But of course, as provided by law and medical ethics, doctors will attend to any patient in an emergency situation, without asking for money in advance. And the experience of an expatriate member of the editorial staff of this handbook had been quite the opposite of what the Australian-New Zealand Women's Group suggests. To be admitted for delivery at the Sukhumvit Hospital on Sukhumvit Road, neither passport nor a cash deposit was required. Actually, when a few hours after admission the staff's partner approached the cashier with a pocket full of money to make a deposit before what appeared would be a Caesarian birth, the offer of any advance payment was expressly turned down and he was told that a bill would only be made upon checking out - as it later was the case. Private hospitals in Thailand generally accept credit cards in payment of bills and credit card holders will probably never be required to make a deposit.
Most private hospitals house a number of clinics with medical specialists.
On weekdays, clinic hours are usually in the late afternoons and well into the evenings while on Saturdays and Sundays clinic hours are often all day. Doctor's fees are not regulated and physicians or hospitals set their own charges. Fees vary widely. A general practitioner in Bangkok may charge 100 to 200 Baht per consultation, while a specialist may request considerably more. In provincial cities, doctor's fees are lower, and in rural areas, they are about a fourth or less of what is charged in the capital.