What colour is your local hospital? Medical facilities to be colour-coded based on cost

PHOTO: Are they going to paint the hospitals in the coded colour?

Three hundred Thai hospitals are being labelled green, yellow, or red, based on how much they charge patients for drugs and services. The Deputy of Internal Trade, Prayoth Benyasut, confirmed the move, with medical facilities labelled “green” having the lowest impact on your wallet.

“We have listed 164 hospitals as green since the price of their medicines was low. The department is preparing a certificate for them.”

The Nation reports that hospitals categorised as yellow or red have prices ranging from acceptable to expensive. In some private hospitals over 5,000 services have been found to be priced too high, with the department saying it’s planning to carry out a costs review for around 200 to 300 services.

Prayoth says yellow and red hospitals will be issued with guidelines early next year.

“At the beginning of 2020, we will hold a meeting to create guidelines for hospitals in these two groups. We expect to announce the cost appraisal in the next year and the price of medical supplies will be specified last, as there are no appraisals we can use for reference. The medical supplies price is currently being coded and the estimated budget for this project is around 4 to 5 million baht.”

It was not explained how potential patients will know how to identify where the coding will be displayed. Perhaps they’ll paint the entire hospital?

SOURCE: The Nation

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