My aunt lives in Saudi Arabia and is an executive for an international school district.  She sent me this email yesterday (and I just got around to reading it about an hour after I finished the Fast Company article:

 "Just went to Bangkok and Laos for a 10 days.  I’ve never had a complete physical, and over two years since the last pap/mammogram stuff.  Had a complete physical done at a great hospital in Bangkok (Bumrungrad Hospital)….practically everything- thyroid, CBC, HIV, hepatitis, cholesterol, stool stuff, abdominal ultrasound, digital mammogram, ultrasound mammogram, kidney function, liver function, pap, vision, hearing, EKG, chest x-ray, uric acid, CEA, AFP, urinalysis,  TSH.  All in 4 hours + 4 different doctors talking to me throughout + my reports and my x-rays+ most results by the end of the visit+ written reports.   $500.  That’s the way to do a physical.  Convenience, attention, answers, service.  Done.“

and from the following email:

 "Anyway, know lots of people who have gone there and been pleased.  It’s just as the article wrote.  Very consumer oriented.  Very friendly.  Very reasonable.  Very comfortable.  Not like a hospital.  Check out their website.  You can see what you want done and how much it is.  They have apartments that you can stay in close to the hospital during your recovery period when you don’t need to be in the hospital. Do go to Bangkok and check it out." 

 Thanks ANJ!  

If there’s anyone in the world I trust, it’s my lovely Aunt.  And she has the experience to understand healthcare.  My uncle received a kidney transplant about 14 years prior and was doing well being managed by his transplant physicians at Wash U and the doctors in Saudi.  He passed away about a year and a half ago from complications of heart surgery.  

I miss him – he was one of the best people you could ever meet and was a principal at a school in Saudi.  He dedicated his whole life and gave everything to educating children as best he could – one of the most noble things anyone can ever do.