Doctor/Lab Referral for Back in USA (Austin, TX) After Living in Thailand

[Version3.0]

After being diagnosed in Thailand in Nov. 2016 and having the good fortune to find the best infectious disease doctor in Bangkok, Thailand, I'm pretty freaked out on returning to my home country of USA. In Bangkok, I had excellent care and paid list price around $250 for lab work, care and meds for three months. In USA--with very good insurance from my employer--the cost for the past three months has been around $700. The list price is horrifying: upwards of $11,000.

Here in Austin, TX, I found a clinic specializing in HIV care, David Powell Health Center, and setup with Dr. F. Parker Hudson as my PCP. Dr. Hudson is meh, but fine. The clinic has terrible customer service and ridiculous pricing for lab work. Can anyone give me recommendations of better local options?

Luckily, I'm changing jobs, and the new one has a 100-percent remote team. So if need-be, I can just fly to Thailand a couple times a year and get fantastic healthcare. Total cost for two round-trip jaunts to Southeast Asia plus healthcare will definitely be less than insurance out-of-pocket! But, I want to get a checkup and prescription re-up in the next couple weeks before the transition.

Cheers,
Aghast in Austin

[Genomity]

Hi, would it be possible to share the contacts of that doctor/place in Bangkok here or in PM? I'm in the same situation here and it seems Bangkok is the only place I can visit a doctor and buy ARVs.

I would really appreciate it.

[Jim Allen]

@Gemomity

Welcome to the forum, as a new member you are unable to PM.

You would need to have posted at least 3 times on the forum before PM function is available, to start this off if you could open an introduction thread and, introduce yourself to the forum members that would be appreciated. Let us know as an example;  how you are getting on? What treatment are you taking, how is that going? What your labs are like etc etc

Thank you

Jim

[xasxas]

After being diagnosed in Thailand in Nov. 2016 and having the good fortune to find the best infectious disease doctor in Bangkok, Thailand, I'm pretty freaked out on returning to my home country of USA. In Bangkok, I had excellent care and paid list price around $250 for lab work, care and meds for three months. In USA--with very good insurance from my employer--the cost for the past three months has been around $700. The list price is horrifying: upwards of $11,000.

Here in Austin, TX, I found a clinic specializing in HIV care, David Powell Health Center, and setup with Dr. F. Parker Hudson as my PCP. Dr. Hudson is meh, but fine. The clinic has terrible customer service and ridiculous pricing for lab work. Can anyone give me recommendations of better local options?

Luckily, I'm changing jobs, and the new one has a 100-percent remote team. So if need-be, I can just fly to Thailand a couple times a year and get fantastic healthcare. Total cost for two round-trip jaunts to Southeast Asia plus healthcare will definitely be less than insurance out-of-pocket! But, I want to get a checkup and prescription re-up in the next couple weeks before the transition.

Cheers,
Aghast in Austin

I am thinking of moving back to the US and bringing back a 6 month supply of my meds.  Was it a problem bringing meds back home?  Did you need a note or get hassled at the airport?

[Expat1]

If you have a prescription from outside Thailand, it is possible to fill it at Thai Red Cross. 

I use a private hospital in Pattaya (Pattaya Memorial Hospital) and get Edurant and Recovir EM.  Cost is about 10000 bath ($300) every three months.  Take your blood tests with you, or get at Thai Red Cross.  There are plenty of threads on this site explaining the procedure.  Costs of medication there. etc.

[Expat1]

Last time I went to USA I took 5 months of meds with me.  Had a letter from Doctor.  IT was not necessary as no one looked in bags or asked about meds in carry-on. 

[Texland]

A bit late, but if you're still looking for HIV care in Austin, the two best are the Kind Clinic and Dr Brinson at Red River Family Practice.

The Kind Clinic will work with anyone, regardless of insurance.
Dr Brinson is excellent, it can be difficult to get an appointment with her. Certain members of staff at Red River can be unpleasant. On the plus side, Dr Brinson also works with the Kind Clinic.

[Jim Allen]

@Texland

Welcome to the forum, as a new member could you please open an introduction thread and, introduce yourself to the forum members that would be appreciated. Let us know as an example;  how you are getting on? What treatment are you taking, how is that going? What your labs are like etc etc

Thank you

Jim