New referral crisis in healthcare: 'The Ministry makes promises to citizens, but makes doctors pay the price'

The "e-Referral" application, introduced by the Ministry of Health to reduce congestion in the Central Physician Appointment System (MHRS), has drawn a harsh reaction from physicians' unions. Dr. Ahmet Mehlepçi, Chairman of the Unity and Solidarity Union, issued a written statement arguing that the new application does not solve the appointment crisis, but rather moves the queues from digital platforms to hospital corridors and makes doctors direct targets of violence.

The Ministry of Health's promise that "Even if there is no appointment, you will be able to see a specialist doctor by getting a referral through your family physician" was described by doctors working in the field as an "unrealistic PR (public relations) effort." The union warned that the system's current capacity cannot handle this load.

"MHRS QUEUES ARE MOVING TO HOSPITAL CORRIDORS"

Birlik ve Dayanışma Sendikası (Unity and Solidarity Union) Chairman Dr. Ahmet Mehlepçi stated that this step, taken without increasing the number of specialist physician staff, opening new outpatient clinics, or extending examination times, is nothing more than window dressing. Mehlepçi expressed his criticisms with the following words:

"Directing patients without appointments to an outpatient clinic where no appointments can be found is not a solution; it is moving the queue from the MHRS screen to hospital corridors. A specialist doctor's daily examination capacity is clear. The Ministry makes promises to the citizen, but leaves the family physician alone in the examination room to deal with the consequences of that promise."

"A REFERRAL CANNOT BE GIVEN UPON A CITIZEN'S ARBITRARY DEMAND"

Emphasizing that the application is incompatible with medical science and clinical realities, Dr. Mehlepçi made the following critical reminder regarding the functioning of the referral mechanism:

A referral is not a petition or a transaction that is automatically given when a citizen knocks on the door and demands it. Only medical science, clinical necessity, and the physician's professional assessment decide which patient should be directed to which branch.

The citizen will come to the family health center and say, "The Ministry said I would be examined, refer me to a specialist doctor." When the physician does not deem a referral medically necessary, they will be at odds with the citizen, and this situation will escalate cases of violence in healthcare both in family health centers and hospitals.

"100 MILLION EMERGENCY APPLICATIONS PER YEAR IS NOT A SUCCESS, IT IS A BANKRUPTCY"

Stating that health management should focus on structural problems, the union management drew attention to the migration of physicians leaving the public sector, the damage caused by the performance system, and insufficient examination times.

Touching on the emergency room congestion in Turkey, Mehlepçi summarized the painful picture with these words:

"It is tragicomic to describe the more than 100 million emergency service applications per year as a success. A system where a patient with a cold and a patient suffering from a brain hemorrhage are piled up at the same emergency room door is not a success, it is a bankruptcy. This is not called health management; it is a PR effort. Healthcare is managed with common sense. We are saying it clearly; you cannot make promises to citizens that you cannot keep and make doctors and healthcare workers pay the bill."

News Source: 12punto