Healthcare in Laos

The health care system in Lao is poor to say the least.

You must have your own private medical cover.

Thank you for your contribution, stumpy!

Any Lao or foreigner that has any sense goes to Thailand for treatment. Having said that, sometimes it is not avoidable to get treatment in Laos and i have survived an operation in Vientiane, just close your eyes and pray.

Thank you garlicholan for contributing!

Aurélie

There is a new clinic called Alliance International not long opened in Vientiane.

Very good. Prices are great. A good range of services and medicines. Thai doctors.

Our 6 yr old daughter was in there for 4 days and was well looked after.

Thank you for this info, stumpy!

Hi I've literally just had an operations in Laos and the healthcare is passed bad. Only 1 doctor speaks English where I am and I've seen him twice in 5 days. Just hope if you have to go to hospital you can mime because all the nurses just walk away if they don't understand. And don't be surprised for blood stains on the sheets. The surgeons are extremely competent but the after care is terrible. If you can just get to thailand!!

Ben.
Sorry you has such a bad time of it.
Which hospital or clinic were you in?? The alliance Clinic I mentioned in my previous post is excellent. Thai trained staff affiliated with a parent hospital in Udon Thani across the border in  Thailand.

Also remember when travelling to take out adequate medical insurance for the country in which you are travelling.Many travellers get caught out in places like Laos Thailand or Cambodia etc.

Hi,

In order to help expats and soon-to-be expats, we would like to invite you to share your experience on this topic, with updated info on the healthcare system.

Thank you in advance,

Julie
Expat.com Team

I wrote a list of hospitals etc some time ago which can be found in the ' health system'  title in the forum categories list.
Nothing has changed since then.
Most expats here in Laos either have company health cover which includes heading to Thailand for treatment or use the local facilities available.
The French clinic is very good, the Allianz Health Centre has the most competent doctors and nurses, but the cost is high.

I've had the need to use medical, hospital and dental services in Laos for both myself and partner over the past 3 years.
Dental - great work at great prices, English speaking at International Dental Clinic opposite Wind West.
Medical - French clinic costs around US$25 a consultation; competent & pleasant staff who dispense drugs at the clinic.
Hospital - 103; OK if you have a Lao speaker with you - services and drugs at low cost - good for emergencies; minor accidents, cuts , lacerations etc.
Lao-Viet hospital; good range of imaging services - staff will try hard to refer patients to an English speaking doctor.

Health Insurance - extremely expensive in my view. It would take a major medical crisis to justify the expense. If your employer can package health insurance, take it.

Hi Tony and welcome to the forum...  

Health insurance costs are very high here in Laos. Because I am over 60, cost for myself, wife and 3 kids would be around US$12,700 a year.
No need to have to pay such costs, as the prices for consultations here are reasonable.

How does the Health Care system work in Laos?  It doesn't.

Let’s not slag of the Lao Healthcare all the time. It has been 3 years since I commented on the system, I still pray and close my eyes, but things have improved immensely. Naturally you cannot compare it with our standards, but as the previous blogger said for basic and small emergencies they do their best and always with a smile. If you can’t except this then Laos is the wrong country for you.

@garlicholan

I agree with your post. Things are improving and will continue to do so,albeit at a slower pace but changing.
I am now paying $1550.00 a year for wife and 3 kids through Allianz. which pays for doctors fee and basic medicine.

The govt are looking into improvements but this will take time and money.

The old retort, "If you can't accept things as they are, find another country."   Just too easy.  Laos does NOT have to have one of the worst health care systems in the world.  It could organise what it's got to make access easier and cheaper.  It could allow foreign doctors to practice in Laos.  It could have a system where people do not die because their relatives are slow fetching blood from the blood bank on their motor bike, or because the blood bank is generally closed between 10.00 and 6.00.  It is one of the few countries in the world where a patient has specifically to request (and pay for) 'new' anesthetics rather than those that guarantee two days of vomiting after an operation.  It does not need to call pregnant women to come at early evening and sleep on the dirty floor until the surgeon is ready 10.00 the next morning.  It does not need all those queues to pay before seeing a doctor, queue again to pay before getting a blood test, queue again for the results, hand carry the results back to the doctor, who is off for the weekend and nobody else dare act in his absence.  It  could at least put one toilet in the ICU.

When I came back to Laos in 1980 we set up the blood bank (before no operation was possible until relatives supplied blood).  We provided equipment and some training.  The equipment soon fell into disrepair.  Laos asked for more of the same.  We cooperated with a small team of excellent Cuban doctors who were, exceptionally, allowed to practice and train.  All were appalled at the situation and begged us not to supply any more equipment until the wards, operating theatres and emergency services had been thoroughly cleaned with detergent (not a surgeon's job).  Unfortunately the Cubans left before they could really make a difference.  Yes, there are a few reasonable doctors in Mahosot and there are Lao in the government who have been trying to improve things for decades without success.  Criticism does not only come from foreigners.

Imagine the British health service without Indian doctors.  If Laos simply allowed foreigners (including Thais) to practice, and cleaned the place up, and put in water to allow washing, and reorganised the system, great improvements would follow at no great expense to Laos.  That reform is prevented is next to criminal.

Health care in Laos ?? I have been a patient at the 103 ER - after I got cleaned up on my motor bike. It was very basic(reminded me of a clinic I went to in the 80s in India, in the Himalayas - that was basic too) and the doctor? didn't bother to check my ankle to find out why I was limping. The ligaments were ?? stretched ? still sore at times after a year but that later night the pain was ... not delicious.
My friend went to a Thai dermatologist last week who recommended a dodgy mole get removed from his back - growing quickly , black and ugly, he thought it looked cancerous. My friend went back to a clinic in Laos to save money. The clinic cut it off and said it was a wart. When told this the Thai dermatologist laughed, claimed they were idiots.
I have heard of a Falang road accident victim being treated without pain killers because she didn't have enough kip in her pocket - broken bones pushed back into torn flesh  - but that was some years ago before the ambo service. It wouldn't happen now ? would it?
At the university here there are many ways to become a 'doctor' , it is random luck to get a good one or not - if you can ... cross the river. The French clinic is good value at $30 - the Aus embassy has a clinic but is around a $100 a visit.