Anyone who visits Chiang Mai, Thailand and gets sick or has an accident will likely find themselves in one of Chiang Mai’s excellent local hospitals. Offering world-class health care, highly trained doctors, nurses and specialist staff and superb facilities, Chiang Mai hospitals provide excellent medical care at a fraction of the cost of the United States. Should you find yourself in Chiang Mai and needing treatment for an accident, illness or disease, look no further than these three Chiang Mai hospitals. They’re the best the city has to offer.
Chiang Mai Ram Hospital – The Chiang Mai Ram Hospital is a 12-storey private hospital, which means unlike government hospitals in Chiang Mai where rates are dirt cheap, here you’ll pay a Thai private rate – still far cheaper than its equivalent in the US though.
Considered one of the best hospitals in Chiang Mai, the Chiang Mai Ram Hospital is part of the well-known Ramkhamhaeng Group, so it’s not surprising it has all the high-tech medical equipment and facilities you’d see in any western hospital. Many of the hospital’s doctors and specialists are educated overseas and well-versed in western-standard practice.
The Chiang Mai Ram Hospital is considered one of the best in the area to deal with trauma (accidents, injuries as a result of traffic accidents etc), as well as any life-threatening illness. You may however want to save Chiang Mai Ram for more serious problems as they tend to be quite expensive for less serious illnesses or mild injuries and a government hospital or local clinic would give you the same excellent service.
Just one word of caution too, if you’re given a prescription by a doctor at Chiang Mai Ram, do not fill it at the hospital pharmacy as you’ll end up paying three to four times the amount you’d pay at a local Thai pharmacy for the same thing. Take the prescription and get it filled locally instead.
The hospital has a number of excellent ‘Foreign Liason Officers’, people who speak fluent English and will accompany you around the hospital to make sure you understand all procedures and treatment. However,
you’ll find most of the hospital staff speaks excellent English anyway. The hospital also has a 24 hour Emergency department and a full-service dental clinic.
You’ll find Chiang Mai Ram Hospital at 8 Boonreungrit Road (near Kad Suan Kaew shopping centre) in Chiang Mai.
Sriphat Medical Center at Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University – If you’re looking for the best medical center and government hospital in Chiang Mai, then Sriphat Medical Center is number one. Recommended by hundreds of western expats who live in Chiang Mai, as well as used by tens of thousands of Thais, the 15-storey Sriphat Medical Center offers inexpensive medical care that’s closer to ‘Thai price’ than ‘Western standard’.
Sriphat Medical Center has a 24 hour ambulance service, 1,800 beds, more than 200 specially trained general practitioners and specialists, many of the doctors also teach at the medical school at Chiang Mai University and, if you need specialist care for a variety of illnesses or injuries, Sriphat Medical Center can provide it for you.
Sriphat Medical Center is known not only for its superb medical care but also for its friendly staff and was even recommended by the 15th Asean University Games 2010 for all its athletes who required medical care while visiting Thailand. It’s recommended for obstetrics and gynaecology, internal medicine and respiratory problems, gastroenterology, dermatology and pediatrics.
At Sriphat, even if you go without an appointment, expect to be seen by a doctor in a matter of minutes, be given treatment that’s world-class and professional and pay less than 20% of what you’d pay in the United States.
Sriphat Medical Center is located at 110/392 Sriphat Bd., Intawarorot Rd. T.Sriphum, Chiang Mai .
Lanna Hospital – Price-wise, in between Chiang Mai Ram Hospital (private) and Sriphat Medical Center (government), Lanna Hospital is one of the cheapest private hospitals in Chiang Mai. It’s only a small hospital with just a couple of hundred beds and less than 30 full-time doctors, but is still known for its outstanding service and care.
At Lanna Hospital, most doctors and specialists are internationally-certified, and many were educated in medical schools overseas. The hospital is known for its gynaecology and obstetrics departments, cardiology,
infertility treatments and cancer treatments. They also have an excellent center that specializes in back pain and all its many causes and treatments, as well as a full-service dental center.
For emergencies, Lanna has a 24-hour Emergency department as well as the capability to air-lift patients to other hospitals in Chiang Mai or Bangkok if specialist medical care they don’t provide is necessary.
Most staff at Lanna Hospital speak English as they provide particular care for English-speaking foreigners either living in or visiting Chiang Mai, and the hospital also has translators for Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and several other Asian languages.
You’ll find Lanna Hospital at 103 Chiang Mai/Lampang Road, Tambon Patan, Chiang Mai.