General Practitioner - Family Doctor ?

[moogradod]

Does the concept of a "Family Doctor" exist in Thailand ? This is the one doctor that you approach for everything first and who may take care of your sickness or introduce you to a specialist.

 

And if YES, any recommendation for a good English or German speaking one in Pattaya ?

 

Thanks.

[Sheryl]

Not really.

 

There are doctors with no specialization (thus, by default, general practitioners) but they do not function at all the way GPs do in countries with a GP based system and good ones are very, very  hard to find here.

[moogradod]

12 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Not really.

 

There are doctors with no specialization (thus, by default, general practitioners) but they do not function at all the way GPs do in countries with a GP based system and good ones are very, very  hard to find here.

So if you have unspecified symptoms you would need to go to a hospital. It is not possible to preassess the severity, so you would rather go than not.

 

Having arrived there, you would tell the reception what you feel (probably after having waited for an extended period of time in case of a government hospital - hopefully you dont suffer from something that needs immediate attention).

 

They would probably take your pulse and blood pressure - which you could even tell them because you have measured it yourself. Then somebody (?) would determine which specialist you need to see first and they hopefully take a general blood test - determining the most common values like number of white blood cells, liver parameters etc.

 

And then someone has to decide which further action to take. As there is no GP around not an easy task. You end up being transferred between different specialists - each appointment with its own waiting time and each with its own bill until you hopefully catch the right department. Not very efficient, but it does not help to complain.

[lopburi3]

You go to hospital for all treatment - that is where the doctors work.  If an emergency you use the Emergency Room facilities for treatment or triage.  Most times we will know by symptoms which doctor we need to see and can go directly to them in a private hospital with almost immediate access (no waiting six days or weeks as in some countries).  In a government hospital direct appointment may also be available but likely to be delay and some Thai would be useful - otherwise there will be first come queue system.  

[Sheryl]

As above. Outpatient clinics in Thailand are located in hospitals and most of what people go to hospitals for is outpatient care including the most simple. You need to stop equating going to the hospital with a serious problem, that is not how it works here. A simple rash or ingrown toenail = hospital outpatient clinic. (Or pharmacy - most drugs that need a prescription in the West are sold over the counter here and for non-urgent matters pharmacy is the first stop for many people. How well that goes depends on whether the pharmacy has an actual trained pharmacist on duty, many don't. Pharmacists in Thailand are trained to diagnose/prescribe for simple ailments.)

 

If you use a government hospital, first you tell a nurse what the problem is then she refers you somewhere., Often it will just be the general medical clinic and you'll be seen by an intern or even medical student initially. From there you may or may not be sent onward to a specialist. Things that are not very specialized are handled in the general medical clinic but the medical staff there are of pretty low level.

 

If you go to a private hospital you are strongly advised to pre-select a doctor rather than taking pot luck, most hospitals have websites that facilitate that.  If you do not ,then again you tell a nurse or clerk your problems and they send you to the least busy doctor on duty at that time in the department that seems to be most appropriate.

 

General medical departments (and, in private hospitals, Internal Medicine specialists) cover a wide range of problems and would be the closest thing to "GP" but really do nto function in the same way.