News & Insights

25/10/2019

New Amendments to the Private Hospitals Regulation

Recent Developments

The Ministry of Health (“Ministry“) amended (“Amendment“) the Private Hospitals Regulation (“Regulation“). The Amendment entered into force with its publication in the Official Gazette No. 30902 dated September 28, 2019.

What’s New?

• Provided that the requirements of the Regulation are met, licensed and operating private hospitals that have less than 100 beds will be allowed to increase their bed capacity to 100.
• The Ministry can, as it deems appropriate, allow a private healthcare institution to transfer up to 10% of its total inter-provincial specialist staff from a city with high density to a city with low density in terms of the distribution of population and/or experts and physicians.
• With the Ministry’s permission, preliminary permits issued by the Ministry can be transferred only once from a city with high density to a city with low density in terms of the distribution of population and/or experts and physicians.
• The Amendment increased the percentage of number of beds and/or specialists that can be added to the hospital with less beds and/or specialists among merged hospitals.
• Private hospitals may employ professors and associate professors in vacant specialist positions of the private hospital, provided that the requirements of the applicable legislation are met.
• As per the Ministry’s employment plan, in addition to physicians, dentists will also be able to work in two private healthcare institutions within the scope of the Ministry’s planning, other than the private health institution they work in.
• With the Ministry’s permission, provided that it has at least one operating hospital, preliminary permits issued by the Ministry to foundation university hospitals/additional units may be transferred only once from a city with high density to a city with low density in terms of the distribution of population and/or experts and physicians.
• With the Ministry’s permission, provided that it has at least one operating hospital, foundation universities may transfer only once their other operating/pending hospitals/additional units within the same city or from a city  with high density to a city with low density in terms of the distribution of population and/or experts and physicians.
• Private hospitals that received the Ministry’s preliminary permissions before 01/01/2019 and under provisional Article 1 of the Regulation, but could not complete their licensing procedures at the end of the five-year licensing term can complete the licensing procedures by 31/12/2025.

Conclusion

The Amendment alters the conditions under which private hospitals with less than 100 beds may increase their capacity to 100 beds; revises physician employment and the transfer of private hospitals’ preliminary permits and staff; modifies the conditions under which the preliminary permit and hospitals/additional units of foundation university hospitals may be transferred; and grants private hospitals that were given preliminary permission under the Regulation additional time for licensing procedures.