Medical Tourism in Turkey
Health comes first when we think about the priorities of our lives. It is the central need that we build our world around. All human activities are shaped to provide for maintaining a healthy state and living longer and we put our health and our beloved people’s health ahead of any other issue in life. That’s why we are always ready to sacrifice time and money and even travel to get quality medical treatment.
About 700,000 patients fly to Turkey to get medical treatment each year. This number is growing and is estimated to surpass 1 million medical tourists by 2025! This huge achievement of Turkey’s healthcare system has got people and healthcare professionals surprised. There are many contributing factors to Turkey’s success in this field and many studies have covered some. In this article, we are going to deep dive into the medical tourism options in Turkey and introduce some of the main features the Turkish healthcare system provides to the world.
Key Takeaways
- Medical tourism is gaining popularity due to ease of access to distant locations and a variety of medical services provided.
- Some countries like Canada, Spain, Japan, and Turkey are among the most popular destinations for medical tourists.
- High-quality medical services, multilanguage support, and reasonable costs have made Turkey an ideal country for medical treatments.
What is Medical Tourism?
Medical tourism is the trend of traveling to a country (or a city) other than the country of residence to get medical services. In many cases, people choose to travel to get a higher level of medical treatments and in other cases, people choose so to benefit from better prices.
Traveling to visit the best doctors has historical roots in humanity, however, since 1997 this industry has gained popularity. Starting with the currency crisis of Asian countries, countries started to recognize the importance of medical tourism in the digital era.
Why Is Medical Tourism Important?
The popularity and importance of medical tourism have two main roots. The first root is the need for people and patients to get quality treatments at a fair cost and at a reasonable time. The other side of this industry is where governments and big medical service providers stand. These medical entities can invest in medical infrastructure since their profits are guaranteed by medical tourists. These investments, eventually, turn into infrastructures for use of people and raise the bar in the healthcare sector.
Why Do People Travel to Other Countries for Medical Services?
Each patient that seeks medical services in a distant location has unique motivations as there are countless decision factors when it comes to healthcare and personal decisions. However, studies have shown that the main factors contributing to the boom of medical tourism are:
- Higher Quality of Medical Services
- Reasonable Costs of Medical Services
- Shorter Waiting Lists
- Variety of Available Medical Services
- Availability of High-tech Instruments
- Specializations in Specific Fields
- Possibility of a Holiday
Top Destinations for Medical Tourism
According to statistics, several countries grab a bigger number of visiting patients each year. Some of the most successful countries in the field of medical tourism are:
- Canada
- Singapore
- Spain
- Japan
- UK
- Turkey
Turkish Medical Tourism
The Turkish healthcare system has experienced such great development in the past decades that today nearly a third of patients treated in Turkish hospitals are medical tourists. You can easily find high-tech and high-end medical centers in cities like Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, and Ankara that serve patients in a range of languages.
Why Is Turkey Ranked High in Medical Tourism?
Since the Turkish medical system is following European standards and most of the doctors have got their training in countries like the USA, England, and Germany, the general level of the healthcare system and medical education is high. Additionally, Turkish hospitals operate at a very competitive cost and thus charge patients a fraction of what they’d be charged for a similar service in other countries.
Turkey has a very large number of US-accredited hospitals, so patients can easily trust the medical centers. Another important factor in the popularity of Turkey among medical tourists is Turkey’s high experience in the tourism and hospitality sector. Turkish economy heavily relies on tourism and the country has got all the infrastructure required to implement tourism activities.
Turkey does also have great universities that provide programs in English. Many families in other countries send their children to get an education in one of the public or private universities in Turkey. Some of these educational immigrants that are graduates in one of the medical fields, decide to stay in Turkey, obtain Turkish citizenship, and work in the Turkish medical system. With a rich cultural and language understanding of their native regions, these doctors play an important role in the treatment procedure of people from those regions.
What Medical Fields is Turkey Famous for?
Turkish medical centers provide a wide range of medical services for patients from every corner of the world. In some fields like hair transplantation, Turkey is easily the capital! Turkish medical centers offer the highest possible quality of treatments in the following fields:
- Plastic Surgery
- Eye Surgery and Treatments (Ophthalmology)
- Brain Surgery
- Orthopedics
- Dental Treatments
- Cancer Treatments
FAQs
Why Do People Go to Turkey for Surgeries?
It is easy to choose Turkey for medical treatments. Turkish medical tourism programs offer 5-star hotels, multilanguage patient care, and reasonable prices. Patients get the same level of medical services that they could get in countries like Germany and the USA at a fraction of the price.
Why Are Medical Procedures More Reasonable in Turkey?
The only reason for Turkey being a reasonable destination for medical tourists is the lower operational costs of the Turkish medical system. Costs of living and operating companies in Turkey are lower than in European and North American countries.
Are Plastic Surgeries Good in Turkey?
Turkey is easily a capital of plastic and aesthetic surgeries. Hundreds of certified plastic surgeons work and live in Istanbul, making the city a popular destination for plastic surgeries.
Can I Rent a Home in Turkey During My Medical Tourism Stay?
If your medical stay in Turkey is long, you can rent a flat or home in Turkey at a reasonable price and maybe apply for a residence permit to ensure you will be able to live normally in the country.
What Is Turkey Known for in Medicine?
Besides very cost-effective and high-quality medical centers, Turkey is famous in some medical fields such as Orthopedics, Dentistry, and Plastic Surgery. Turkey is one of the best destinations for heart surgeries and eye treatments.
