VITAL SIGNS
t the turn of the millennium, the Turkish health sector ranked near the bottom among OECD nations in most indicators. However, two decades of strategic planning and targeted investments has now made the sector the envy of surrounding nations and has prepared the healthcare system to face a new age of health crises.
Chief among the trends straining global healthcare systems is the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, and diabetes. NCDs are responsible for 87.5% of all deaths in Turkey compared to the global figure of 70%.
Turkey’s particularly acute crisis with NCDs prompted the Ministry of Health to enact a Multisectoral Action Plan for 2017-2025 aimed at stymieing this trend. The plan targets both the causes and treatments for NCDs and runs parallel to a concerted effort among public and private hospitals to invest in NCD treatment facilities. These investments have yielded state-of-the-art hospitals that have attracted visitors to come to Turkey specifically for treatment.
With the modernization of the healthcare system has also come a number of vexing problems. Turkey has employed a PPP model to build massive “city hospitals” around the country—10 city hospitals are in operation, and nine new city hospitals will be launched under the PPP model until
A2021. The model is proving extremely expensive for the government, at a time when budget deficits are skyrocketing. The government allocated USD900 million in 2019 for the hospitals, a figure that will almost double next year. As a result, the Ministry of Health has decided to scrap the PPP model for the future construction of hospitals, reverting to the traditional tender model instead.
Turkey’s private hospitals are also facing financial strain. As with the construction and energy sectors, hospital groups used large sums or foreign currency denominated debt to fund their expansions. Their lira receivables were sharply reduced following 2018’s currency crisis, and servicing their debt has since become more expensive.
An area of promise for the health sector is medical device manufacturing. Turkey’s manufacturing prowess, along with targeted incentives from the government, has sparked the sector’s growth. Formerly focused on lower-end devices, the sector has recently moved into higher-tech devices. Alvimedica—one of 19 companies benefiting from the Project-Based Incentive System— produces a number of cutting-edge stents and cardiac valves for the Turkish and international market. The market for these products and other advanced medical devices was previously dominated by western companies, a trend Turkey is determined to reverse. ✖