One of the first stops I had to make in Bangkok was to the community pharmacy to see how it compares to the US. The first thing I noticed was that most medications are over-the-counter (OTC). Almost anything including antibiotics, birth control, and anti-inflammatories. Not only can you purchase the medications you need, you can also get counseling from the pharmacist regarding dosing and side effects. I also noticed that most of the medications available are brand name. Considering the high cost of brand name medications in the US, I expected to find that these medications would also be expensive however many of the medications are very inexpensive; a 14 dose pack of Augmentin is about 600 baht (approximately $16). It was a great experience to see the difference from US pharmacies.
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