Healthcare for Foreigners in Turkey

Healthcare for Foreigners in Turkey
22 July 2021

If you are planning on using Turkey’s healthcare as a foreigner here’s a few things you should know.

The healthcare system in Turkey has a highly complex structure. The Ministry of Health, universities and the private sector are the healthcare providers in the Turkish healthcare system.

Over the years healthcare in Turkey has vastly improved and is now one of the leading regions in healthcare services. Turkey is now recognized as a focused healthcare destination with advanced technology and state of the art medical facilities. Every year thousands of foreign patients visit Turkey for medical treatment. The healthcare system in Turkey is thriving and in time could become a global competitor with other healthcare service providers in other advanced countries.

The Ministry of Health is in charge of all the health services in Turkey and is a strong competitor when it’s compared with other countries such as the UK, US, Germany and other European countries. In terms of prices, Turkey is by far the healthcare provider with the lowest costs. This does not mean however, that the level of quality of care is less.

Medical care is exceptional in Turkey with both state and private healthcare being highly available for expats and foreigners. Private healthcare is also extremely affordable when compared to the US, UK and many other countries.

Expats with at less one year residency can opt to pay into the SGK (Sosyal Guvenlik Kurumu). This Turkish state health cover currently works out at approximately 850TL per month. This provides cover for the whole family and contributes towards the cost of some treatments in private hospitals as well as state hospitals.

Each town or village has its own family doctor known as the (Aile Sagligi Merkezi) which is covered under the SGK insurance. You will also find many private doctors surgeries or polyclinics that are also competitively priced. These are also a good choice for foreigners and expats given that English is widely spoken.

State hospitals (Devlet Hastanesi) offer emergency and walk in treatments for tourists and residents, but admissions will be charged for. These state hospitals give the same great service but can be busy and quite scary for foreigners as they are normally pretty chaotic and little English is spoken. If SGK is used, admissions will be covered for residents.

Dental treatments in Turkey are excellent and many foreigners travel to Turkey for dental treatment. Many of the private dentists speak very good English and treatment is around 60 percent cheaper than in the UK, US and other European countries.

Prescriptions are alot cheaper in Turkey for people who are registered with SGK. If you are not covered with the SGK insurance, prescriptions can be more expensive, but still cheaper than many other countries including the UK and the US.

The pharmacies (Eczane) in Turkey are also a great source of medical help. The chemists in Turkey have proper training to diagnose and prescribe treatment medication. If your health problem is one that needs specialist treatment the pharmacist can help to refer you to one. The pharmacists in Turkey can also give medications over the counter that may elsewhere need a prescription from the doctor.

If you have an emergency you will call an ambulance by dialing 112, you will be taken to the accident and emergency department and seen immediately. There will be no fee for this. If you get taken to a private hospital there will of course be a fee. These fees however will be half of those found in the UK or US.

To conclude, the main reasons for Turkey’s wonderful health care system are.

More affordable treatment without sacrificing the quality of service

Highly trained doctors

Much less waiting times for elective surgeries and procedures

Advanced technology

Many US- accredited hospitals.

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