The effects of medical tourism: Thailand’s experience
Anchana NaRanong & Viroj NaRanong
Volume 89, Number 5, May 2011, 336-344
Table 3. Projected demanda for physicians by Thai patients, Thailand, 2003–2015
| Year | Estimated visits per patient per year |
Population (million) | Outpatient equivalent visits (million) | Demand for physicians by Thai patients | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outpatients | Inpatients | ||||
| 2001 | 2.87 | 0.066 | NA | NA | NA |
| 2002 | 2.84 | 0.076 | 62.0 | 198.65–208.07 | NA |
| 2003p | 3.62 | 0.086 | 63.3 | 247.50–258.39 | 2443–2795 |
| 2005p | 3.87 | 0.092 | 64.5 | 270.18–282.07 | 1134–1315 |
| 2007p | 4.29 | 0.099 | 65.7 | 302.10–315.15 | 1596–1838 |
| 2009p | 4.77 | 0.106 | 67.0 | 338.40–352.65 | 1815–2083 |
| 2011p | 5.16 | 0.113 | 68.2 | 371.17–386.66 | 1639–1889 |
| 2013p | 5.59 | 0.120 | 69.4 | 407.78–424.55 | 1830–2105 |
| 2015p | 6.03 | 0.127 | 70.7 | 445.59–463.70 | 1891–2175 |
NA, not applicable; p, projected.
a Under the assumptions that only 70% of outpatients need to see a physician and that each physician can attend 18 000 to 20 000 Thai outpatients (or 900 to 1000 inpatients) per year, equivalent to approximately 72 to 80 outpatient visits a day.
Source: Pachanee & Wibulpolprasert.10