"Statements from Health Minister Memişoğlu on the Family Medicine Regulation"

Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu stated that the new family medicine regulation they announced does not interfere with the diagnosis and treatment of family physicians and does not eliminate their freedom to prescribe medication.

"WE OFFER THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH SYSTEM IN THE WORLD"

During his visit to Governor Hulusi Şahin as part of the Antalya program, Minister Memişoğlu signed the governor's honor book.

After the visit, Memişoğlu stated in a press conference that Turkey is one of the countries where citizens can access health services most comfortably.

Stating that they offer one of the most inclusive and comprehensive health services in the world, Memişoğlu expressed that their goal is preventive medicine and primary health services.

Emphasizing that they work to keep citizens healthy without getting sick, Memişoğlu said, "To put it more strikingly, we are not the Ministry of Disease, we are the Ministry of Health. First and foremost, we need to make the family medicine system effective and efficient."

"THE NEW REGULATION WILL SATISFY EVERYONE"

Pointing out that they trust family physicians and see them as the guarantee of health, Memişoğlu said, "We want the first door through which citizens access health to be the family physician. It is important to have a functional structure within the integrated health service chain. For this, we prepared a regulation and shared it with the public. You will see that this regulation will satisfy both our citizens and health workers simultaneously in terms of results. This will be much more evident in a few months."

WILL FAMILY PHYSICIANS NO LONGER BE ABLE TO PRESCRIBE MEDICATION?

Describing the disinformation they are experiencing, Memişoğlu pointed out that perceptions can be more decisive than facts.

"There are claims in various social media that family physicians will no longer be able to prescribe medication, and that if they do, their salaries will be cut," said Memişoğlu, continuing: Let me be clear: The new family medicine regulation we announced as the Ministry of Health does not interfere with the diagnosis and treatment of family physicians, nor does it eliminate their freedom to prescribe medication. On the contrary, as the Ministry of Health, we encourage rational drug use. We provide incentive payments to physicians who contribute to rational drug use. The goal is to use the most appropriate medication, in the appropriate dose and duration, according to the diagnosis of the patients."

MINISTER'S WARNING ABOUT HALF-USED MEDICATION

Emphasizing that the community should consult a physician before using medication, Memişoğlu stressed that medications should not be used based on the recommendations of relatives.

Noting that there are unused or half-used medications at home, Memişoğlu said, "Please, I emphasize the importance of using medications according to the recommendations of family physicians. Irrational drug use leads to the development of resistance to certain medications in people, recurrence or prolongation of diseases, and increased treatment costs."

"GOOD FAMILY PHYSICIANS' INCOME WILL INCREASE"

Pointing out that they work according to the disease burden in the smart family medicine application, Memişoğlu stated that they have integrated family physicians with hospitals and created appointment quotas for family physicians in hospitals.

Memişoğlu emphasized that they started with a value-based approach in health through family medicine, and that the income of family physicians who practice good medicine will increase.

IMPORTANT STEP AFTER NEWBORN SCANDALS

Reminding that they have established the Newborn Intensive Care Audit and Evaluation Scientific Commission to evaluate the operations of all newborn care in public and private hospitals, Memişoğlu continued: This Commission, formed with leading newborn intensive care scientists in Turkey, will monitor and evaluate the operations and audit processes of all newborn intensive care units in universities, private and public hospitals, and will ensure a more effective operation of the system based on the results obtained. New scientific guidelines regarding newborn intensive care will be created by the Commission. Our goal is to continue providing good, effective, reliable, and quality health services."

FAMILY PHYSICIANS REACT TO THE NEW REGULATION

Family physicians staged a three-day strike across Turkey last week in response to the new regulation introduced by the Ministry of Health. It is reported that family physicians who went on strike on November 5-6-7 are expected to go on another strike at the beginning of December. Due to the strikes, it is noted that there has been an increase in the density in hospitals and Family Medicine centers across Turkey.

According to the regulation issued by the Ministry of Health on October 30, it is stated that the costs of patients who do not visit their family physician during the postpartum period will be charged to the family physicians. According to other decisions in the regulation, if family physicians arrive late to work, the Ministry of Health may use this as a reason for contract termination.