Eats with Pharmily in Thailand

     It's now been more than halfway through with our IPSF trip to Thailand. I cannot believe how fast it has all gone by. I was really curious how our group would turn out as far as getting along because I wasn't very close with everyone in the group but we actually connected really well. We have also been VERY adventurous with our food in Thailand. As far as my last post, I have found the answers to my few questions!

                      1.  Do pharmacists need degrees in Thailand? 
                           Yes! They also have the PharmD program and as of 2009, all schools in Thailand  
                           offer only the PharmD degree.
                      2.  Do the patients ever need prescriptions? 
                           Legally, patients do not need a prescription now but currently some pharmacies
                           will not fill medications without a prescription from the near by clinic.                                                            
                      3.  Is the pharmacy just past down from generation to generation?
                           As far as I know, it can be past down from generation to generation and legally,  
                           there are some pharmacies which do not need a pharmacist to run which are only
                           allowed to sell OTC products.

     Although I am Thai in heritage, I never really knew the structure of the Thai healthcare system worked. It is really an honor to have this experience and learn about how pharmacists in Thailand work to provide patient care. It also makes me proud of my Thai culture of how advanced they are in the pharmacy profession. Although there are some cons to the Thai healthcare system, there will never be a perfect healthcare system and Thailand has really adapted the western style healthcare system to best reflect the healthcare needs of their citizens.

     We visited three different universities in Thailand: Madihol, Huachiew and Chulalongkorn. The three universities differ in some ways but mostly reflect the same curriculum. It was interesting to learn that in Thailand, you apply into pharmacy school directly from high school and the scores from the national exam in high school determines the types of majors you are allowed to be accepted to.

     In Thailand, we learned that there are three different healthcare plans: national coverage, social security and civil servant. So basically by any one of these three plans, every citizen of Thailand has the right of basic healthcare coverage. Any citizen who has a ID care has the right to see the doctor for 30 baht (~$1) and all of their medications for free. This is an amazing opportunity for the low income patients to receive their healthcare needs. However, since everyone is covered, there are usually very long lines and waits at the hospital as you can imagine. Because of this, if patients do not want to wait and are able and willing, they can pay out of their own pocket to be seen in the VIP floor or an outside clinic.

     We also visited 4 different community pharmacies. Many of the community pharmacies have began home visit initiatives within their community. The only home visits I have seen in my pharmacy career so far have been done by nurses. I can really see the role of pharmacists in this setting and I would really promote this in the future. However, in Thailand, many patients have some type of business in front of their home so it is easy to walk around a community and visit a patient at their own house. In the US, many patients work far or outside of their home so it wouldn't be as efficient if we, as pharmacists, want to do a medication reconciliation or see how patients take their medications especially during regular work hours.

And then of course we must take about the VERY adventurous food choices we have made.

Fried herbals in pork

Khao Chae 

Lotus flower for prayer

Egg fried noodles

Sukiyaki

Jok

Thai dessert - Cake with coconut

Fried Banana

Tons of fruit stands!

Acid cooked shrimp

Boat noodle (has pork blood)

Coconut ice cream!

Moo Yang with Sticky Rice

KFC

Guava

Thai Dessert with sesame seed

Thai style crepe!

Personalized goods for $3.50

Thai tea

Foresting

Mud gliding: there's crabs everywhere under the sand!

Papaya Salad

Fried Papaya Salad

Hamburger shaped hot dogs!

Jello filled milk teas!

Jackfruit

Rice!

Butterfly Pea

Khao Cook Kapee

Thai style spring rolls

Lod Chong ice cream