The world-famous cardiac surgeon Dr. Mehmet Öz came to Turkey upon invitation of Health Minister Dr. Koca in September. Health Minister received Dr. Mehmet Öz at the Presidential Office in Dolmabahçe, Istanbul.
Domestic production of medicines and medical equipment, technology transfer, medical tourism, city hospitals, centers of excellence and trainings for migrants were among the agenda items of the meeting.
About the importance Turkey attaches to medical tourism, Dr. Fahrettin Koca said that they make efforts to promote the Turkish health services throughout the world and UHSAS (International Health Services Co.) was established based on the relevant law for coordination of medical tourism activities, and the scope of medical tourism may be extended through intergovernmental agreements and in cooperation with insurance companies.
Dr. Mehmet Öz, on the other hand, underlined provision of high-quality and cost-effective health services in Turkey and added “Stronger organization of the specialties is a must in the case of medical tourism. Success of Turkey in the field of cancer treatment, heart and brain surgery, neurology, pediatrics, etc. should be promoted better in the abroad”.
Concerning indigenization and local production of medicines, medical equipment and supplies, Dr. Koca underlined the target of Turkey to reduce external dependency stating that Turkey is not behind the other countries in terms of medicine production, and reiterated that they would provide full support for domestic companies in order to eliminate monopoly of the foreign firms.
They also exchange opinions about e-tender (health market) system, city hospitals and centers of excellence. Dr. Öz talked about his projects on training of the healthcare professionals providing services for the Syrian refugees and added that “Hospitals in Turkey should establish firm academic cooperation with the big-scale hospitals abroad for scientific researches and publicity.”
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