Alternative to hospital pharmacies

[DocThai]

The pharmact at Foodland (Sukhumvit Soi 5) has a decent selection, but if you are looking for Halcion..forget it. Are you aware that Halcion has been banned in many countries because of a number of a people winding up with psychosis?

[OCgringo]

medicines need to be stored at low temps (for BKK) and not sit on the shelf forever,

 

just something to think about........

[New Petchburi Pete]

Good point. Always check expiration date(s) & make sure pharmacy has A/C; however, if looking for A/C 24/7, you're probably back into the hospital pharmacy dilemna!

And, keep pharmaceuticals in the fridge at home/hotel/wherever.

[boemba]

A lot of medication is still available without prescriptions at most pharmacies. When you go to a hospital I could distinguish two major conditions. If you visit for a one time or sudden problem (trauma, infection for example) you are a bit at the mercy of the prescibing doctor. Maybe if you make a fuss, a prescription for outside the hospital can be issued, but I am not really aware of this. Prices of medication are more expensive than outside the hospital, and of course doctors at Bumrungrad tend to prescribe drugs that are higher priced (sometimes unnecessarily)

If you have a chronic condition, your medication may not change a lot. If your condition is stable, you can actually buy the medication you need outside the hospital. Just inform your physician you are doing so, then he will not write up another order for 'his' pharmacy. I have been doing this for a while, and it looks like my treating physician understands this issue and the reason why.

May I suggest that not everything needs to be treated at Bumrungrad, Samitivej or Bangkok General Hospital. These hospitals are indeed much more expensive than most other hospitals. If one is on a budget, and does not expect admission, I would really recommend Bangkok Christian Hospital on Silom Road (close to BTS). It is not fancy, costs are half or less, and service efficient enough.

As an example, we paid 1,200 baht for basic cholesterol and triglyceride profile (not including physician fee) at Bumrungrad. Now we go for the same test at Bangkok Christian Hospital where the cost is 500 baht, and the test seems to be quite reliable (in line with the results at Bumrungrad)