Contact EURACT

E-mail

Phone
(32) 16 33 74 64

FAX
(32) 16 33 74 80

TURKEY

'Transition in Health' reforms are continuing. Encouraging privatisation in health, doctors bound by contract, payment according to performance are basics of these reforms. The hospitals and dispensaries (providing health services in primary care) belonging to the Social Insurance System (only for workers) were taken over by the Ministry of Health a few months ago. Thus, financing was separated from the provision of healthcare services. As seen, health insurance system in our country is fragmented. Health financing reform will be come into force next year, implementing the general health insurance scheme. Decentralisation of hospitals will follow it. The payment system according to performance of provider has both positive aspects and problems. In the near future, this payment system seems to be come into force for almost all healthcare providers including in university hospitals.

'Transition in Health' reforms are changing the working conditions and personal rights of the doctors who have been working mainly under the guarantee of the state. Nowadays, Turkish Medical Association is reacting against these developments which disturb hundred thousand doctors, with an activity of one-day strike.

Basic Medical Education

Family medicine departments exist in thirty-five of 50 medical schools. Academic family medicine is developing both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Vocational Training

There is an undulation in the number of family medicine training places. Last year, about 700 new trainees began to their training period of three years. However, the number is again reduced this year, a few places for the departments of family medicine in the universities.

No apparent attempt from MoH still exist concerning the teaching opportunities in health care system for the departments in the universities and development of the relations with them.

CME

The most important CME activity is retraining program for practitioner physicians in primary care. Reorganisation of primary care with the principles of family practice is being performed in a small city as pilot application. The training activities are implemented in the pilot city by Turkish Association of Family Physicians (TAHUD), within the frame of retraining program.

What I have done as EURACT representative in Turkey?

Third Family Medicine Days ( a national conference) will be held next month in Kuþadasý and is being organised by my department in collaboration with TAHUD. The main topic of the conference is “Family medicine: from practice in primary care to the academic studies in the universities”. We aim to bridging the gap between academic family medicine and doctors in the community.