Expediting Communication – More Effective Planning
One of the biggest challenges foreign patients have when planning health tourism trips to Thailand from on their own is communication. Slow response times, time zone differences & language barriers make it difficult to plan both routine and complex medical cases from abroad in a timely manner.
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Sabai Sabai Thai Style
In Thailand there is a cultural phenomenon known as “Sabai Sabai” which reflects many Thai’s relaxed, low stress, no rush, easy going nature and attitude. It is part of Thai culture and many local people’s upbringing – a natural way of life. On one hand, it is a welcome change for many people upon arrival to Thailand from their own culture, on the other hand, it can making planning medical tourism trips to Thailand from overseas a longer and more frustrating process than people expect. Interestingly (and slightly off topic), one way Thai Sabai Sabai culture manifests most clearly is on the busy roads, where despite heavy traffic in Bangkok City, you almost never hear car or bike horns honking – It is a window into non confrontational, patient Thai culture. Many other places, for example New York or Mumbai are the polar opposite, where the streets are filled with a cacophony of noise, people shouting and horns honking – reflecting cultures that can often be rude, aggressive and confrontational. You really can learn a lot about a country and the people from there simply by their attitudes on the road. Thai “Sabai Sabai” attitudes are a great attraction for people when they arrive in Thailand, melting away stress and allowing them to enter into a new world of healing – however when it comes to planning health tourism visits, it presents difficulties.
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A Thai Doctor
Foreigner Pain Points In Medical Planning
When it comes to coordinating and planning medical procedures from abroad (and without help), the “Sabai Sabai” style of some hospital staff can leave people feeling frustrated. Medical coordination involves many aspects which usually need to be done in a timely manner – Submitting medical records, finding the right doctors, setting up telemedical video calls, back and forth questions about a person’s issues, arranging dates, appointments, getting visa invitation letters, payment/insurance issues and more. For foreigners who are not in Thailand, this can be difficult. Email communication can be slow, operation hours of the hospital don’t overlap with their local country, calling the general hospital phone number often leads to a bureaucracy of hospital staff, as well as English language barriers (while doctors speak high level English at private hospitals, secretaries and receptionists typically don’t.) – All of these factors make it hard to plan a trip to Thailand where you need to schedule things in advance with firm dates and book airline tickets in a timely manner.
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Getting frustrated on the phone trying to plan healthcare abroad
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Health Tours Thailand – Expediting Communication between Patient and Hospital
One of Health Tours Thailand’s biggest value adds is making the processing of healthcare coordination fast and seamless for our customers (many of whom have had bad experiences trying to do it on their own). The reason we are able to make the planning and referral process so much easier is that we have direct lines to management at the top private hospitals – Allowing us to quickly communicate and coordinate healthcare services in ways the general public is not able to. Health Tours Thailand is in the private whatsapp and group chats between all the critical hospital staff, doctors and planners, helping to turn around communications between patients and hospitals in no time. Whereas a typical inquiry from a foreigner with no history at a hospital can take days or longer (often never answered because the inquiry is sent to the wrong channel) – We can get you meaningful answers right away (same day) – We also speak the Thai language and operate during normal business hours, making communication with hospital and clinic (non medical) staffs much clearer and fluid.
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Health Tours Thailand CEO Derek halpern and Maddie, PhyaThai Medical Coordinator
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Going Beyond – Getting Our Customer Discounts
Beyond making medical tourism visits and coordination to Thailand a breeze, Health Tours Thailand also maintains maintains a secret weapon – Getting discounts for our clients. Many people don’t even realize that getting a discount at a hospital is possible, often they never consider asking. And while many times a patient on their own will be politely turned down when requesting better pricing, Health Tours Thailand is routinely able to get 5-10% discounts for our patients. The reason is simple – Leverage. As one of the leading medical tourism companies in Thailand, we dealing with large amounts of patients from all over the world and work extensively with the top tier private hospitals (all in Bangkok, all JCI accredited with beautiful modern facilities, the latest equipment and leading doctors) – The hospitals in our network are the best of the best, and they appreciate our referrals and support. So when we ask the hospital to work with and help our patient, 9 times out of 10 they oblige. *Health Tours Thailand always gives our clients at least 2-3 options of private hospitals & qualified doctors suitable for their case to choose from*
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If are considering visiting Thailand for medical, dental or elective surgery needs, contact us for help coordinating your trip.
