"Medical Services in Turkey: A Guide for Azerbaijani Students"
Medical services in the Republic of Turkey are at a very high level. However, this may not be so convenient for foreign students. There are 3 categories of institutions providing medical services in Turkey. State hospitals, Private hospitals and Family Medicine. You can receive services for each of them with a residence permit. You can receive private and state services with your passports, but in this case the service fee is very expensive. Some of our students complain that they cannot receive services. In fact, it is mandatory to serve everyone who enters the EMERGENCY department and it is both dangerous and a crime in the context of Public Health. In such cases, you can call the Ministry of Health Alo 184 and complain about the institution.
Family Medicine
Family Medicine is an institution affiliated with the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health. The purpose of its establishment is to reduce the burden on hospitals. It is important to go here for diseases that can be treated on an outpatient basis, such as colds, diarrhea, medical reports. In order to benefit from these institutions , you must have a RESIDENCE PERMIT and ADDRESS REGISTRATION. You can find out which family medicine practice you are affiliated with from the E-Government application. If it is not in the E-Government application, you can approach the nearest family medicine practice and register there. It is impossible not to register you for PUBLIC HEALTH. Those who work as secretaries in those institutions may not have much knowledge about foreign citizens, but the doctors are truly very knowledgeable. Their services are completely free and no insurance is required , they can write prescriptions. It is very important that our students go to these institutions first when they get sick.
STATE HOSPITALS
Public hospitals are institutions that provide medical services in Turkey. There are many large hospitals. Services in these hospitals are paid for by foreigners. Therefore, they require insurance from you. They cannot register foreigners directly in the registration department of these institutions. In that case, they can refer you to the Tourist Department. If you do not have insurance, they charge a service fee 3 times higher than the current services. Only the 3 times higher payment does not apply to those with a RESIDENCE PERMIT and those with a TURKSOY CERTIFICATE* . The systems of these hospitals are mixed. They work with an appointment system. You can make an appointment by logging into the Central Physician Appointment System (MHRS) (www.mhrs.gov.tr) . The EMERGENCY department does not work with an appointment system and does not consider your insurance or citizenship when accepting you, but it does consider insurance and citizenship in calculating the service fee. There is a bit of crowding and long lines for receiving services. Therefore, it is very important to be a little patient when you go to these institutions.
Private Hospitals
They are the most preferred medical service providers for those who do not want to wait in line and have high-level services. Since you are a customer here, unlike a client, the services are high-level and relatively expensive. They work with Private Health Insurance and SSI, but they are 3-4 times more expensive than state hospitals. You can also receive services with your passport. Be sure to find out in advance whether your health insurance is valid here. Otherwise, you may face very large payments. As in the emergency department in the same state, they do not look at the patient's insurance citizenship, but they do take it into account in the evaluation. Although these hospitals are private, they work under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. If you have a problem, you can definitely contact the ALO 184 line.