Family health centers in Istanbul served approximately 52 million people in the first 7 months
With the strengthening of primary healthcare services, family health centers undertook a large portion of the total examinations across the city.
Out of approximately 130 million examinations performed in Istanbul in the first seven months of the year, 51 million 845 thousand 321 took place in family health centers. Istanbul Provincial Health Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Emre Güner shared the city's health efforts within the scope of Public Health Week.
Primary Healthcare Services
While efforts to strengthen primary healthcare services continue uninterrupted throughout Istanbul, family health centers offer a wide range of services from preventive health services to cancer and childhood screenings.
Examination Data and Rates
Between January 1 and July 31, a total of 130 million 400 thousand examinations were carried out across the city. The fact that 51 million 845 thousand 321 of these examinations were conducted in family health centers clearly demonstrated the critical share of primary healthcare services within the total system.
Cancer Screenings and Diagnoses
During the specified period, cancer screenings were performed on approximately 460 thousand people, while about 1,500 people with no complaints were diagnosed with early-stage cancer. In addition, an increase of 30 percent in cancer screenings and approximately 150 percent in breast cancer screenings was recorded compared to last year.
Referrals to Specialist Physicians
Thanks to coordination in the health infrastructure, approximately 2 million citizens were directly referred to specialist physician appointments in hospitals through family physicians, without the need to apply to the Central Physician Appointment System (MHRS).
Developments in Health Infrastructure
While the bed capacity in Istanbul, which was approximately 19 thousand in 2002, rose to 46-47 thousand, the number of health centers, which was 217, increased to 1,121 under the name of family health centers. The number of family physicians in the city also reached the level of 5,204.
Screening and Vaccination Efforts
As a result of autism screenings carried out in family health centers, more than 3 thousand children have been diagnosed with autism to date. During the same process, SMA screenings were applied to approximately 90 thousand newborns and 70 thousand adults, while a total of 2 million 400 thousand people were vaccinated across the city.