Volume: 2023 - 145
Date: 25th August 2023

BE WELL NEWS FROM AMBASSADOR LIZZY
Haiko Emanuel & Ambassador Lizzy

Be Well Satellite Clinic @ Black Mountain: Opening as Scheduled in December!
Despite the challenges presented by the recent rainfall, the construction schedule for the new satellite clinic at Hua Hin Health Park remains on course. Together with our partners, we are diligently working to ensure the facility is ready for its December unveiling.
An up-to-date aerial shot of the building site can be found below:

Enhancement of our orthopedic services
To enhance the availability & quality of orthopedic care in Hua Hin we will develop a closer collaboration with the Bangkok Hospital Group and the Spine Clinic.
Through this collaboration, which will span primary, secondary, and tertiary orthopedic care, we can better align & coordinate a patient’s medical process.
Be Well and the Spine Clinic offer primary care services such as GP doctor treatments, osteopathy, chiropractic, physiotherapy, and acupuncture.
The Bangkok Hospital Group offers a broad range of orthopedic care. The orthopedic doctors at Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin provide secondary care OPD & IPD services supported by the tertiary care specialists of the orthopedic center at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok.
As part of the collaboration, Dr Suppanut Tuntirungrojchai, an orthopedic surgeon specialised in sports medicines, will visit the Be Well clinic at Banyan on a regular (monthly) basis for diagnostic consultations and minor procedures which can be executed in our primary care settings. Dr Suppanut’s first visit is planned for September 1st. You can contact us by phone or mail to book a consultation.
Once we re-open our Black Mountain satellite clinic at the Hua Hin Health Park later this year, the frequency of Dr Suppanut’s visits (in both locations) will be increased and the collaboration with neighbouring Spine Clinic intensified.
Bangkok-based orthopedic specialists including renowned spine surgeon Dr. Chaidej Sasomboon who recently visited Hua Hin for a seminar, will advise and support their colleagues in Hua Hin. For complex surgery they would, depending on the case, come to Hua Hin or invite patients to their Bangkok facilities.
The main pillar of the collaboration is fast & efficient internal communication and coordination between the medical professionals.
Another objective of the collaboration is to provide medical information through seminars and publications. Parties are, for instance, planning to organize a seminar on injury prevention early 2024.
For sake of clarity: the collaboration described above is mutually non-exclusive. Be Well will continue to cooperate with, and refer to, other orthopedic experts & hospitals to ensure access to a broad range of expertise & options and/or meet patient’s specific preferences.
Dr. Chaidej Sasomboon
Dr Suppanut Tuntirungrojchai

Update on Our Physiotherapy Department
We'd like to inform you about a change in our physiotherapy department. Our dedicated physiotherapist, Goong, who has been an integral part of our team since the very beginning, has recently accepted a position in Oman. This move isn't new for her as she has previously worked in the country. Her contract in Oman spans two years, commencing this September.
We support Goong in her new venture and wish her all the best during her tenure in Oman. It's heartening to share that Goong intends to return to her hometown, Pranburi, and rejoin our team when she returns. In the interim, jointly with Worada, we have secured a skilled replacement.

Be Well Visiting Specialists and Clinics for the month of September
We would like to provide an update regarding our clinics and visiting specialists scheduled for the month of September:
  1. Dermatology Clinic

    The clinic of our visiting dermatologist Dr Netrnapa of Friday September 1st is fully booked, but she will come a day earlier to meet the high demand. Members can book a consultation on Thursday August 31st.

    The updated calendar for all clinics can be found on our website.
  2. Hearing Clinic:

    Our upcoming clinic with the audiology team from Siam Hearing is scheduled for September 6th. This offers an opportunity for consultations regarding hearing assessments and aid servicing. Further insights about the services provided by the Siam Hearing Aid team are available on our website.
  3. Podiatry & Posturologist:

    Jérôme Somaflhou, a certified podiatrist and posturologist, will be available at our Banyan clinic from September 11th onwards every Monday from 10am till 4pm. His expertise spans from treating foot conditions to providing posture therapy. Additional details about Jérôme's services can be found here.

    All appointments for the above clinics can be made by replying to this e-mail, or calling the clinic at 02 111 66 44

Adjustments to Be Well's Medical Fee Structure from September 1st.
Dear Members,
We’d like to inform you about some adjustments in our medical fees.
Although we have been able to keep our family doctor consultation fees (THB 500) the same since our start in October 2019, Be Well cannot escape from the rising costs due to the inflationary effects over the past years. Unfortunately, for this reason, we will have to increase the doctor fees to THB 550 (non-members THB 700) starting September 1st.
We will also have to adapt our fee structure for house calls.
The fees for an emergency call early evening (6pm – 10pm) and early morning (6am – 8am) will remain unchanged (THB 1000 for a phone consultation and THB 3500 for an emergency house call). However, the fees for an emergency call at night (10pm and 6am) will be increased to THB 1500 (phone consultation) and THB 5000 (emergency house call). The reason for distinguishing between evening/early morning and night is that night calls have a much heavier impact on our medical professionals’ physical condition and biorhythm. A doctor having to wake up in the middle of her/his night's sleep for an emergency house call cannot be expected to have a full schedule of patients the next day. We therefore trust you understand that we need to take extra measures to keep our night emergency call service available for Members.
The fee for a house call during clinic hours will be raised to THB 2500 (doctor) and THB 1000 (nurse). This is due to the time that the doctor (and/or nurse) are out of the clinic, which can be up to an hour or more depending on the location, and the need to restructure existing in clinic appointments of our members and patients.
Phone consultations in the daytime remain free for Members (for up to 4 calls per year).
To summarize the main fees for Members from September 1st onwards:

  • Doctor consultation fee in clinic: THB 550
  • Doctor house call during clinic hours: THB 2500 (nurse THB 1000)
  • Doctor emergency house call from 6pm – 10pm and 6am – 8am: THB 3500
  • Doctor emergency house call 10pm – 6am: THB 5000
Fees for house calls mentioned above are for Members living in Territory 1. See bewell.co.th/territory/. The 50% surcharge for Territory 2 remains unchanged.
Please note that the timing of house calls during the day is subject to the availability of the doctors/nurses on duty and are usually scheduled at the end of the afternoon. For emergency situations, during the earlier parts of the day, Members may have to come to the clinic or use hospital emergency services.
Consultation fees for our other medical professionals will remain unchanged.
Best regards,
The Be Well Medical Team
ON BEHALF OF THE BE WELL TEAM, MANY THANKS, LIZZY
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Previous Lizzy's newsletters can be found here.