Health Minister Memişoğlu: The new period's goal is to protect the health of healthy individuals
Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Kemal Memişoğlu stated that Turkey has transitioned to a proactive and preventive healthcare system, announcing family medicine innovations and Healthy Life Centers.
Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Kemal Memişoğlu announced that the main objective of the new era in Turkey's healthcare system is to protect citizens' health before they fall ill by providing proactive and preventive health services.
Proactive and Preventive Healthcare System
Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Kemal Memişoğlu stated that proactive and preventive healthcare services form the basis of the new approach in health policy.
He emphasized that their goal is to teach healthy living to citizens and increase awareness in this regard before they make a health request, meaning before they fall ill.
New Regulations in the Family Medicine System
Stating that the legislation on the institution of family medicine has been amended and physicians are being incentivized, Minister Memişoğlu conveyed that family doctors who create a lower need to go to the hospital or support reduced medication use are supported with additional bonuses.
Stating that family physicians conduct screenings for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and autism in children, Memişoğlu noted that early cancer diagnoses were made for 36,000 people and chronic disease screenings were conducted for 35 million people in the past year and a half.
Free-of-Charge Healthy Life Centers
Stating that the Healthy Life Centers, which number 536 across Turkey and whose numbers are being increased in Istanbul, are completely free of charge and open to everyone, Minister Memişoğlu expressed that anyone can benefit from them.
In these centers, along with 17 different specialists such as dietitians, psychologists, physiotherapists, and child development specialists, services such as cancer screenings and mammography are offered.
Infrastructure Successes in Diagnosis and Treatment
Expressing that Turkey is at the best point in the world in diagnosis and treatment, Minister Memişoğlu said that records have been broken in health infrastructure over the last 25 years and that they possess a system that touches at least 3 million people daily.
Stating that the issue of access to the health system has been completely resolved and that the system is being exported to countries around the world, Memişoğlu added that they provide support to many countries such as Egypt, Georgia, Pakistan, Syria, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Somalia, and the Balkans.
Quality of Life and Infant Mortality Data
Stating that the average life expectancy has risen from 70 in the year 2000 to 78 today, Memişoğlu reported that, according to TUIK (TurkStat) data, they are striving to increase the life expectancy free of illness.
Expressing that the infant mortality rate has dropped from 31.5 per thousand births in 2002 to 7.8 today, reaching the level of developed countries, Minister Memişoğlu noted that a risk-based inspection system was established following the Newborn Gang incident.