Hospital Accreditations in Thailand

In 2002 Thailand became home to Asia’s first JCI-Accredited hospital, Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok. Today, Thailand offers ten additional JCI-accredited facilities to medical travelers. These are:

• Bangkok Hospital Medical Center
• Bangkok Hospital Pattaya
• Bangkok Hospital Phuket
• BNH Hospital
• Bumrungrad International
• Chiangmai Ram Hospital
• Samitivej Srinakarin hospital
• Samitivej Sriracha Hospital
• Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital
• Synphaet hospital
• Vejthani Hospital

All of these hospitals can be found in the extensive Novasans directory for hospitals catering to medical tourists. The Joint Commission International (JCI) is one of the most important accreditation organizations in the world. It was established in 1997 as a division of Joint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR) and operates as a private, nonprofit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Through international accreditation, consultation, publications and education programs, JCI extends JCR’s mission worldwide by helping to improve the quality of patient care by assisting international health care organizations and others to evaluate, improve and demonstrate qualitative patient care and enhance patient safety in more than 60 countries.

Why is International Healthcare Accreditation Important?

When crossing borders to obtain healthcare many patients are enticed by the cheaper price and the higher personal comfort of the provider facilities. However, to find information about patient safety regulations and quality of the provider, consumers are compelled to do their own research. To one’s help, there are several Healthcare organizations that guide, inspect and educate healthcare providers to obtain and maintain the high standards of patient care and safety. One of the best symbols for this is international accreditation, which can be described as a voluntary process that provides a universal standard of credibility for the healthcare provider. Accreditation is a process of both internal and external evaluation used by healthcare organizations to accurately assess their level of performance in relation to established standards. It is very important to remember that medical standards vary around the world, and the practice of international accreditation is fairly new.

As more and more patient travel abroad for healthcare, the competition amongst the healthcare providers is getting more and more fierce.  Many leading medical facilities continuously improve their standards of high tech equipment, patient care, services and safety. Recognition from internationally recognized health care evaluators is an important factor in differentiating oneself from the competitors.

To look for the providers’ international accreditation should be an important factor in the patient’s decision making. However, there is not one single international accreditation scheme that is seen as an overall world-wide-relevant scheme. There is also currently no single organization responsible for accrediting the providers and ensuring that their operating standards are wholly safe and ethical. However, with this in mind, there are several organizations that perform international accreditation with valuable appraisal and information:

Joint Commission International (JCI) is based in the US.

Australian Council for Healthcare Standards International (ACHSI) is based in Australia.

The International Medical Travel Association (IMTA) is based in Singapore.

Trent Accreditation Scheme is based in UK-Europe, Malta, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

HealthCare Tourism International (HCT) is based in the US.

Accreditation Canada is based in Canada.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Forum is based in the U.K.

Several medical facilities around the world also hold an ISO certification, which stands for International Organization for Standardization. ISO has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and is a non-governmental organization that sets international industrial and commercial standards. However, ISO is not considered to be an international healthcare accreditation scheme. Most hospitals in Thailand currently strive for international accreditations before national counterparts .

How important is international accreditations to you when choosing a healthcare provider abroad? Comment below or on the Novasans Facebook Page!

Focus of the week: Medical Tourism in Thailand

This week, the Novasans blog will focus on one of the leading medical and wellness travel destinations in the world – Thailand. We will try to explain why Thailand has succeeded as such a popular place for international patients, and the country’s future as a medical tourism destination. Feel free to comment below or on our Facebook page!

Thailand is the largest of all medical tourist destinations, and has the highest total volume of both high-end and low-end procedures. With a long history of tourism, Thailand has in recent years translated that along with high technology medical centres into a convenient package for tourists.

Being the capital, and the largest city in Thailand, Bangkok is of course the country’s hub for medical tourism. Boosting with a large international hospital, and an immensely popular tourism region; the southern town Phuket comes in on a definite second place. Other places with a high concentration of foreign tourists are now rising as options, such as Pattaya, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, and the island Koh Samui.

Thai prices and services

In comparison to India, the prices are about 20% higher in Thailand. But many international patients still choose the latter due to the fact that Thailand is considered to be a better tourist experience overall. While India has more specialized medical centres, Thailand offers mega-centres (such as Bumrungrad Hospital or Bangkok Hospital) with full in-house service. Many medical tourists have found this to be an advantage, and fly in to Thailand regularly for dental work, comprehensive physical exams along with minor healthcare procedures.

Popular treatments range from organ transplants, orthopaedic treatments, cardiac surgeries, to cosmetic surgeries and dental treatments. For medical tourists, Thai hospitals are very customer friendly. Many Thai physicians hold UK or US professional certification, and the hospitals offer interpreters in many of the most common languages spoken by their patients.

Thailand also offers a wide range of accommodation in all service levels, pristine beaches and plentiful good and affordable restaurants. For medical tourists searching for a number of smaller procedures, Thailand is a safe alternative. However, those who are searching for specific major surgeries should carefully weigh the benefits between Thailand and India.