History and Development of Private Hospitals Regulation

Changes in Private Hospitals Regulation: Anatomy of Health Policies

Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Law Firm, Private Hospitals Regulationpublished a report providing a comprehensive analysis of the changes made in Health Transformation Program Within the framework of the study, it examines the changes in regulations implemented since 2002 from a historical perspective. Contrary to the regulations that should be made to protect the rights of physicians and healthcare professionals, the negative effects of the current changes on the healthcare sector are revealed.

Chronological Review of Regulation Amendments

Report, Private Hospitals Regulationdone so far in 45 change by examining in detail the contents of each regulation Article changesIn the first amendment, the removal of the provision that TTB's minimum wage tariff would be applied was considered an important indicator for the sector. This situation paved the way for the violation of the economic rights of healthcare workers.

Effects of Changes on the Health Sector

  • Use of Non-Hospital Buildings: The changes made to the regulation include continuous postponements that allow buildings that are not hospitals to be used as hospitals. This situation seriously reduces the quality of health services.
  • Staff Need: Postponements that allow hospitals to employ fewer doctors and healthcare professionals than they should have are increasing the staff shortage in the healthcare field and negatively affecting the ability of patients to receive services.
  • Low Working Conditions: Allowing doctors to work in more than one hospital without a permanent staff or security threatens the job security of healthcare professionals.
  • Imaging and Laboratory Services: The free purchase of imaging and laboratory services, which are mandatory in hospitals, leads to a deterioration in the quality of healthcare services.
  • Weakening of Control Mechanisms: The reduction in the quality of inspections and the fact that detected deficiencies are limited to administrative fines only, brings the reliability of health services into question.

TTB Law and Regulation Changes

Report, Private Hospitals RegulationChanges in TTB Law Regulations such as the removal of TTB's control and work distribution authority and the removal of sanctions to be applied if doctors work in more than one place deepen the injustices in the health sector.

Neoliberal Policies in Health and Their Effects

In the presentation section of the report, capital is favored but of patients and the existence of a system in which the rights of healthcare professionals are destroyed is clearly revealed. The fact that those who feed off the environment created by the regulatory processes of the Ministry of Health are referred to as “gangs” leaves the current situation as only a superficial assessment. Neoliberal health policies Understanding the mechanism is very important for a better understanding of the consequences of these policies.

Protection of Patients' Rights

As a result, it is emphasized that the burdens that those who want to own private hospitals must bear should be taken off the shoulders of capital. The protection of patients' rights is a basic requirement of the health system. It is important to also take into account the rights of health workers in order to increase the quality of health services.