Chris Brown

Review of Bumrungrad International

Don't believe the hype. This is the most overrated...

Don't believe the hype. This is the most overrated hospital in Asia, and it deserves none of the praise that it gets. I have been here several times over the last decade in Thailand, and every time has been a horribly disappointing experience. The doctors (neurologists, GP, cardiologists, gynecologists, etc.) that me or my wife have seen have all been completely useless and unprofessional. They are happy to request diagnostics because it brings the hospital money, but they are totally lazy and incompetent, and have zero investigative capacity. It comes from the poor education system of Thailand - it doesn't teach people to think for themselves. If it isn't out of a textbook, the doctors here will not be able to find what is wrong with you. They are also very immoral and unprofessional, and will do anything they can to get you to pay more money at the hospital, including spending 2 minutes on the first appointment to request a bunch of unnecessary tests, and still charging you daylight-robbery prices for the visit, and telling you to come back again tomorrow.

The staff and nurses are rude and unhelpful. I know nurses who work there, and do not expect any of your information to be confidential - they all go through patient records and share the information amongst their gossip circles - most of them are just looking for foreign husbands. If you try to use insurance, good luck. They will sometimes try to tell you that you can't use the insurance, and they will offer no help at all to contact the insurance company about pre-authorized payments. Every other hospital I have been to here has been very helpful in this regard, but not Bumrungrad.

The layout of the buildings is beyond unintelligent. It is chaotic, claustrophobic, and unintuitive. There aren't enough lifts, and they are too small. Signage is poor, and the building design is atrocious. Also, can you imagine if there was a fire at the hospital? With narrow alleys and constant congestion, there would be no escape - everyone would die.

So what's good about Bumrungrad? Probably the food, and they have some expensive equipment, although I don't have any expectations that any of the staff actually know how to use it. Avoid this place - there are many better hospitals in the region. 5-star appearance, 1-star service.