Deputy Minister of Health Şuayip Birinci said at the “13th OHSAD Congress-Common Solution Meetings in Health” organized by the Association of Private Hospitals and Healthcare Institutions (OHSAD) in Antalya that the world is constantly changing and that there is a corresponding change in every field of the health sector.
Pointing out that the way of life and perspective have also changed, Birinci emphasized that 3.5 percent of the world population, 15 percent of Europe and 7 percent of Türkiye are immigrants.
Birinci stated, “The problems are common, we are in a situation where we cannot solve the problems of the healthcare system by focusing only on Türkiye’s problems. It is not only our problem but the problem of the whole world. We are ageing very fast and our dependent population is increasing. The increase in the urban population is changing the way of life.”
Birinci said that 77 percent of Türkiye’s population now lives in the cities and added that 70 percent of the world’s population will live in the cities in 2050.
Explaining that the elderly population creates dependency on the people, Birinci said: “In the coming period, we will experience an old age period in which two out of every three people in Europe are dependent and one out of every 4-5 people in Türkiye are dependent. There are risks posed by the widening age gap between fathers and their children. People may have to take care of their family elders in their most active period of their life.”
He pointed out that chronic diseases double the health costs and said that in Türkiye, one chronic disease increases health costs by 2.8 times and more than four chronic diseases increase health costs by 10 times.
Birinci emphasized that managing chronic diseases is essential for controlling the future of health. He stated that obesity, at 29 percent in Turkey, incurs a cost of over 10 trillion in 30 years, along with its risks.
Birinci recommended that those at risk of obesity take at least 5 thousand steps a day and stated that it is necessary to focus on healthy living and empower the patients.
“There is an expectation of 350 billion dollars for health tourism in 2032”
Birinci stated that despite the quality of the health system, it is not possible to close the borders of health, as observed during pandemics. He says “In the world where there are 280 million immigrants, 14 million people travel to another country to receive healthcare services. There is an expectation of 350 billion dollars for health tourism in 2032. But very interestingly, the expected current size of remote healthcare services is 550 billion dollars in 2030. If we do not take the necessary precautions and actions here, we will run the risk of missing the opportunity. I looked into the top 25 countries that come to Türkiye for health tourism. They are the countries with a population of 2.7 billion and the average flight is 4 hours. We have the opportunity to compensate for even a portion of the financing we desire from health in Türkiye by using a strong brand like Turkish Airlines to the fullest.”
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Birinci said that specific treatments may encounter problems, despite the advantage compared to the global scale.
8 out of 9 patients want to be cared for at home
Birinci underlined that digitalization reduced face-to-face examinations by 15 percent in 3-4 years.
He said, “In 2050, we will become a country where 20 percent of the population is over the age of 65. We need to improve the home care services and focus more on this area. According to research conducted in the USA, only one in every 9 patients wants to be treated in hospital and 8 of them want to be followed at home.”
