Bangkok International Hospitals: JCI List and Insurance

Dial 1669 for an ambulance in a medical emergency. On Sukhumvit, a free shuttle reaches Bumrungrad from BTS Nana and Phrom Phong, and Samitivej Sukhumvit is at Sukhumvit Soi 49. Around Silom, head to BNH; near New Petchburi Road, Bangkok Hospital Headquarters. On a budget, Chulalongkorn accepts patients paying cash.

In an emergency, call 1669 first

Dial 1669 for an ambulance. The line is for critical patients who are outside a medical facility, and the officer may suggest other services if the case is not a real emergency. Stay calm, say what happened and where you are, and leave a phone number where you can be reached. Tell your insurer too, as soon as you can. The other national numbers are in Thailand emergency numbers.

Which hospital, by where you are

Start with the hospital closest to your hotel, because in an emergency distance matters more than anything below. All of these Bangkok hospitals are on JCI’s accredited list: Bumrungrad, Bangkok Hospital Headquarters, both Samitivej hospitals, BNH, Vejthani and Praram 9.

Sukhumvit

Near Nana or Phrom Phong, go to Bumrungrad at 33 Sukhumvit 3, where a free shuttle van runs from BTS Nana and BTS Phrom Phong. Bring money for a deposit if you pay yourself. For appointments, phone +66 2066 8888. If your insurer pays you back afterwards, Samitivej Sukhumvit on Sukhumvit Soi 49 is the better fit, since most of its international patients are eligible for pay and claim.

Silom and Sathorn

BNH is the nearby choice, at 9/1 Convent Road. Save the 24/7 hotline 02-632-1000 in your phone, because the medical team can come straight to your hotel room.

New Petchburi and Huai Khwang

Choose Bangkok Hospital Headquarters at 2 Soi Soonvijai 7. Its Emergency Service Center takes cases of every severity, and Cigna International and BUPA International are among its contracted insurers.

Pathum Wan, on a budget

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital belongs to the Thai Red Cross. Bring your passport, and tell them you are paying cash, which is a payment category of its own. Expect long queues at the screening desks and the pharmacy. For how public hospitals treat foreigners, see public hospitals in Thailand for foreigners, and for typical bills, hospital costs in Thailand.

Deposits and insurance

At Bumrungrad every patient pays the same price, whatever the nationality. Self-pay patients put down a full deposit for all procedures, scans included, and any excess is refunded afterwards. Direct billing works with many, but not all, contracted insurers, so ask your own insurer whether it will pay the hospital.

At Samitivej you pay first, and you get paperwork on discharge to claim the money back. Email scans of your insurance card and passport before you go. Bangkok Hospital works with hundreds of travel insurers for cashless emergency care, within your policy terms, but it reserves the right to refuse certain policies or insurers.

Before you go:

• Keep your insurance card and a passport copy with you.
• Ask your insurer whether the hospital holds a direct billing contract.
• Expect a deposit if you pay yourself at Bumrungrad.

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Not confirmed: Emergency deposit amount: ask the hospital for the figure before an elective visit, because it is not stated for an emergency walk-in. Direct billing: ask the hospital whether it bills your own insurer, and ask your insurer whether it will pay the hospital.

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