06.05.2025 09:20
The Ministry of Health will automatically transfer the family medicine registrations of citizens whose registered province with their family doctor is different from their place of residence to their current address, starting from today with a new application in the family medicine system.
In a statement regarding the new application that will be implemented across Turkey today, the General Director of Public Health, Muhammed Emin Demirkol, stated that they have launched this application as part of the "Healthy Turkey Century" program to provide preventive health services more effectively.
Emphasizing the importance of preventive health services with a health model that protects, develops, and produces, Demirkol mentioned that they have strengthened family medicine in this context. He pointed out that strong family medicine creates a strong health system and healthy generations.
"WE WANT OUR CITIZENS TO RECEIVE PREVENTIVE HEALTH SERVICES AND EFFECTIVE SCREENING SERVICES FOR FREE"
Demirkol, who announced that they will implement a new system across Turkey this month to actively deliver preventive health services to 85 million people, shared the following information: We plan to increase the applications at our family health centers by registering the population in our family health centers as a member of our family. We want every citizen to visit their family doctor and receive preventive health services and effective screening services for free. In this context, we are trying to take certain actions. We are launching a new application.
We have created a list from the system of those among our 86 million citizens whose registered family doctor is in a different province than their residence address. For example, let’s consider a citizen registered with a family doctor in Ankara but residing in Istanbul; if they have not applied to any health institution in Ankara, where their family doctor is registered, within a year, and their residence address is in Istanbul, we will transfer their family doctor registration to Istanbul as of May, so that they can more easily reach their family doctor and receive services more effectively. Our Provincial Health Directorate in Istanbul will also register that citizen with the nearest and most suitable family doctor to their address.
RIGHT TO RETURN WITHIN A MONTH WILL BE GRANTED
General Director of Public Health Demirkol stated, "Here, we especially want to emphasize that after this process, within one month, our citizens will be able to return to their previously registered family doctor by logging into the 'https://enabiz.gov.tr/' website with their e-Government or e-Nabız password. We have determined the duration for this process as one month." Demirkol pointed out the new applications introduced by the Family Medicine Contract and Payment Regulation that came into effect in October, noting that obesity screenings have increased from 20% to 70% in this context.
CRITERION OF NOT VISITING THE FAMILY DOCTOR FOR 1 YEAR AND NOT RECEIVING HEALTH SERVICES IN THAT PROVINCE
Emphasizing that these rates need to increase further and that individuals must register with family doctors where they live to be able to have regular health checks, Demirkol continued: Thus, we want to increase our screening numbers, provide our preventive health services more effectively, and ensure that individuals receive all primary health services, including cancer screenings, from their family doctor where they live. We do not want a person's family doctor registration to be in a different province than their residence address. Here, we have taken the criterion of not having visited their family doctor within one year and not having received health services in the province where that family doctor is located. We will transfer the family doctor registrations of those citizens to the province where they reside. Our Provincial Health Directorate will also register these individuals with the nearest family doctor to their residence address, and if they wish to return to their old family doctor, they will be able to do so within a month by logging into e-Nabız from the province where their old family doctor is located.
THE SYSTEM DOES NOT COVER DIFFERENT DISTRICTS IN THE SAME PROVINCE
Demirkol stated that the system, which will be implemented as of May 6, covers different provinces but does not cover different districts within the same province. "A person's family doctor may be in a different district, and their residence address may be in another district; we currently do not have an action for them," said Demirkol, emphasizing that this only applies to individuals whose family doctor is in a different province than their residence and who have not applied to health institutions in the province where their family doctor is located for a year.
THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH WILL INFORM CITIZENS VIA SMS
Demirkol emphasized that family doctors also requested this system and that they are working on this to enable citizens to receive more effective health services. "We provide very valuable, comprehensive primary care services. We offer a wide range of health services, from cancer screenings to chronic disease screenings. We do not want any citizen to be deprived of this service," he said. Demirkol concluded his remarks by stating: When the family doctor registration of citizens within this system is transferred to the province where they reside, they will receive an SMS from our Ministry of Health. With this SMS, they will learn that their registration has been completed. The SMS will also include the methods they can use to apply, and if they wish to return to their old family doctor within a month, they will be able to do so.