my 2011 hernia, I was sent to aurore for an echo by the french long term doctor from sos (whose name escapes me atm). Everyone agreed that I had to go under the scalpel asap.

[Khmerhamster]

Do any of these clinics have addresses?

No. None of them have physical locations.
They all exist in the hypothetical.

[salvajeuno]

And we'll never know unless more people post their experiences.
Along with medical insurance, it's as if some people don't want to let others know. It seems odd. Maybe it's all on Facebook somewhere.

Self insured.

[Edwardo]

Just curious, what would happen if a poor local showed up at that hospital with those same symptoms? Are they sent to a different hospital or clinic where they get subsidized health care?

[Abou-Gor]

And we'll never know unless more people post their experiences.
Along with medical insurance, it's as if some people don't want to let others know. It seems odd. Maybe it's all on Facebook somewhere.

Self insured.

What do you think about the $3000 dollar bit then?

by Edwardo » Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:24 pm

Just curious, what would happen if a poor local showed up at that hospital with those same symptoms? Are they sent to a different hospital or clinic where they get subsidized health care?

For serious stuff I think some of the poorer people go to Russian hospital. Very good rates comparatively, and as per a recent article in the PPP, they have some decent doctors there. Not sure about the equipment, The doctor's offices looked a bit shabby and unorganized. But I think they are not too bad.

I would imagine the kids go to Khanta Bopha.

[PenhMan]

A great report from Starkmonster and followup reports by others on SOS, Sen Sok and Royal PP. Gives one a little more confidence. It's the key issue that has given me pause for returning to PP. Every country in the world, of course, has its failures in medical treatment but this report helps to bring Cambodia up a few notches into the, well, normal range.

[salvajeuno]

And we'll never know unless more people post their experiences.
Along with medical insurance, it's as if some people don't want to let others know. It seems odd. Maybe it's all on Facebook somewhere.

Self insured.

What do you think about the $3000 dollar bit then?

$3,000.00 is not chicken feed to me but I would gladly pay it if I needed it. A burst appendix can be very serious.

[logos]

Abou gor probably thinks that any medical bill over $30 should be illegal , at least for teflers. He has been trying to raise consciousness and to generate collective anger at shameful, profit-driven, exploitative private practices.

[salvajeuno]

Abou gor probably thinks that any medical bill over $30 should be illegal , at least for teflers. He has been trying to raise consciousness and to generate collective anger at shameful, profit-driven, exploitative private practices.

I suppose it's all relative depending on the amount of insurance coverage and/or money you have. My Internist in Tamil Nadu charged me $1.08 per office consult. My general practice MD in Mexico charged me $3.00 per consult. My current family practice MD in the States charges my insurance company $209.00 for an office consult. I was happy to self insure and pay cash for medical care in India, Mexico, Thailand, and Cambodia. Not so in the States.

[starkmonster]

Useful post. Can I ask if you were covered by medical insurance? If so, what company and what sort of annual premium do you pay?

No, I paid myself.

[Abou-Gor]

Abou gor probably thinks that any medical bill over $30 should be illegal , at least for teflers. He has been trying to raise consciousness and to generate collective anger at shameful, profit-driven, exploitative private practices.

I suppose it's all relative depending on the amount of insurance coverage and/or money you have. My Internist in Tamil Nadu charged me $1.08 per office consult. My general practice MD in Mexico charged me $3.00 per consult. My current family practice MD in the States charges my insurance company $209.00 for an office consult. I was happy to self insure and pay cash for medical care in India, Mexico, Thailand, and Cambodia. Not so in the States.

Yes, I agree that coverage in somewhere like Vietnam is affordable from one's own pocket (also insurance is cheap there too). But here in Cambo, I'm not so sure. The $3000 would have eaten a lot of most people's savings (unless they had sold a house in the west or something).

Most people who work for the schools here don't have that much I would say.

But how much did that kidney replacement cost? I would imagine more like $20,000.

The catch 22 is that those who need health insurance are the one's who haven't sold a house and can't afford the $200 + per month for internationally renowned insurance.

In that poll on insurance, Forte seemed to come out looking one of the best at around $700 p a. The insurance adviser that posted said don't expect local companies to pay out on claims though.

However, there were 2 people who had successfully claimed with Forte. Would it be possible for those 2 people to step forward with their experiences in slightly more detail? How much were the claims, did they have to be refunded after paying the hospital/ ambulance, was the whole claim straight forward.etc
Thanks

[commentingkiwi]

For medical care I can also recommend Khema at Toul Kork. Wife had stitches there for a terrible cut, all professionally done and untraceable now. The clinic is clean, the staff are organised and the doctors as far as I could tell have largely trained in France. Some spoke better French than English. I was also treated there for an infected cut, it caused my foot to swell up and I stupidly waited a long time to go to the doctor. They gave the foot an ultrasound to check whether the infection was reaching the bone (or so it was explained to be). Clearly explained the consequences and that I might need to overnight on a drip, determined it just needed pills and sent me home after maybe 2 hours and less than 100 dollars. I paid myself but have insurance costing about 950 a year for me for very comprehensive cover, for the medical component, But I take a relatively high excess like at least 100 dollars from memory. Insurance for me is against catastrophic losses, illnesses and costs, not for routine stuff. Khema also referred me to Singapore for another issue 3 years back that they said the treatment options were limited, but in Singapore I could try something they couldn't do here. The Singapore specialist confirmed they had done everything right, diagnosis correct and treatment right. Their only problem seems to be the reception area gets mosquitos coming in. They need a double door system in my view.otherwise they are great and with the money. They always ask if I'm paying myself or charging to insurance but I'm not sure why, maybe it's for that discount but for under a hundred dollars I don't really look at the bill.

[pete w]

My brother has used Khema Clinic in TK regularly over the past 2 years, as he's not a well man. He was rushed there in the middle of the night 2 weeks ago with difficulty in breathing. They got him back to square one and he was convalescing the next day when he had a sudden relapse. The clinic contacted me and said he would have to be transferred to Calmette as Khema did not have the necessary equipment to deal with him. I travelled in the ambulance with him to Calmette, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia, pulmonary oedema and suspected renal failure. He was in critical condition in ICU at Calmette for 4 days, before being transferred to a general observation ward, where he spent a further 8 days.

My observations: Firstly, I agree with what has been said about Khema already with regard to hygiene standards and professionalism. However, they are not equipped to deal with serious cases, and they are not cheap. An overnight stay costs between $500 and $700.
Secondly, I was very pleasantly surprised with the calibre of doctor at Calmette. The man who treated my brother (Dr Sun...?) was exceedingly professional and level-headed. They saved his life. The general observation wards are not nice places to be though.

I had been in contact with the embassy during my brother's stay in icu, and the consul advised me that Calmette has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years, especially with regard to treating cases such as my brother's. The alternative of a medivac to Bangkok would've cost around $50 000 before any treatment, so a likely bill in the vicinity of 100k.