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Patients waits to see the doctors in the lounge.
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MEDICINE
Fast track to better
By Jintana Panyaarvudh
Daily Xpress
Published on July 17, 2008
With doctors at a premium, Ramathibodi Hospital's Premium Clinic makes life easier
With more than a million patients a year, Ramathi-bodi Hospital's physicians are stretched thin, but its new Premium Clinic offers a streamlined, one-stop service. "Since our doctors' services are also required at many private hospitals, we thought, 'Why not develop service quality to match our quality doctors?'" says Prapapan Tansupasiri, one of the directors of Ramathibodi's Car-diovascular and Metabolic Centre, which runs the clinic. All you need is an appointment. The cost is slightly higher, but there are no long waits to see a doctor, pay the fee or pick up prescriptions - nurses handle the whole process. "Our doctors will consult the clinic visitors and refer them if necessary to specialists," Pra-papan says. You're charged Bt350 for the diagnosis and Bt200 as a pre- mium fee. Dr Khanat Kruthkul, the centre's manager, says this fee will help finance treatment for people too poor to pay for it, who make up 60 per cent of Ramathibodi's patients. The clinic is a temporary model for the full-scale operation planned for the Somdej Pra Thepparat Building now under construction.
XTRAPREMIUM CARE
>> The Premium Clinic can handle 200 people a day. You can be assessed for cardiovascular disease, metabolic function, osteoporosis, obesity and more.
>> The clinic is on the fifth floor of the hospital's Sirikit Medical Centre and open Monday to Friday from 8 to 4. Call (02) 201 2211.
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