If you’re anticipating a trip overseas for medical treatment, or even just an overseas vacation, it pays to know before hand that there is a big variation in the fees you may pay on foreign purchases and money changing. It’s easy to get burned by fees that U.S. banks and credit card companies tack on […]

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) has approved the Israeli-Thai stem cell therapy company TheraVitae for special investor privileges under the BOI’s foreign investment program. Mr Narin Apichairuk, president of TheraVitae, says this will allow them to open a laboratory near Bangkok. Currently adult stem cells are extracted from patients’ blood and then sent to a […]

This story is from October 2006 but worth mentioning for completeness in the assessment of Thailand’s top healthcare facilities. Newsweek, in an article titled Medical Meccas, features Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok and lavishes the usual praises upon it such as “world-class medicine at developing-world prices”, and “velvet-glove treatment redolent of a five-star hotel”. The […]

The online news site NBC-2.com had a story about several patients, 10 actually, who came from Florida to Bangkok to receive adult stem cell therapy for their untreatable heart conditions. One of the interesting points from that story is that this therapy is “illegal” in America. So these 10 men from southwest Florida were condemned […]

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is considering proposals to offer free stomach surgery for obese teens. The rationale is that it will reduce costs in the long term due to health issues arising from obesity such as diabetes and heart disease. That’s good, because at around 8,000 pounds the cost of […]

The Bangkok Post has a story today about the rise in the number of Japanese coming to Thailand for medical treatment. Kasikorn Research Centre published a survey that states the number of Japanese who came to Thailand for medical treatment in 2006 was 185,616 or 14.9 percent of all foreign patients. And they expect that […]

The website NewsTarget.com has as it’s tagline “Information that Empowers”. And information about healthcare alternatives abroad fits well with their philosophy. They have an article from April 2005 that challenges the commonly held assumption that medicine in the U.S. is the best in the world. The author asserts that the U.S. ranks near the bottom […]

Back in September 2005 60 minutes did a story on medical tourism with the focus on Thailand. This is when Bumrungrad really got introduced to the American public. The story is still up on the CBS News website, including a video of the segment.
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That’s the title of a story on medical tourism over at news.com.au. Funny thing is, the entire story is a glowing account of medical tourism in Thailand, Singapore and India - no warts. It’s another good snapshot of the state of medical tourism and the preeminent position of hospitals like Thailand’s Bumrungrand International in this […]

Hyatt has developed something they call the “residential spa” concept that incorporates spa and business facilities into individual rooms. The concept is designed to offer guests wellness and comfort with added amenities such as wet and dry in-room treatments, luxurious oversized soaking bathtubs, and steam showers. The features of the residential spa are customized to […]