Bangkok Hospital expanding in the Scandinavian market

Nearly half the international patients of Bangkok Hospital are Scandinavians. Some are residents of Thailand while others are Scandinavians living in countries around the region.
      For about one year, the hospital has had a Norwegian, Mrs. Kjersti Michaelsen as its Scandinavian coordinator. In May, Mrs. Michaelsen took maternity leave but during these months another Norwegian, Mr. Jon Albert Risahagen will take her place.
      The coordinator’s main duties are to assist all Scandinavians who come to the hospital. They facilitate everything from interpretation of the medical terms used by the doctors and nurses to checking patient’s insurance situation and make sure that their visa’s doesn’t expire while they are treated by the Hospital. However, a fair amount of international marketing also goes into the job.
      Following a visit to the hospital earlier this year of Mr. Mikael Sjoberg, State Secretary of the Swedish Department of Health, Bangkok Hospital has now entered cooperation with a health care institution in Sweden. Together, they are planning to open a rehabilitation center near Bangkok in the summer of 2004– possibly in cooperation with Scandinavian Village in Bangsaen Southeast of Bangkok.
      This is a new area of growth for Bangkok Hospital and follows the establishment of an overseas agent in Cologne, Germany, and in London. A new office in Amsterdam is also soon to follow.
      When Mrs. Michaelsen last year started working with the hospital, a regional network was already in place for her to reach out to Scandinavian communities in many of the neighboring countries where the same high standards of medical services are not available. The first office was established in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Later a clinic in Siam Reap has been opened as well.
      These offices will refer patients to Bangkok Hospital for treatment and provide general and specific information on treatments available and their costs. The Siam Reap clinic will provide basic medical treatment, but otherwise refer all mayor medical treatment to Bangkok.
      Today, similar offices have been established in Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh, and in Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. Currently, the opening of an office in Rangoon, Myanmar is moving closer.
      In case of emergency, the hospital provides medical evacuation assistance, and is ready to bring patients from the whole region to Bangkok on very short notice.
      The Bangkok Hospital Group has a network of 14 hospitals throughout Thailand. Bangkok Hospital is the main hospital with the most extensive offer and with an international trained medical staff and equipped with the most advanced medical technologies.

About Gregers Møller

Editor-in-Chief • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

View all posts by Gregers Møller

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *