Doctors group sees problems in importing foreign doctors

Dr. Somsak Lohlekha

The Medical Council of Thailand has opposed the Public Health Minister's plan to import foreign doctors to push Thailand's growth as a hub for quality medical services, said council secretary general, Dr Somsak Lohlekha yesterday.

"We agree with the public health minister on this policy as it could bring a lot money to the country - but we are concerned over the quality of foreign doctors, particularly from developing countries," he said.

Public Health Minister, Witthaya Kaewparadai vowed on Monday to continue the medical hub policy by bringing foreign doctors to work in private hospitals, to turn Thailand into a regional medical hub and lift tourism and the economy.

The medical hub project, initiated in 2003 by Thaksin Shinawatra's government, included three medical service facets : sickness prevention, spa services and Thai massage. It also promoted Thai herbal medicine products.

A public health ministry study estimates these projects have generated Bt200 billion over the past five years from medical services to millions of foreign patients who have come to Thailand for the lower cost medical treatments available here.

The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) predicts that if Thailand were to become a medical hub, its annual income from this industry could soar to Bt110 billion by 2012.

The centre estimated that last year alone, Thailand earned up to Bt52 billion from foreign patients, and Bt13 billion from accommodation and travel.

Viroj Na Ranong, director with the Economic Public Health and Agriculture Research Unit, said medical tourism could initially account for 0.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Witthaya said he had assigned the medical council to amend its regulations to issue special medical licences to foreign doctors, allowing them to work in private hospitals.

Somsak opposed the plan, saying foreign doctors in private hospitals could generate problems for medical services in the country, especially language difficulties between patient and doctor.

The council also opposed a proposal raised by TDRI asking the medical council to provide licence examinations in English to foreign doctors wanting to work here.

Somsak said medical councils worldwide use their own languages for medical licence tests.

" This issue is very important. If they provide medical services to patients without understanding Thai, many problems would arise in the future," he said.

He added that few foreign doctors from developed countries would be interested in coming here as their salaries would be lower than at home.

Many health experts are concerned the medical hub policy would drain doctors from state to private hospitals. Somsak said the system should be blamed for forcing 30,000 doctors to serve in their own areas with no financial incentive to attract doctors to work with the ministry.

Currently, private hospitals have enough doctors - most of them graduates from universities abroad- to provide health care services for their patients. If they were to resign from the local private hospitals, many would return overseas to better salaries rather than work with the government, he added.

"The impact of a medical hub policy and the brain drain of doctors from rural hospitals to private hospitals are not related," he said.

Somsak said the government should not collect tax from foreign patients if it wants to continue this hub policy. He reasoned that private hospitals, at present, pay 30 per cent of their revenue to the government in taxes.