Medical 'passport' of great importance in Thailand
Every foreigner in Thailand must carry a medical 'passport'. This is very important in case of accidents. Then the hospital will know better which specialist to refer the patient to. That is what former general practitioner Gerard Smit said during his lecture for the Dutch Association of Hua Hin and Cha Am (NVTHC) in Happy Family Resort in Cha Am.
According to Smit, it still happens too often that foreigners end up in a hospital with the wrong specialist, because nobody knows anything about the medical history of the person concerned. In that case, extensive and sometimes unnecessary research is usually done before medicines are prescribed. If these do not work, the patient is transferred to another hospital, where the examination starts all over again. A medical passport should report on chronic conditions, medication use, allergies and past surgeries. A smartphone already suffices as a medical 'passport'.
Nowadays, scars after keyhole surgery are so small that a doctor can say little or nothing about the patient's medical history. “The specialists in Thailand are quite good. The problem is that the patient often ends up with the wrong person,” says Smit, who has been a general practitioner in Hoogvliet (near Rotterdam) for many years and has (also) been living in Hua Hin for a few years now.
In his lecture, Smit discussed some of the most common medical problems in Thailand, such as diarrhoea, dengue, malaria, rabies and sexually transmitted diseases. In case of diarrhoea, Smit advises waiting a few days first. If this is accompanied by fever, the advice of a doctor is recommended. If not, the patient should continue to drink water, albeit in small amounts. Dehydration is lurking in tropical countries, while the elderly are usually less thirsty and therefore have to drink relatively more water.
Smit warned the nearly forty interested parties against self-medication through the pharmacies that are ubiquitous in Thailand. Unlike a doctor, he has no control over the course of the disease and therapy. A pharmacist has not learned to make a diagnosis and, in the absence of feedback, does not know whether a medicine works or not. Finally, Smit advised not to buy any medicines. via the internet, in the absence of quality control.
Gerard Smit's lecture at the NVTHC's monthly drinks evening last Friday coincided with the birthday party of operator René Braat of Happy Family Resort. He will turn 31 on May 66 and will now receive state pension for the first time. René offered the attendees a tasty buffet, accompanied by freely flowing liquor. Ten friends had chosen a multicolored bird as a present. For now on photo, because the animal still has to grow. Seven new members signed up at the monthly drinks evening, so that the NVTHC now has well over eighty members.
That is certainly important to have a medicine passport with you. 2 years ago I had to go to the emergency room in Changmai at night. They helped me with the medicines that were on the passport and that they did not know in Thailand. looked up the internet what kind of medicine it is. Especially if you are no longer approachable yourself.
Seems superfluous to me. . About 12 years ago my wife suddenly became very ill. In the International Hospital in Pattaya they realized in 2 hours that she had kidney failure. Despite research in the Netherlands, nothing was yet known about this.
For years I have had all my medical data on a USB stick, including the complete MRC and CT scans.
What does such a passport look like? Is it an official document that you arrange through a doctor? Or is it something you can make yourself?
The passport is issued at the time of vaccination at the pharmacy, you can ask for a printout of your medicines, it costs nothing and it is stamped, you don't have to make it yourself, if something is wrong, you have the official papers at hand.
The medicine passport is not an official document. I took it to cardiology and filled it out myself. Pharmacist also has them and is in fact an easy thing for the hospital if you are not approachable yourself. I have so many medicines that I had to draw lines, but still remain legible. Also, to bring medicines into Thailand, you basically have to approach the Foreign Office for an official stamp for import, but I've never done this.
Medicine passport, well the name is more expensive than what it suggests.
At the GGD you get a yellow booklet that looks like a passport, with your vaccinations pasted in it and associated data.
For your medicine use in NL you will simply receive an A4 from the pharmacy if you ask for it, and they call it a medicine passport.
Hi hein you can get this passport at your pharmacy. We ourselves get a new one every year and any new medicines you have recently received will also be on it. Within a few minutes they will print it out for you.
I do have an international vaccination certificate from the Ministry of Health, welfare and sports.
Is it also important to have that data with you?
You can pick up this medication passport at your pharmacy
Everyone here is talking about a simple medicine passport, but GP Smit is not talking about that. He's talking about a medical "passport" with passport in quotes. It is a document that you can make yourself containing, as GP Smit says, “A medical passport should report on chronic conditions, medication use, allergies and operations in the past. A smartphone already suffices as a medical 'passport'. So also on paper. Only a medicine passport may be required for customs, but is too limited for a doctor.
What should I do with a medical passport?
I have no diseases, have not used any medicines for 64 years and have lived in Thailand for more than 10 years.
I am a blood donor, I have a card (I am a VIP blood donor with my Oneg blood) and the hospital that knows the most about me is the Red Cross hospital in Bangkok.
I think that EVERY FOREIGNERS in Thailand should have such a passport with them is nonsense.
The 'medical passport' that the doctor in question spoke about goes a lot further than the medicine passport, which is the subject of most reactions.
I have already read many different responses, where you can get this medical passport, such as at the GGD, pharmacy or your GP. But where should people get this, who have lived in Thailand for years? Perhaps Mr. Gerard Smit can / wants to make a design for this and then indicate what should be in it, so that you can make it yourself and carry it with you in case of emergency.