How to Verify a Thai Doctor's Credentials Before You Book
A step-by-step guide to verifying Thai Medical Council registration, board certifications, training records, and specialist experience — with the exact questions to ask and the red flags to avoid.
© UnsplashWhy this matters
The single biggest predictor of a good outcome in any surgical or major medical procedure is the surgeon. Not the hospital, not the equipment, not the price — the individual doctor. Yet most medical tourism inquiries are made without ever confirming the surgeon's credentials, training, or case volume.
Thai healthcare has a robust regulatory framework that makes verification straightforward. This guide shows you exactly how to do it in 10 minutes.
The Thai Medical Council (TMC)
Every practising doctor in Thailand must be registered with the Thai Medical Council, which maintains a public registry. Each doctor has a unique registration number (typically 5–6 digits).
Ask any provider for their doctor's TMC number. A legitimate provider will share it immediately. If they hesitate or refuse, that's a red flag — walk away.
On ThaiCheckup, we publish TMC numbers and training history for every doctor listed. See any provider profile for examples.
Board certifications — what they mean in Thailand
Beyond basic TMC registration, specialist doctors hold board certifications in their specialty (e.g., the Royal College of Surgeons of Thailand, the Royal College of Physicians of Thailand). These are issued by the relevant Thai Royal College after a multi-year residency and exam.
Many top Thai specialists hold additional fellowships from US, UK, or European institutions. Common ones include:
- •Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)
- •Cleveland Clinic
- •Johns Hopkins
- •Mass Eye & Ear / Mass General
- •Royal College of Surgeons UK
- •Karolinska Institute Sweden
- •Tokyo Dental College (for dental specialists)
- •NYU Implant Program (for dental implantologists)
- •Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (for ophthalmologists)
Case volume — the metric that actually matters
Board certification confirms baseline competence. Case volume tells you the surgeon is sharp and current. A common rule of thumb across surgical literature: surgeons doing under 50 cases per year of a specific procedure have higher complication rates than those doing 100+.
Ask: "How many of these procedures does Dr. X perform per year?" For dental implants, look for 200+/year. For knee replacement, 100+/year. For cosmetic surgery (e.g., rhinoplasty), 80+/year. For IVF, 200+ cycles/year per fertility specialist.
The exact questions to ask any provider
Send these questions during your initial inquiry. A vetted provider will answer all of them in writing within 24 hours:
- •What is Dr. X's Thai Medical Council registration number?
- •What board certification does Dr. X hold, from which Royal College, and in what year?
- •Where did Dr. X complete their residency, and what fellowships have they done?
- •How many cases of [my procedure] does Dr. X perform per year?
- •What is the hospital's complication rate for this procedure? How does it compare to international benchmarks?
- •Is Dr. X covered by professional liability insurance, and what is the coverage limit?
- •Can I see before/after photos or case outcomes from Dr. X (not just generic hospital marketing)?
- •If a complication arises during or after my procedure, is Dr. X still my treating physician, or is care handed off?
Red flags that should make you pause
These signals correlate strongly with poor outcomes:
- •The provider markets the hospital or clinic name but won't name your specific surgeon ahead of time.
- •The surgeon's training or fellowships are unverifiable when you search the named institutions.
- •The surgeon performs a wide range of procedures across multiple specialties ("jack of all trades").
- •The provider can't or won't quote a specific case volume for the procedure.
- •Reviews online are uniformly 5 stars with no specific outcome details, or sketchy patterns (lots of same-date reviews, generic language).
- •The clinic doesn't carry professional liability insurance.
How ThaiCheckup verifies for you
Every doctor listed on a provider profile here has been credential-checked against the Thai Medical Council registry and the institutions named in their training history. Our vetting methodology describes the full process.
We don't list providers that won't share their specialists' credentials transparently. If we can't verify a doctor, they don't appear on the site — period.
Your next step
If you'd like us to verify credentials for a specific provider (whether or not they're listed on ThaiCheckup), submit the inquiry form below. We'll do the verification work and report back within 24 hours, free of charge.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Thai Medical Council registry public?+
Yes. The TMC maintains a searchable public registry. Every practising doctor must be on it. If a provider can't share a TMC number for their doctor, that's a red flag.
Do all Thai doctors speak English?+
No, but specialists at international hospitals overwhelmingly do — and most have published research in English. International patient departments at top hospitals also provide translators if needed.
How do I check a doctor's fellowship at a US hospital?+
US institutions like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins maintain alumni records. You can email the relevant department to confirm a specific doctor completed a fellowship there. ThaiCheckup does this verification as part of our vetting.
Can I get this verified by ThaiCheckup if the provider isn't on your site?+
Yes — submit an inquiry and we'll verify any Thai doctor's credentials, free of charge. We do this for hundreds of patients per year.
