Medical Care in Chiang Mai

Private hospitals for older expats

For men in their 60s and 70s weighing up a move to northern Thailand, healthcare is usually the deciding question. Chiang Mai’s private hospitals treat a lot of foreign patients, many of the doctors trained overseas and speak good English, and the prices are a fraction of those in the US, UK or Australia. Appointments with a specialist are usually a matter of days, not months.

That matters most for the things that come with age — prostate, heart, joints, digestion — and for a proper annual check-up you might put off at home because of the cost or the wait.

Chiangmai Ram and Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai

These are the two names older expats mention most.

• Chiangmai Ram Hospital: JCI-accredited (the main international quality standard), with English-speaking staff and interpreters, and a reputation for efficient service and clear pricing. Its cardiology, urology, orthopaedics and gastroenterology departments are the ones expats tend to mention.
• Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai: part of Thailand’s largest private hospital group, with an international patient department. It has the same core specialities — cardiology, orthopaedics, urology, gastroenterology — and handles everything from minor procedures to full executive health checks. English is standard.

Between them they cover what men aged 55–75 most often need:

• Cardiology and heart screening
• Urology and prostate care
• Orthopaedics for knees, hips and backs
• Gastroenterology
• Executive health check packages (blood work, imaging, ECG, cancer markers)
• Dentistry
• Minor day surgery and recovery

What it costs compared with home

Treatment in Thailand typically costs 50–75% less than in the US, UK or Australia. Approximate figures for 2025–26, in US dollars:

• Executive health check (senior package with bloods, imaging and cardiac tests): $200–$500, against $1,500–$4,000+ at home.
• Specialist consultation (cardiologist or urologist): $30–$80, against $200–$500.
• Knee or hip replacement: $8,000–$15,000, against $35,000–$60,000 in the US or Australia.
• Single dental implant: $1,000–$2,500, against $3,000–$5,000+.
• Colonoscopy or gastroscopy: $600–$1,200, against several thousand.
• Overnight stay in a private room: often $100–$300, including meals and nursing.

At those prices preventive care becomes something you can budget for rather than put off.

Getting to the hospitals from the lodge

Baanpong Lodge is in the San Kamphaeng countryside, about 25–35 minutes’ drive from the main hospitals depending on traffic. A morning appointment still gets you back for lunch by the pool. That is close enough for planned care and most emergencies, but it is not around the corner, and you should weigh that before choosing a rural base.

The lodge can arrange an air-conditioned car to and from appointments, and the staff know the routes.

Before you come

• Visa: many people start on a tourist visa or a retirement visa (Non-Immigrant O). The lodge can point you towards reliable agents for extensions or conversions.
• Insurance: bring international cover that includes Thailand, or look at a local expat policy.
• Paperwork: a summary of your medical history, your current prescriptions with their generic names, and your questions written down. Hospitals usually have translators, but details on paper help.

Between appointments

The lodge restaurant cooks Thai food and Western dishes. There are easy walking trails in the countryside nearby and several golf courses within a short drive, which helps if you are here for a month of follow-ups rather than a single visit.

If you are considering a move, the sensible test is to come for a few weeks, book the check-up you have been putting off, and see how the system works for you.