Do private hospitals charge reasonable prices?
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WHAT would happen if you needed emergency medical services and were sent to a private hospital?
Are you ready to fork out whatever amount the hospital would charge you?
A surgery like a percutaneous coronary intervention can cost nearly Bt500,000 at a privately-run medical facility, many patients have warned.
Others have complained that medicine prices at private hospitals are much higher than the Public Health Ministry’s standard prices.
A private hospital, for example, charges Bt117 per Ezetrol tablet, which helps to lower cholesterol levels, but patients can get the tablets for just Bt50 apiece at pharmacies.
The Thai Medical Error Network believes the pricing issue has now got to a point that Thailand needs to introduce the Price Control Committee for Private Hospitals.
“We understand that private hospitals are operating businesses and they need to make some profits. But still, we believe the prices should be reasonable,” the network’s president Preeyanan Lorsermvattana commented.
Her network has conducted an online signature campaign, via www.change.org( http://goo.gl/hiGxKf ), to garner support for its call for the establishment of the Price Control Committee for Private Hospitals. Launched on April 19, the campaign aims to gather 15,000 signatures. As of yesterday, more than 16,000 people had already signed their names in support of the campaign.
At present, the law requires that medical service providers display the prices of medical services clearly.
Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, deputy director general of the Department of Health Service Support (DHSS), said people had the right to check the prices before receiving services. He also explained that his department had no power to control the prices charged by private hospitals as their services were optional.
The country offers free medical services to about 48 million Thais through the universal healthcare scheme. Most other Thais are covered by either the social-security scheme or the medical-benefit scheme for civil servants and family members.
Medical Council’s deputy secretary-general Ittaporn Kanacharoen, meanwhile, said the prices at private hospitals were beyond his council’s control.
“We oversee doctors’ ethics and practice. Even though we have laid down the standard medical fees, our guideline here applies to doctors only. Prices collected by private hospitals cover medicines, medical equipment and hospital rooms too,” he said.
Some private hospitals have explained they invest hugely in some medical machines. They have counted this as operating cost and have to charge patients for the expense.
At some hospitals, the expenses are shared by all patients. At others, the expenses are shared just among patients who need to use those specific medical machines.
Investment by private hospitals can save lives in so many cases. Yet, some patients lament that they or their children have to pay a huge amount of money to these hospitals following the treatment.
In some cases, they even have to go for payment plans so that they can pay the amount by installment because the fees charged by hospitals are so massive.
According to the Kasikorn Research Centre, Thailand-based private hospitals listed on the stock market are doing well, with their businesses expected to grow by at least 10 per cent this year. Their 2015 revenue will likely go beyond Bt100 billion.
Does this high amount of revenue come from reasonable pricing?
It is undeniable that many private hospitals offer excellent services, friendly staff, shorter queues, and greater convenience. It is undeniable that so many people believe that if patients wish to get these things, they should not mind paying some additional fees.
But everyone should realise that medical services are by no means a luxury. So even when patients turn up at private hospitals, they should not be charged beyond reasonable levels.
