
Prior to becoming a digital nomad, and eventual slowmad, I had over 20 years of experience working in healthcare in the United States. I spent ten of those years as a nurse working in various settings ranging from school nursing and Alzheimer’s care to out-patient clinics, psychiatry, and many other disciplines in between, so I’d say I have a pretty good handle on what is required and expected and when seeking medical care- at least within the confines of the American healthcare system.
During my 5-year tenure as an expat in Chiang Mai, overall I haven’t noticed many major differences regarding the quality of care received in several of the private hospitals and clinics here versus comparable facilities back in the States, or what I would assume care would be like in many other Western countries.
Still, there is at least one note-worthy difference regarding when that care is delivered in some circumstances that is worth mentioning, which we’ll get into a bit later.
There are several private hospitals and clinics that are quite popular among foreigners in Chiang Mai and hopefully sharing my personal experience as well as those of others will save you a bit of time and stress in learning how to maneuver the Thai healthcare system as an expat, and deciding which facility to choose.
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How Can I Get Information from this Article?
This article is based on my experience as a former medical professional who has lived in Chiang Mai for many years. I also asked my friends and communities who have experienced visiting a hospital in Chiang Mai.
Additionally, we gathered insights from our ExpatDen community, Reddit discussions, specifically from /r/chiangmai and /r/thailand, and various Facebook groups, including Expats Chiang Mai, Visit Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai – Expats & Locals Living in Chiang Mai, and Chiang Mai Family Guide to provide a well-rounded perspective on healthcare experiences in Chiang Mai.
Things You Should Know Before Going to a Hospital or Clinic in Chiang Mai
Fortunately for those of us who have chosen to make Thailand our home, it happens to have one of the most reasonably priced healthcare systems in the world, making it accessible to both the responsibly insured and uninsured alike.
Aside from the shockingly reasonable out-of-pocket price for all types of care ranging from annual wellness checks and women’s health to diagnostics and major surgical procedures, Thailand’s healthcare system offers accessibility and high-quality service that appeals to both international and local clientele.
Treatment Quality
In my decades-long experience in the American healthcare system, both as a patient and as a nurse, I would say that the overall quality of healthcare in Chiang Mai is comparable to that of the care received in the States.
One of the standout aspects of receiving healthcare in Thailand, in my experience, is the attentive and gentle approach to patient care. I can fully express my concerns without feeling rushed or dismissed, and it’s refreshing to ask questions without being talked over by the doctor—a stark contrast to my experiences with physicians in the U.S..

Now, regarding my experience with the government hospitals in Chiang Mai versus those in America, there are a few similarities between the two, such as the lower cost and extended wait times. However, most of the public hospitals where I’ve worked or received treatment back in the U.S. were just as nice as the private hospitals there in terms of overall aesthetics and access to the latest technology.
But in Thailand, when I walk into a public hospital in Chiang Mai, it definitely feels like a public hospital. They are very much a no-frills kind of place. As a Westerner, I recommend managing your expectations before your visit. This is not to say they don’t provide great care—I’m speaking strictly from an aesthetic standpoint.
Don’t go there expecting complimentary coffee and water or comfy chairs to lounge in, as you would at private institutions here.
Communication
There are seven private hospitals and at least a dozen clinics in Chiang Mai that cater to a large number of foreigners, and the vast majority of the medical and nursing staff at these private hospitals are fluent in English, as well as a variety of other languages such as Mandarin, Japanese, and Burmese. All of these hospitals also have an interpreter available via a hotline to communicate with expats in any language.
Pricing
Pricing is quite transparent. When asked in advance, you are given an estimate or the total price for the appointment ahead of time. And if there are any unexpected costs, barring any last-minute, life-saving emergency care, you are given advance notice, and you can either veto the price increase or go forward with the appointment.

From my experience back in the States, many of us are insured, or some sort of government subsidy program is used, so the true cost of care isn’t fully known unless you ask for an itemized bill, which I highly recommend you do if you have the chance. It’s quite shocking. Items you think would be included in a hospital stay just aren’t. I was charged for everything from the footies they gave me to safely walk around my room, to the cardboard-soft hospital facial tissue, and even the oxygen I breathed in my room. The literal oxygen in the air—no I did not have an oxygen tank. They billed it as “room air.” It was $110 per day.
I wish I was making that up. But I digress. On to the next item on our list.
Prescriptions
Prescriptions can be expensive, but I reckon they have to balance out the cheap cost of services somehow. The good news is that in Thailand most medications can be received over the counter from your local pharmacy, including heart medication, diabetic medication, and antibiotics, so feel free to pick these up at the local pharmacy.
The bad news is that narcotics such as Norco, Tramadol, and medications with codeine are only available at the hospital pharmacy or clinic, meaning you have no choice but to pay the inflated cost for these medications. But considering the low cost of your appointment and treatment, you’re still paying substantially less for care overall than you would in many Western countries.
Choosing Your Physician
Many doctors in Chiang Mai rotate across several hospitals and clinics. So I would recommend that if you are a person who will need ongoing medical care or treatment of a chronic illness and prefer more continuity of care, it would be beneficial for you to choose a provider you connect with, and schedule appointments based on their clinical rotation, versus finding a preferred facility and receiving care from different clinicians.
Insurance Coverage
All private hospitals in Chiang Mai accept international insurance, but it’s best to contact their billing department to confirm whether or not your specific insurance plan is accepted ahead of your appointment. This will prepare you for what cost, if any, will be required out of pocket at your appointment.

Verifying your insurance coverage ahead of time also streamlines the process as verifying international health insurance may take a few minutes, hours, or even the next day, and you will receive no care until your coverage is confirmed or you make some other guarantee of payment. It is possible, but uncommon for a foreigner to be billed post-treatment.
You can read our guide to health insurance in Thailand to find out more.
Payment
Whether you are insured or uninsured, payment is required upon completion of services. There may be some cases where your insurance provider will cover the entire balance, and you pay the co-pay directly to them at a later date. Which reminds me, remember a while ago when I mentioned differences in when care is provided in Thailand compared to some other places?
I had a friend who broke her leg during a motorbike accident. She was a new English teacher and her insurance hadn’t started yet, so she received no care because she could not guarantee payment. While waiting for her insurance to become active, her leg healed- in the position it was broken in, and when it was time for her to undergo surgery they had to actually re-break her leg and fuse it back together properly.
So when I say Thai healthcare is “no payment there is no service”, trust me. That’s why if you are uninsured, you at the very least need to have a nest egg to tap into in case of emergency. Short of a life-or-death situation, you’re on your own until you are able to establish a payment method.
Speed of Service
The clinicians in Chiang Mai seem more respectful of your time. By that, I mean appointments generally run no more than 10 minutes late, and if they do, someone will apologize for the delay.
I have even had the experience of being a few minutes late to an appointment, and the staff at the clinic was waiting for me! This, of course, is not every clinic and hospital in Chiang Mai, but many other expats can echo my sentiment.
This is for private hospital though.
Accreditation
Many hospitals are accredited by the Healthcare Accreditation Institute (HAI), a nationally recognized Thai organization that gives its stamp of approval to healthcare facilities that meet their standards for customer service, health standards, and overall quality of care across Thailand.
Privacy
To safeguard sensitive patient information, Thailand upholds the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). This prevents the sharing of a patient’s medical information without their consent and knowledge ensuring privacy. The PDPA is not as strictly enforced as privacy laws in many Western countries, partially due to the culture in Thailand where it is common for family members to be involved in healthcare decisions and patient information is freely shared without their consent.
I would go as far as to say just about anyone can access patient information in some instances. I recall visiting a friend in the hospital, the one who broke her leg in a motorbike accident. She was recovering from surgery, and upon arriving at the front desk I gave them her name and said that I wanted to bring her lunch.
Then I innocently asked how she was doing, expecting a generic answer like “They’re doing fine”. But what I received instead was a full account of everything that had been going on with her and her recovery.
I’m not quite sure if this was commonplace because things are more casual at public institutions, or if I just happened upon a super friendly, loose-lipped nurse, but she was way over-shared. I mean, of course, I took in every drop of information she had to share, but it was still a little concerning.
Tip: To lessen the chance of this happening, I would recommend seeking care at one of the private hospitals and clinics. They are often more strict with privacy practices as they often pride themselves on providing care based on international standards. You can also ask about their privacy policy before sharing any sensitive information.
Popular Hospitals for Expats in Chiang Mai
Foreigners in Chiang Mai generally prefer private hospitals to public ones, primarily because of the presumed higher standard of care, and I’m inclined to agree.
There are over a hundred healthcare facilities in total located in Chiang Mai, of those, there are seven private hospitals that are popular among expats. I as well as a few friends have had experiences at several of these facilities with experiences ranging from simple diagnostic tests to major operations:
Chiang Mai Ram Hospital
One of the most popular private hospitals in the city, possibly due to its proximity to expat-dense areas, Chiang Mai Ram is a clean and modern facility that I have gone to several times over the years for different diagnostic tests, with my most recent visit being for an x-ray to my cervical spine due to chronic stiffness and pain over a shameful amount of time.

Only after I found myself sleeping like a mummy propped up in its tomb with a travel pillow around my neck as the only way to get a pain-free, full night’s sleep did I decide to seek medical intervention. Shameful, I know—yes, a nurse of all people should be more proactive in their health and well-being. Don’t judge!
Instead of making a formal appointment for an exam and X-ray, I opted for the walk-in clinic instead. I arrived at 2:15 p.m., checked in, and took a seat. To my surprise, I spoke with the nurse and had my vitals taken less than 10 minutes later. By 2:40 p.m., my name was called for my consultation with the physician.
They were pleasant, answered all of my questions, and reviewed a bit of my medical history. I was then immediately escorted to the diagnostic department to receive my X-ray and then back to the initial waiting area. About 20 minutes later, I was called back in to have the doctor go over the results of the X-ray with me. He made some recommendations, and then I was on my way.
My total time spent at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital—without an appointment—for a consultation, X-ray, and review of the results was 1 hour and 35 minutes.
The total cost for the physician consultation, hospital service fee, and X-ray was 1,900 Thai Baht or $53.85, and Chiang Mai Ram Hospital is known as the “expensive” facility to some, depending on the service or treatment.
Fortunately, I have never had to have any type of invasive procedure or major operation during my time here, but I know several people who have. One of them, unfortunately, has spent quite a bit of time at this and other hospitals around the city.
In total, they’ve spent several weeks receiving treatment at Chiang Mai Ram for a back surgery one time, and treatment for a severe burn to their leg at another. Their insurance was accepted with no issues, they contacted the hospital ahead of their appointment to confirm coverage.
Similar to my minor experience at CMR, the doctor answered all of their questions without making them feel rushed, the staff was friendly, and there were no language barriers during any part of their time there. The rooms were nice and modern, and the food options included Thai and Western cuisine.
When our ExpatDen team asked expat communities about their experiences with hospitals in Chiang Mai, many people mentioned visiting Chiang Mai Ram, and most, if not all, had positive experiences. Here’s what they said:
Website: https://www.chiangmairam.com/home



Sriphat Medical Center
A popular choice among expats as well as locals, Sriphat Medical Center
is a semi-private institution operating under the guidance of Chiang Mai University’s School of Medicine. Many of the physicians here also teach at Chiang Mai University, and they are known for having a high standard of care while still being more affordable than other private hospitals.

A friend of mine, the same friend who had the aforementioned back surgery and severe burn to his leg, told me a bit about his experience receiving heart surgery at Sriphat Medical Center. I know, the poor guy can’t catch a break huh? But hold off on the thoughts and prayers, he will be making an appearance at our third and final hospital of the day.
As someone who would clearly be doing themselves a disservice by not being insured at all times, given the amount of titanium, stainless steel, and carbon fibers he must be loaded up with from his multitude of surgeries, he reports that his coverage was once again accepted with no issue, that he only had to cover the copay.

He had initially hoped to have this procedure done at Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai, a wildly popular choice for many foreigners here, but due to the price, he was quoted 1.5 million THB, or $43,450, they looked elsewhere.
He stumbled upon this gem, after discovering that the cardiac surgeon at Bangkok Hospital also practiced at Sriphat Medical Center where the same surgery was priced at 450,000 THB, or $13,000.
Now is $43,450 a more than reasonable price for heart surgery in most Western countries? Of course, it is! But $13,000 is even better- especially if you are being treated by the same highly skilled surgeon.
Website: https://sriphat.med.cmu.ac.th/th/home
Lanna Hospital
Many expats note Lanna Hospital as being one of the most affordable private hospitals in Chiang Mai, and my friend, the Six Million Dollar Man would be inclined to agree. Receiving back surgery here as well, he experienced no language barriers at any part of his treatment at the facility, noted the room to be spacious and modern, and that he felt the medical staff were genuinely invested in his recovery. He received excellent follow-up care.

I wasn’t provided with much more detail from him about his experience there, but I think he’s contributed more than enough information to this article already, so let’s leave him be. However, I do see Lanna Hospital pop up fairly often in online expat chats when someone is seeking guidance on where to go for medical care.
Website: https://www.lanna-hospital.com/

Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai
Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai is another popular private hospital among expats. While I have never visited this hospital in person, it has a good reputation among expats for its quality of treatment. It is also one of only two private hospitals in Chiang Mai with the Joint Commission International (JCI) stamp of approval.

This means you can expect excellent medical care here. However, it is also more expensive than other hospitals. For example, as mentioned earlier, one of my friends was quoted 1.5 million THB for a procedure, while Sriphat Medical Center charged only 450,000 THB for the same treatment.
That doesn’t mean you should rule out Bangkok Hospital. It is one of the best hospitals in Chiang Mai in terms of service and treatment quality. In fact, if you have health insurance, this can be your go-to hospital. Even a basic plan from Cigna Global should cover hospitalization here in full.




Popular Clinics for Expats in Chiang Mai
Clinics in Chiang Mai are great for less invasive procedures such as annual checkups, lab work, diagnostic testing, and physiotherapy. They are generally cheaper, and the overall time spent there is often shorter than at a hospital.
There are dozens of clinics in Chiang Mai, many catering to foreigners, usually located in expat-dense neighborhoods such as Nimman, Jed Yod, and the Old City. CM MediClinic and the Boston Health PolyClinic are two of the most popular stand-alone clinics among expats in Chiang Mai.
CM Mediclinic
This clinic is a personal favorite of mine. I’ve been a patient of theirs since I first moved to Chiang Mai in 2018. There is consistency in staffing, as I’ve been seeing the same physician since I became a patient there. The service is always fast, and professional, and appointments run on time. You can sometimes be seen a bit sooner if you happen to arrive early.

The doctor is efficient, but you never feel rushed, and all staff members are fluent in English. The prices are reasonable, the facilities are well-lit, clean, and modern, and the staff always responds within hours of me messaging them with any questions I may have.
It’s also easy to connect directly with the provider via email, which many of us Americans know is close to impossible back home. You usually only have about 10 minutes or so with your physician at your appointment.
The doctor at this facility has also had advanced training at a Western institution and provides care based on international medical standards and practices. This is a great clinic for your annual health screenings, gynecological exams, men’s health, blood work, diabetic care, and vaccinations.
Website: https://www.cmmediclinic.com
Boston Health Polyclinic
Even though it’s only been open since 2022, Boston Health Polyclinic has quickly become a foreigner favorite. They boast far more offerings than the average stand-alone health clinic in Chiang Mai. They provide red light therapy, IV therapy, and orthopedic consultations. They also staff a physiotherapist, who specializes in lower back pain.

Another unique feature of this clinic is that they also offer house calls with one of their physicians specializing in family medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, or physiotherapy in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
Only a few years old, this clinic is still quite shiny and new, with modern decor, comfortable seating, and complimentary beverages in the lobby. The medical team is fluent in English, and the front desk staff can effectively communicate with English speakers as well.
The appointments run on time, and you don’t feel rushed when you’re speaking with the doctors who are personable, professional, and easy to talk to. Several of the clinicians and practitioners here also have advanced training in Western countries and provide care based on international standards.
Website: https://bostonhealthcm.com
Public vs Private Facilities
As an expat, you are free to seek medical care at any public or private hospital and clinic, with public facilities providing even more savings for the cost-conscious foreigner. But aside from the additional savings, there is a downside or two to public facilities.
I would recommend them if you are comfortable with most likely being the only foreigner there, and can accept that you most likely will not be able to fully communicate with the front desk and possibly some medical staff in English or your native language. There most likely will be a longer wait as well.
If none of that is a deal-breaker for you, then a public clinic or hospital may be a viable option for basic healthcare needs such as physical exams, lab work, and prescription refills. Just keep that phone charged and Google Translate locked and loaded.

However, I would forgo public hospitals and such if you need any type of invasive treatment or procedure, a time when you’d likely prefer to effectively communicate with the medical staff sans language barriers to have all of your questions answered, and a full understanding of what is to take place.
Visiting a Hospital in Chiang Mai
Most private hospitals in Chiang Mai, as well as many clinics, offer online appointment scheduling via their website, Line, WhatsApp, and even Facebook Messenger.
Bring your passport, health coverage details if applicable, and any medical records you may have if relevant to the appointment. It is also helpful to have your Thai address and phone number saved in a note on your phone for quick access unless you will be using a Thai driver’s license for identification.
They will need this information to create your medical file. It may also behoove you to have any questions you may have for the clinician typed in a note as well.
When visiting a hospital in Thailand, I don’t know about you but I always have heaps of questions that I want to ask, then after the appointment I return home, and shortly after it hits me, “Damn! I forgot to ask about…” or “I forgot to tell them about…”
Now, on to You
Depending on which hospital or clinic you choose in Chiang Mai, the care standards can be equal to, and in some cases better than facilities in some Western countries. I, as well as several people I know have had fantastic experiences at several private hospitals and facilities here in Chiang Mai.
But if you’re looking for a guaranteed higher standard of care I recommend Chiang Mai Ram Hospital or Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai, as they are the only two private facilities in the city that are accredited by one of the world’s leading healthcare organizations, Joint Commission International (JCI), for holding themselves to International care standards. That is not to say you wouldn’t receive a high standard of care at any of the other aforementioned facilities.
I point out this distinction simply because it may appeal to some Westerners more than others, for many Americans for example, a facility that is accredited by the JCI may automatically establish it as a go-to hospital to receive top-notch care regardless of what country it is located in, because of the amount of time it takes, and the standard of care required to receive the Joint Commission International (JCI) stamp approval.