Thailand is the wise old dame of the medical tourism industry. For years, thousands of foreigners have flocked to Thailand to avail of first-rate medical and dental care at low prices, with a tropical fruit cocktail thrown in for good measure!

Although Thailand has a well developed medical tourism network, major centers for medical tourism are Bangkok and Phuket, with six medical facilities in Bangkok boasting hospital accreditation from the United States. Top notch Thai hospitals have made a conscious decision to build their facilities and workforce to cater to foreign medical tourists. One such example is Bangkok Phuket Hospital, already provides interpreters in 15 languages and receives about 20,000 international patients a year.

As in most tourist-oriented medical communities, the major attractions are cosmetic surgery and dental treatments. However, eye surgery, kidney dialysis and organ transplantation also are among the most common procedures sought by medical vacationers in Thailand.


The crown in Thailand’s medical tourism market is Bumrungrad hospital, a $100 million hospital complex, built 20 years ago for Thailand’s well-to-do but which now serves as many as 350,000 non Thai-patients per year (2005 figures). The hospital also boasts over 200 U.S. Board-certified physicians.

 
Besides Bumrungrad, there are many other hospitals in Bangkok and Chiang Mai that also offer first-rate medical care and service at similar costs. Bangkok General Hospital, another large hospital in Bangkok is one such hospital.

In addition to first-class medical care, Thailand also has a well-established reputation for wellness spas and resorts offering a mixture of traditional and modern techniques of health-care and rejuvenation.