Hospitals in Thailand

Most hospitals in Thailand are operated by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH). Private hospitals are regulated by the Medical Registration Division under the MOPH's Department of Health Service Support following the Sanatorium Act, B.E. 2541. Other government units and public organisations also operate hospitals, including the military, universities, local governments and the Red Cross. As of 2010, there are 1,002 public hospitals and 316 registered private hospitals.

Provincial hospitals operated by the MOPH's Office of the Permanent Secretary are classified as follows:^[1]

• Regional hospitals are located in province centres, have a capacity of at least 500 beds and have a comprehensive set of specialists on staff.
• General hospitals are located in province capitals or major districts and have a capacity of 200 to 500 beds.
• Community hospitals are located in the district level and further classified by size:
  • Large community hospitals have a capacity of 90 to 150 beds.
  • Medium community hospitals have a capacity of 60 beds.
  • Small community hospitals have a capacity of 10 to 30 beds.

While all three types of hospitals serve the local population, community hospitals are usually limited to providing primary care, while referring patients in need of more advanced or specialised care to general or regional hospitals.

The term general hospital, when referring to private hospitals, refer to hospitals which provide non-specialised care. Private hospitals with less than 30 beds are officially termed health centres. Both are defined as accepting patient admissions.

See also

• List of hospitals in Thailand

References

1. ^ "ข้อมูลทั่วไปเกี่ยวกับสถานบริการ" (in Thai). Bureau of Policy and Strategy website. Bureau of Policy and Strategy, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health. http://bps.ops.moph.go.th/H.doc. Retrieved 10 November 2011.