Hospital and insurance in Thai

ผมไม่สบายครับ

phǒm mâi sà-baai khráp

I'm not feeling well.

Male speaker

The universal opener at a clinic or pharmacy counter. ไม่สบาย (mâi sà-baai), literally not comfortable, covers everything from a cold to food poisoning. Then point and add ปวด (bpùat), it hurts: ปวดหัว (bpùat hǔa) headache, ปวดท้อง (bpùat tháwng) stomach ache.

ใช้ประกันที่นี่ได้ไหมครับ

chái bprà-gan thîi-nîi dâi mǎi khráp

Can I use my insurance here?

Male speaker

Ask at registration or the cashier before treatment, never after. Have your insurance card and passport ready. Two replies to know: ได้ครับ (dâi khráp), yes you can, and จ่ายก่อน (jàai gàwn), pay first, which means you pay cash now and claim reimbursement from your insurer yourself.

เป็นอะไรมาครับ

bpen à-rai maa khráp

What seems to be the problem?

Male speaker

Hearing phrase: the standard opening question from the nurse or doctor, literally 'you come being what'. Answer with your symptom: ปวดท้องครับ (bpùat tháwng khráp), stomach ache, or เป็นไข้ครับ (bpen khâi khráp), I have a fever.

ผมแพ้ยาครับ

phǒm pháe yaa khráp

I'm allergic to a medication.

Male speaker

A safety sentence to know cold. แพ้ (pháe) means allergic; put the drug name after ยา, as in ผมแพ้ยาเพนิซิลลินครับ for penicillin. It works for food too: แพ้อาหารทะเล (pháe aa-hǎan thá-lee), allergic to seafood. Thai pharmacists read English drug names, so show the written name as well.

ห้องฉุกเฉินอยู่ที่ไหนคะ

hâwng chùk-chǒen yùu thîi-nǎi khá

Where is the emergency room?

Female speaker

Say this at the main entrance or to the security guard, who will point rather than explain. Private hospitals sign it as ER or Accident and Emergency; at a government hospital the same counter is often the only one still open after 16:00. A man ends with khráp.

พี่คะ ขอถามหน่อยค่ะ

phîi khá khǎw thǎam nàwy khâ

Excuse me, may I ask you something?

Female speaker

This is the turn before every other turn in the set. Phîi is the ordinary respectful call term for any staff member roughly your age or older and carries no familiarity; for a nurse say khun phá-yaa-baan khá. Beckon with the palm down, never palm up or with one raised finger, and pass cards and documents with your right hand.

คุณหมอครับ ขอถามเรื่องยาหน่อยครับ

khun mǎw khráp khǎw thǎam rêuang yaa nàwy khráp

Doctor, may I ask something about the medicine?

Male speaker

Consultations are short and the doctor will move to the next patient the moment you stop talking, so open with this rather than waiting for a pause. Khun mǎw is the normal address for a doctor of any rank. Ask before you leave the room, because once you are back in the corridor you will be sent to the pharmacy instead.

ผมเจ็บหน้าอกมากครับ

phǒm jèp nâa-òk mâak khráp

I have bad chest pain.

Male speaker

Lead with the symptom at the triage desk, not with a greeting. Chest pain, breathing trouble and heavy bleeding move you up the queue at once. For other pain use ปวด instead: ปวดหัว (bpùat hǔa, headache) or ปวดท้อง (bpùat tháwng, stomach ache). Keep เจ็บ for chest pain and for injuries.

มีไข้สูงมาสองวันแล้วค่ะ ปวดตัวมากค่ะ

mii khâi sǔung maa sǎwng wan láew khâ bpùat dtua mâak khâ

I have had a high fever for two days and my body aches badly.

Female speaker

Fever plus body ache is the wording that gets you a blood test, ตรวจเลือด (dtrùat lêuat), for dengue rather than a paracetamol and a shrug. Notice there is no pronoun: ดิฉัน (dì-chǎn) exists, but in a clinic most women drop the pronoun and let ค่ะ carry the politeness, and nobody hears it as rude. A man says the same line with khráp and may add phǒm.

ท้องเสียมาก ถ่ายเหลวหลายรอบค่ะ

tháwng sǐa mâak thàai lěo lǎai râwp khâ

I have bad diarrhoea and have passed loose stools many times.

Female speaker

Food poisoning is what actually brings foreigners living here into a Thai clinic. Tháwng sǐa is the plain everyday word and staff expect it, so do not reach for anything more clinical. Say how many times and whether there is blood or fever, since that is what decides between oral rehydration salts and a drip.

รถล้มครับ แผลถลอกทั้งขา

rót lóm khráp phlǎe thà-làwk tháng khǎa

I came off my motorbike. My leg is grazed all down one side.

Male speaker

Road rash is the most common injury a resident brings in, and Thai staff will clean it far more thoroughly than you expect. Rót lóm is what everyone says for coming off a bike, with no need to name the motorbike. Show the wound rather than describing it, and say whether you hit your head.

ต้องฉีดยาบาดทะยักไหมครับ

dtâwng chìit yaa bàat-thá-yák mǎi khráp

Do I need a tetanus injection?

Male speaker

Ask this yourself for any wound that touched the road, since staff will often assume you are already covered. If you do not know when your last one was, say mâi rúu (I do not know) and they will give it. The booster lasts ten years, so note the date in your phone when you get it.

ช่วยเรียกรถพยาบาลให้หน่อยครับ

chûay rîak rót phá-yaa-baan hâi nàwy khráp

Please call an ambulance for me.

Male speaker

Say this to a bystander, a guard or shop staff, who can talk to the operator faster than you can. Bare rîak rót phá-yaa-baan dùan is how a headline reads, not how you ask a stranger. The free national line is 1669 and the operator has some English. In heavy Bangkok traffic an ambulance can be slow, so for a minor cut, a fever or a sprain a taxi may get you there sooner, but for chest pain, stroke signs, fainting, breathing trouble, an allergic reaction or heavy bleeding, call 1669 and wait for the paramedics.

มีคนหมดสติ ส่งรถพยาบาลด่วนครับ

mii khon mòt-sà-dtì sòng rót phá-yaa-baan dùan khráp

Someone is unconscious. Send an ambulance quickly.

Male speaker

This is the opener for the 1669 call itself. Say what is wrong first and in one breath, because the operator is triaging while you speak. Swap หมดสติ for เจ็บหน้าอก (chest pain), หายใจไม่ออก (hǎai-jai mâi àwk, cannot breathe) or เลือดออกมาก (lêuat àwk mâak, bleeding heavily).

มีหมอที่พูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหมคะ

mii mǎw thîi phûut phaa-sǎa ang-grìt dâi mǎi khá

Is there a doctor who speaks English?

Female speaker

Ask at reception, before you are sent to a room. At a private hospital the answer is usually yes; at a government one they often fetch a nurse who translates instead. If you hear mâi mii (there is none), ask which shift has one rather than giving up on the hospital.

ใช้ประกันสังคมที่นี่ได้ไหมครับ

chái bprà-gan sǎng-khom thîi-nîi dâi mǎi khráp

Can I use my social security here?

Male speaker

If you hold a work permit your employer is paying into ประกันสังคม and you have a hospital registered against your name. Ask this before treatment, not at the cashier. The scheme covers you free at that one hospital only, except for a genuine emergency, so this single question is the most expensive one a resident can fail to ask.

เคลมตรงกับบริษัทประกันได้ไหมครับ

khleem dtrong gàp baw-rí-sàt bprà-gan dâi mǎi khráp

Can you claim directly with the insurance company?

Male speaker

Ask at the cashier or insurance counter before treatment starts, not after. Private hospitals call the process a fax claim: they fax your insurer for approval and it takes 30 to 90 minutes. The answer is either dâi khâ or the pay-first sentence in the reply set.

ค่ารักษาประมาณเท่าไหร่ครับ

khâa rák-sǎa bprà-maan thâo-rài khráp

Roughly how much will the treatment cost?

Male speaker

A fair question at any counter and nobody is offended by it, but ask before treatment, since afterwards it is not an estimate, it is a bill. Ask them to write the number down rather than trusting what you heard. Prices vary enormously between a government hospital, a mid-range private one and an international one, so an estimate from one tells you nothing about another.

รับบัตรเครดิตไหมคะ

ráp bàt khree-dìt mǎi khá

Do you take credit cards?

Female speaker

Private hospitals almost always do; plenty of government cashiers do not. The answer you may get is เงินสดอย่างเดียวค่ะ (ngoen-sòt yàang-diao khâ), cash only, usually followed by ตู้เอทีเอ็มอยู่ชั้นล่างค่ะ (dtûu ee-thii-em yùu chán-lâang khâ), the ATM is downstairs. Withdrawal limits are low, so carry more cash than you think a visit needs.

รอนานไหมคะ

raw naan mǎi khá

Is the wait long?

Female speaker

Worth asking because the answer decides whether you go and eat, and because the reply is a number of hours often enough at a government hospital. Follow it with ตอนนี้คิวถึงเบอร์อะไรแล้วคะ (dtawn-níi khiu thěung boe à-rai láew khá), which queue number is up now, then compare it with the number on your slip.

ผมกินยาประจำอยู่ครับ นี่ยาที่กินอยู่ครับ

phǒm gin yaa bprà-jam yùu khráp nîi yaa thîi gin yùu khráp

I take regular medication. This is what I am on.

Male speaker

Yaa bprà-jam is the standing prescription: blood pressure tablets, thyroid, an inhaler. Bring the actual boxes and put them on the desk, because the Thai brand names differ from the ones at home and the doctor will read the generic name off the packet. Blood thinners and diabetes drugs matter most, so lead with those.

ขอยาเดิมอีกหนึ่งเดือนได้ไหมครับ

khǎw yaa doem ìik nèung deuan dâi mǎi khráp

May I have the same prescription for another month?

Male speaker

Yaa doem means the same drug as last time, and it is what a monthly refill visit is built around. The usual answer is ต้องเจอหมอก่อนถึงจะจ่ายยาได้ค่ะ (dtâwng joe mǎw gàwn thěung jà jàai yaa dâi khâ), you must see the doctor before we dispense, so book the consultation rather than turning up at the pharmacy window. Many common drugs are also sold straight over the counter at a pharmacy for far less.

ขอพบหมอคนเดิมได้ไหมคะ

khǎw phóp mǎw khon doem dâi mǎi khá

May I see the same doctor as last time?

Female speaker

Worth insisting on for anything ongoing, because the doctor who already knows the case saves you retelling it in your second language. Khon doem is the same person as before. Follow with หมอออกตรวจวันไหนคะ (mǎw àwk dtrùat wan-nǎi khá), which days does that doctor have clinic, since specialists sit on fixed days and that question is what makes the request work.

อยู่ตรงไหนคะ บอกที่อยู่ได้ไหมคะ

yùu dtrong-nǎi khá bàwk thîi-yùu dâi mǎi khá

Where are you? Can you give me the address?

Female speaker

This is always the operator's next question and it is where the call fails. Name a landmark rather than a street number: the ปากซอย (bpàak-sawy, mouth of the lane), the nearest 7-Eleven, a temple or a petrol station. Have the soi number and the district ready, and if a Thai speaker is standing next to you, hand them the phone.

ใช้สิทธิ์อะไรคะ

chái sìt à-rai khá

What entitlement are you using?

Female speaker

At a government hospital this comes before any question about insurance, and it floors residents who were expecting mii bprà-gan mǎi. Sìt is your entitlement scheme. Answer chái sìt bprà-gan sǎng-khom khráp if you are on social security through your work permit, or jàai ngoen eeng khráp (I am paying myself) if you are not.

ที่นี่ไม่ใช่โรงพยาบาลตามสิทธิ์ ต้องจ่ายเองค่ะ

thîi-nîi mâi châi roong-phá-yaa-baan dtaam sìt dtâwng jàai eeng khâ

This is not the hospital your entitlement is registered to, so you have to pay yourself.

Female speaker

Roong-phá-yaa-baan dtaam sìt is your registered hospital and social security pays nowhere else. If you hear this, ask โรงพยาบาลตามสิทธิ์ของผมคือที่ไหนครับ (roong-phá-yaa-baan dtaam sìt khǎwng phǒm kheu thîi-nǎi khráp), which hospital is mine. You can change the registered hospital once a year through your employer or the social security office.

มีประกันสุขภาพไหมคะ

mii bprà-gan sùk-khà-phâap mǎi khá

Do you have health insurance?

Female speaker

The first question at a private counter, usually asked while the clerk is already reaching for your card. Answer mii khâ or mii khráp and hand it over, or mâi mii if you are paying cash. A travel policy is worth showing at a private hospital, but they bill directly only for insurers on their own list, so expect the pay-first answer. A government counter has no mechanism to bill a foreign insurer at all, so there the honest answer is that you will pay and claim yourself.

ประกันบริษัทอะไรคะ

bprà-gan baw-rí-sàt à-rai khá

Which insurance company are you with?

Female speaker

She needs the company name before she can tell you whether direct billing is even possible, so this follows within seconds of the first question. Say the name slowly in English and point to it on the card. If the insurer is not on their board, the pay-first sentence is coming next.

มีค่ะนี่บัตรประกันค่ะ

mii khâ nîi bàt bprà-gan khâ

Yes I do. Here is my insurance card.

Female speaker

Your answer with the card already in your hand. A man says mii khráp nîi bàt bprà-gan khráp. Hand over your passport at the same time, because they need both to open a file, and a photo of the card on your phone is usually accepted if the card itself is at home.

มีประกันแต่ต้องจ่ายเองก่อนครับ ขอใบเสร็จตัวจริงด้วยครับ

mii bprà-gan dtàe dtâwng jàai eeng gàwn khráp khǎw bai-sèt dtua-jing dûay khráp

I have insurance but I will pay first and claim it back myself, so please give me the original receipt.

Male speaker

The honest third answer, and the one that saves an hour at a government counter or with a foreign travel policy. Saying it up front stops the clerk trying to open a fax claim that will fail. Ask for the original receipt in the same breath, because the paperwork is decided at the moment of payment.

ไม่มีประกันค่ะ จ่ายเงินสดค่ะ

mâi mii bprà-gan khâ jàai ngoen-sòt khâ

I have no insurance. I am paying cash.

Female speaker

Say it plainly, since it changes nothing about the treatment and only decides which counter you are sent to. Uninsured patients at a private hospital are often asked for a deposit before admission. Ask for the cost estimate in the same conversation rather than after the treatment.

คนไข้เก่าหรือคนไข้ใหม่คะ

khon-khâi gào rěu khon-khâi mài khá

Are you an existing patient or a new one?

Female speaker

Old patient means you already have a hospital number here, which skips the whole registration step. Answer khon-khâi mài khâ or khon-khâi gào khâ, and if you are an old patient, say the number or hand over the hospital card they issued you.

เคยมารักษาที่นี่ไหมคะ

khoei maa rák-sǎa thîi-nîi mǎi khá

Have you been treated here before?

Female speaker

The formal old-patient-or-new split is the clerk's own category; in practice she asks it this way, or simply มีบัตรโรงพยาบาลไหมคะ (mii bàt roong-phá-yaa-baan mǎi khá), do you have the hospital card. Answer khoei khâ or mâi khoei khâ. Learn all three forms, because you do not get to choose which one arrives.

เคยมาแล้วครับ แต่ลืมบัตรมาครับ

khoei maa láew khráp dtàe leum bàt maa khráp

I have been here before, but I forgot to bring the card.

Male speaker

Not a problem: they find your file from your passport number, so hand the passport over and say your date of birth. It costs a few minutes, not the visit. Photograph the hospital card and keep it in your phone so it never happens twice.

ต้องวางมัดจำก่อนนะคะ

dtâwng waang mát-jam gàwn ná khá

You need to leave a deposit first.

Female speaker

Private hospitals ask uninsured patients for a deposit before they will admit you, and the ná khá does not mean it is negotiable. It is credited against the final bill, so ask for the receipt for it as well. If you cannot cover it, say so at once and ask whether the insurer can be called instead.

เชิญนั่งรอ เดี๋ยวเรียกชื่อนะคะ

choen nâng raw dǐao rîak chêu ná khá

Please sit and wait, we will call your name shortly.

Female speaker

The most common thing staff will say back to you all day. Thai staff mangle foreign surnames, so listen for your first name only, or hold up your queue slip when a name that could be yours is called. Sit where you can see the counter you were sent to, not the nearest empty chair.

ไปที่ช่องหมายเลขห้าค่ะ

bpai thîi châwng mǎai-lêek hâa khâ

Go to counter number five.

Female speaker

A Thai hospital visit is a routing problem: registration, vitals, consulting room, cashier, pharmacy, each with its own window. Châwng is the counter or window. Repeat the number back to confirm it, and if you did not catch it, ask her to write it down rather than guessing.

ไปวัดความดันกับชั่งน้ำหนักก่อนนะคะ

bpai wát khwaam-dan gàp châng nám-nàk gàwn ná khá

Go and have your blood pressure and weight taken first.

Female speaker

Every outpatient visit passes through the vitals station before the doctor, and skipping it sends you back down the queue. It is usually a small desk just outside the consulting rooms. You will be given the readings on a slip to carry in with you.

เป็นมากี่วันแล้วคะ

bpen maa gìi wan láew khá

How many days have you had this?

Female speaker

Duration is the doctor's very next question after any symptom, in every consultation in Thailand, so have the number ready before you sit down. Bpen maa is the frame for an ongoing condition. The other two that always follow are มีไข้ไหมคะ (mii khâi mǎi khá), do you have a fever, and the question about what you have already taken.

เป็นมาสามวันแล้วครับ

bpen maa sǎam wan láew khráp

I have had it for three days now.

Male speaker

Swap the number and the unit as needed: อาทิตย์ (aa-thít, week), เดือน (deuan, month). For something that started last night say เป็นตั้งแต่เมื่อคืนครับ (bpen dtâng-dtàe mêua-kheun khráp), since last night. Being precise here changes the diagnosis more than any adjective you could add.

กินยาอะไรมาแล้วบ้างคะ

gin yaa à-rai maa láew bâang khá

What medicine have you already taken?

Female speaker

Bâang expects a list rather than one item, so name everything including anything from a pharmacy. The normal answer here is ซื้อยาที่ร้านขายยามากินครับ (séu yaa thîi ráan-khǎai-yaa maa gin khráp), I bought something at the pharmacy. Best of all, carry the empty box in and put it on the desk.

แพ้ยาอะไรไหมครับ

pháe yaa à-rai mǎi khráp

Are you allergic to any medicine?

Male speaker

Asked by the doctor or nurse before any injection or prescription. If you have no allergy, say mâi pháe khráp or mâi pháe khâ. If you do, say the drug name in English slowly and write it down as well, since staff read Latin drug names far more reliably than they hear them.

หมอให้นอนโรงพยาบาลหนึ่งคืนค่ะ

mǎw hâi nawn roong-phá-yaa-baan nèung kheun khâ

The doctor wants to admit you for one night.

Female speaker

This is admission. Nawn roong-phá-yaa-baan literally means sleep at the hospital and is the ordinary way to say it, so do not wait for a more formal word. Before you agree to a room, ask ห้องเดี่ยวประกันจ่ายไหมคะ (hâwng dìao bprà-gan jàai mǎi khá), can insurance pay for a single room, because most policies cap the nightly room rate.

เซ็นชื่อตรงนี้ค่ะ

sen chêu dtrong-níi khâ

Sign here.

Female speaker

Consent and claim forms are in Thai and will be pushed across the counter with a pen already on top. You are entitled to know what you are signing before you sign it, so use the document question in the recover set first. Sign the same way as the signature in your passport, since that is what they compare it with.

ขอหนังสือเดินทางกับสำเนาด้วยค่ะ

khǎw nǎng-sěu doen-thaang gàp sǎm-nao dûay khâ

I need your passport and a photocopy as well.

Female speaker

Sǎm-nao is a photocopy, and they will want it signed across the face. Most hospitals have a copier somewhere on the ground floor, but keeping a folded copy in your bag and a photo on your phone saves the trip every time. A residence certificate or work permit is sometimes asked for too.

ขอเบอร์ติดต่อญาติค่ะ

khǎw boe dtìt-dtàw yâat khâ

I need a contact number for a relative.

Female speaker

Standard on any admission form and awkward for a foreigner living alone. The answer that works is อยู่คนเดียวครับ ให้เบอร์เพื่อนได้ไหมครับ (yùu khon-diao khráp hâi boe phêuan dâi mǎi khráp), I live alone, can I give a friend's number. Ask that friend first, and keep their number written somewhere other than a locked phone.

ต้องจ่ายเองก่อนแล้วไปเคลมทีหลังนะคะ

dtâwng jàai eeng gàwn láew bpai khleem thii-lǎng ná khá

You have to pay yourself first and claim it back afterwards.

Female speaker

What you hear when direct billing is refused or your insurer is not on their list. Ná khá softens the sentence, it is not an apology, and the cashier cannot overrule it. Pay, then get the documents in the recover set before you walk out.

ประกันไม่คุ้มครองส่วนนี้ค่ะ

bprà-gan mâi khúm-khrawng sùan níi khâ

Insurance does not cover this part.

Female speaker

Khúm-khrawng is the policy verb for covered, so this is the sentence to listen for at the cashier. The usual reasons are that the visit is outpatient and the policy is inpatient only, ประกันคุ้มครองเฉพาะผู้ป่วยในค่ะ (bprà-gan khúm-khrawng chà-pháw phûu-bpùai-nai khâ), or that it has been called pre-existing. Ask which item is refused before you argue about the total.

เกินวงเงินค่ะ ต้องจ่ายส่วนเกินเองนะคะ

goen wong-ngoen khâ dtâwng jàai sùan-goen eeng ná khá

It is over your policy limit, so you pay the excess yourself.

Female speaker

Wong-ngoen is the ceiling your policy allows and sùan-goen is the amount above it, most often a room rate above the nightly cap. Ask ส่วนเกินเท่าไหร่คะ (sùan-goen thâo-rài khá), how much is the excess, and get the figure written down. This is a bill, not a negotiation, but the room downgrade below can still shrink it.

ชำระเงินที่ช่องการเงินก่อน แล้วรับยาที่ห้องยานะคะ

cham-rá ngoen thîi châwng gaan-ngoen gàwn láew ráp yaa thîi hâwng yaa ná khá

Pay at the cashier first, then collect your medicine at the pharmacy.

Female speaker

This is how every Thai outpatient visit ends and the order is never the other way round. Cham-rá ngoen is the formal word for settling up, so expect it on signs as well as from staff. You will be given another queue number at the pharmacy, so do not leave the building when the cashier is done.

กินครั้งละหนึ่งเม็ด วันละสามครั้ง หลังอาหารค่ะ

gin khráng-lá nèung mét wan-lá sǎam khráng lǎng aa-hǎan khâ

Take one tablet at a time, three times a day, after food.

Female speaker

The pharmacist says this at speed through a window, and the same words are printed on the bag. Khráng-lá is per dose and wan-lá is per day, so listen for the two numbers. Gàwn aa-hǎan means before food and gawn nawn (ก่อนนอน) means at bedtime.

ยาปฏิชีวนะต้องกินให้ครบนะคะ

yaa bpà-dtì-chii-wá-ná dtâwng gin hâi khróp ná khá

You must finish the whole course of antibiotics.

Female speaker

Hâi khróp means until the course is complete, not until you feel better. Antibiotics are easy to buy over the counter here, which is exactly why half-finished courses are so common. If a drug makes you unwell, go back and ask rather than stopping on your own.

หมอนัดอีกสองอาทิตย์นะคะ นี่ใบนัดค่ะ

mǎw nát ìik sǎwng aa-thít ná khá nîi bai nát khâ

The doctor will see you again in two weeks. Here is your appointment slip.

Female speaker

Nát is both the verb and the noun for an appointment, and the bai nát is the slip you must bring back with you. Keep it, because arriving without it puts you through registration again. Check the date on it before you leave the counter, since it is written in the Thai Buddhist year, 543 ahead of the Western one.

เอกสารนี้เกี่ยวกับอะไรคะ ขอฉบับภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหมคะ

èek-gà-sǎan níi gìao-gàp à-rai khá khǎw chà-bàp phaa-sǎa ang-grìt dâi mǎi khá

What is this document about? Is there an English version?

Female speaker

The line that protects you, and asking it is normal rather than difficult. Consent forms often have an English version filed somewhere even when the Thai one is handed over by default. If there is none, ask for the gist in a sentence and photograph every page you sign.

ขอเปลี่ยนเป็นห้องรวมได้ไหมคะ

khǎw bplìan bpen hâwng ruam dâi mǎi khá

Can I change to a shared room?

Female speaker

Hâwng ruam is the shared ward and it is where most of the nightly excess disappears. Ask before admission, not on discharge day, because nights already spent in the single room are billed at the single room rate whatever you move to afterwards. Ask what the ward rate is before you agree.

ขอโทรถามบริษัทประกันก่อนได้ไหมคะ

khǎw thoo thǎam baw-rí-sàt bprà-gan gàwn dâi mǎi khá

May I call my insurance company first?

Female speaker

Always granted, and it is the one move that can change a refusal, since an insurer will sometimes authorise by phone what the fax desk turned down. Have the policy number and the 24 hour assistance line saved in your phone before you ever need them. Ask the hospital for the treatment name in writing so you can read it out.

ยานี้กินยังไงคะ

yaa níi gin yang-ngai khá

How do I take this one?

Female speaker

Hold up the actual bag and ask, rather than nodding at the window and working it out at home. The two follow-ups worth having are ก่อนหรือหลังอาหารคะ (gàwn rěu lǎng aa-hǎan khá), before or after food, and ยาตัวไหนแก้ปวดคะ (yaa dtua-nǎi gâe bpùat khá), which one is the painkiller. Ask them to write the English name on the bag for your own records.

ขอเลื่อนนัดได้ไหมคะ

khǎw lêuan nát dâi mǎi khá

May I move my appointment?

Female speaker

Lêuan is to push a fixed date back or forward and is the normal word for rescheduling anything, not only at a hospital. Ring the number on the slip rather than turning up. Give them two dates that work for you, since the specialist may only sit on certain days.

พูดช้าๆอีกทีได้ไหมครับ

phûut cháa-cháa ìik thii dâi mǎi khráp

Could you say that again slowly?

Male speaker

The most useful repair line in a hospital, where everything is said fast and once. Cháa-cháa is the doubled adjective used adverbially, so it means slowly rather than slow. What makes the line polite is dâi mǎi khráp, the can-you frame, not the doubling. A woman ends with khá.

ผมไม่เข้าใจครับเขียนให้หน่อยได้ไหมครับ

phǒm mâi khâo-jai khráp khǐan hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khráp

I do not understand. Could you write it down for me?

Male speaker

Use it for amounts, room numbers, appointment times and drug names, all of which are far easier to read than to hear. Staff will write in Thai script, but the figures and the Latin drug names come out perfectly readable, and you can photograph the paper for your insurer.

ช่วยตรวจสอบยอดอีกครั้งได้ไหมคะ

chûay dtrùat-sàwp yâwt ìik khráng dâi mǎi khá

Could you check the total again please?

Female speaker

For a total that does not match what you were quoted, or a room charge after insurance was supposed to cover it. Do not use เช็คบิล (chék bin) here: in Thailand that is the restaurant idiom for asking for the bill, so the cashier will simply hand you the printout again. Dtrùat-sàwp is inspect or verify and it is what gets the figure looked at. Follow with ขอรายการค่าใช้จ่ายแบบละเอียดด้วยค่ะ (khǎw raai-gaan khâa-chái-jàai bàep lá-ìat dûay khâ), the itemised breakdown, which is also what your insurer will want.

ตรงนี้ค่าอะไรคะ

dtrong-níi khâa à-rai khá

What is this charge for?

Female speaker

The line that actually finds the error, said with your finger on the row. Khâa is the fee-for prefix, so the answer comes back the same way: ค่ายากับค่าห้องค่ะ (khâa yaa gàp khâa hâwng khâ), medicine and the room. Go line by line rather than disputing the total, since that is the only way anything gets corrected.

ขอใบเสร็จตัวจริงกับใบรับรองแพทย์ด้วยค่ะ

khǎw bai-sèt dtua-jing gàp bai ráp-rawng phâet dûay khâ

I need the original receipt and the medical certificate as well.

Female speaker

Insurers reject claims backed only by the small payment slip. Bai-sèt dtua-jing is the original receipt and bai ráp-rawng phâet is the doctor's certificate, which normally costs a small fee and means another wait. Ask before you leave the building, because coming back for it later means queuing from the start.

ขอใบรับรองแพทย์สำหรับใบอนุญาตทำงานค่ะ

khǎw bai ráp-rawng phâet sǎm-ràp bai à-nú-yâat tham-ngaan khâ

I need a medical certificate for a work permit.

Female speaker

Say what the certificate is for, because the wording and the boxes ticked differ by purpose and the wrong one is refused at the labour office. The work permit version screens for a short list of named diseases and is usually issued the same day at a clinic. Bring your passport, since the number goes on the form.

ขอใบรับรองแพทย์ให้ที่ทำงานด้วยค่ะ ขอระบุวันที่หยุดงานค่ะ

khǎw bai ráp-rawng phâet hâi thîi-tham-ngaan dûay khâ khǎw rá-bù wan-thîi yùt-ngaan khâ

I need a medical certificate for my employer, stating the days off work.

Female speaker

Rá-bù is to state explicitly on the document, and without that request the certificate says only that you attended. Thai schools and employers want the dates in writing, so ask in the consulting room while the doctor is still in front of you. Get it at the visit, not the week after.

ขอใบสรุปประวัติการรักษาเป็นภาษาอังกฤษด้วยค่ะ

khǎw bai sà-rùp bprà-wàt gaan rák-sǎa bpen phaa-sǎa ang-grìt dûay khâ

I need a summary of the treatment in English as well.

Female speaker

Foreign insurers demand this and Thai hospitals will only produce it if asked at the counter, usually for a fee. Ask กี่วันได้คะ (gìi wan dâi khá), how many days until it is ready, because the English report is rarely same day and often needs collecting in person. Request it before you leave, since a claim filed without it stalls for weeks.

ขอประวัติการรักษาไปโรงพยาบาลอื่นได้ไหมคะ

khǎw bprà-wàt gaan rák-sǎa bpai roong-phá-yaa-baan èun dâi mǎi khá

May I have my treatment records to take to another hospital?

Female speaker

Nothing is shared between Thai hospitals, so changing hospital or flying home means carrying the file yourself. The file is เวชระเบียน (wêet-chá-rá-bian) and the request usually goes through a medical records office rather than the ward. Expect a form, a fee and several days, and ask for the imaging on a disc at the same time.