Medical Tourists - Our Health Screenings in Penang, Malaysia

Yesterday we spent all day at the Island Hospital in Penang.  Our plan has always been to get medical checks done while in Malaysia, as we’ve heard their services are top notch and their prices are ridiculously low.


Before arriving, I had made an appointment online.  They wanted us to pay online, but our bank cards weren’t compatible with their system.  I decided to go anyway, guessing they’d take our money in person.  There was a Premium Health Screening Package available for only about $200.  The list of tests and checks included in the screening was long - full bloodwork, abdominal ultrasound, heartbeat monitor, chest xray, BMI, vision check, urinalysis, cancer marker screening and more.  I also knocked out a mammogram and PAP smear just because it was available and so stinking cheap!!  ( ultrasonic mammogram = 180 Rm = $43 USD)

The lobby was buzzing with activity at 7:30 in the morning.  The screenings were given on a first-come-first-served basis, so I took a number and filled out my new patient registration.  I hadn’t eaten breakfast or had my morning coffee in order to fast for the bloodwork, and my stomach started to growl its grievances.  The waiting area was like any other in the states - shiny tile floor, flourescent lights, rows of seats filled with people passing time by playing mindless games on their phones.  Michael, who had come along with me, decided he’d join in and create a movie on my phone to show Elizabeth when she arrived later with Mark.  

Finally, after about 45 minutes, my number popped up onto the screen and I proceeded to the counter number it specified.  From there, I was able to sign up to see the specialist doctors that I wanted to see.  I was amazed when the receptionist told me I would be able to see them all in one visit!  How efficient!  So, I signed up and had my game plan - health screenings first, then dermatologist, and (saving the best for last) the women’s health doctor.  She wrote them all on a sticky note for me and pointed me in the direction of the elevators.

“Second floor for Health Clinic.”

Okay, here goes!

Upstairs was another waiting room and a counter with three windows - pharmacy, cashier, and check-in.  I approached the check-in counter, but they shook their heads when I showed them my name.

“You have to go through those doors to the Health Clinic.”

Okay, let’s try this again.

I went through the glass doors and to yet another desk.  This time, I was in the right place.  She handed me a plastic cup with a personalized sticker attached and pointed me toward the bathroom.   Once that was done, I waited again.  This waiting room was bright yellow, with two TVs to pass the time.  Michael was immediately tuned in, watching We Bare Bears, a cartoon that even I found quite entertaining!

It was from this yellow waiting room, that I was called to various surrounding rooms to complete each test.  So efficient!  Vision, BMI, and bloodwork was together in one room.  Myself and three other patients rotated through the tests, our results not exactly kept private (I guess HIPPA laws don’t exist here).  Then, my stomach still rumbling, I waited again until they called me for the EKG and then the abdominal ultrasound.  Within seconds of me returning to the waiting room, a nurse handed me a tuna salad sandwich and a juice - ah, the monster inside that’d been growling at me all morning was finally satiated.  I looked at my watch, noon.  No wonder I’d been starving!

Next, I sat in another tiny room at another desk, this time with a consultant.  It was her job to get my medical history and ask if I’d like any additional services.  I signed up for a mammogram and a PAP smear, deciding I could cancel my appointment with Women’s Health I’d scheduled for later in the day.  She figured the total, and just outside her door a cashier was set up to complete the transaction.  Our credit card worked, no problem.

Finally, I was escorted downstairs to the X-ray area for my chest X-ray and Mammogram.  I was still flabbergasted that all this was being done in the same place in the same day, and I’d receive the results in just a few hours!  Our appointment to review the results with the resident doctor of Internal Medicine was scheduled for 2:30.  So efficient!!

After all the tests were complete, it was finally time for a full lunch - a full, FREE lunch.  At the cafeteria, we could choose between a rice dish, a curry dish with two sides, or a sandwich meal.  Somehow, Mark, who checked in two hours after I did had caught up to me by this time.  (So, if you’re planning to get a Health Screening, show up at 9 instead of at 7, you’ll miss the rush.)  Around the lunch table we compared experiences and shared in the awe of this medical miracle.  Why couldn’t we do this in the US?  It just makes so much sense!

Our final stop was the dermatologist.  As sailors who get plenty of sun, it was important for us to get a once-over by a skin professional.  We waited for just a few minutes in another waiting room, this one lined with doorways that led to the offices of specialists.  When my name was called, I went in and sat at the dermatologists desk. He asked me what my concerns were, and then he and his nurse led me into the examination room where he carefully checked my skin from head to toe.  One spot bugged me, but didn’t concern him too much, so he asked if I’d just like it frozen with Nitrogen.  Sure, freeze that sucker.  A few spritzes from a tank of Nitrogen, a bit of a sting, and that was it!  He wrote me a prescription for hydrocortizone cream and sent me on my way.


By the time Mark finished with his dermatologist appointment, it was 2:30 and we were called in to review our results of the day’s tests.  All came back normal, and we left with only a small dent in our wallets but a huge medical file complete with radiology cd-rom and all of our results!  Even a handy little tote bag to carry it home in.  We were fed lunch and a snack, too!  The Malaysians have this medical thing figured out!   Heck, it might be cheaper to just fly to Malaysia once a year to get our physicals!!

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