Has anyone got a feel for costs at Beijing hospitals/clinics catering to foreigners? On a recent visit home my China-resident daughter was advised to have some tests done in the near future, and her choices appear to be (a) a hospital in her home province of Liaoning (question mark over standards), (b) a good facility in Beijing, (c) a trip back to Australia (expensive). This is her third year in China and she no longer has travel insurance cover. She'll make her own enquiries, of course, but it occurred to me that someone here might have some direct experience.

My Lonely Planet mentions several probably suitable facilities, including the Beijing Medical Union Hospital near Wangfujing Dajie, the Beijing United Family Hospital (an American joint venture but hopefully not charging US-level prices) and several others.

An american teacher in China told me that foreign teachers often fly to Thailand to get excellent, cheap medical care.

The International Medical Center in Beijing charged me $85 for a dental cleaning and consultation September '04. I had been having problems with bleeding gums and a dentist in Poland diagnosed tartar buildup - his hygenist was fully booked while I was in town and he charged me nothing for the diagnosis! By the time I reached China the problem wasn't as bad which was just as well as I felt the cleaning was pretty inadequate.

Hmm... well, here's a comparison. I had a dental check-up and cleaning at Bumrumgrad Hospital in Bangkok in November, 2005 and paid 1100 baht (less than US$30) for a dentist (not a hygenist) to clean my teeth. Bumrungrad is accredited by JCAHO and is an excellent facility.

So in that comparison, it appears that care in Beijing may be rather expensive for not very good care.

If it were me, I'd fly to Bangkok for the tests. She can schedule appointments online at the hospital's website before she goes.

I've had a bit of experience in Beijing with medical care. There's a clinic in the downstairs "mall" at the Kerry Centre Hotel (one of the Shangri-La group of hotels). It's staffed by Westerners (English speaking) or Chinese doctors (also English speaking). Believe they are all Western-trained, although I was too sick to ask. Cost was about 2/3 that of US (California) care. Not cheap, but excellent care.

Thankfully, I've never had to use Bumrumgard in Bangkok, but - if this were my choice - I'd seriously consider Kathie's suggestion and spend the money on flying down to Thailand. Bumrungard has a sterling reputation.

Many thanks for the input, all.

Not totally helpful neil but my wife had a consultation in Guangzhou at a western clinic and was charged i think RMB330. Honk Kong charges are also up there in terms of costs. a friend of mine had some lancing done (a bad infection was cut out) and I believe it may have cost him about RMB5000 for the procedure plus follow up visits etc

RMB5000! bhuty, was your friend worked on by China's answer to Ned Kelly? (Sorry others - in-joke)

yeah we figured he was being fleeced a bit, prolly cos he was a seppo (I deliberately wrote that so otehrs would not understand) but we didn;t have the heart to tell him since he had already paid the cash

i have been to beijing united and international sos. the consultation fees were from us$800 up if i remember correctly.

Many thanks, nancy_in_beijing ... but did I read that right? US$800? Not RMB800? EIGHT HUNDRED US DOLLARS? Good Lord - I pay about US$40 for a consultation here in Australia, about half of which is refunded by the national health insurance service. Needless to say, general living costs and wages in Australia are far higher than in China. Are the doctors and shareholders driving gold-plated Porsches yet?

sorry!!! i meant RMB 800 for a consultation.

Thanks, Nancy. That's still pretty stiff, but a lot better. Just plain metallic paint on the Porsches, then?