Healthcare workers distribute 'lokma': 'Rest in peace, family physicians'

Reactions continue against the "Family Physicians Contract and Payment Regulation," which professional organizations and physicians describe as a "persecution regulation." In Muğla, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Muğla Branch, the Muğla Family Physicians Association, and numerous professional organizations held a protest. 

During the protest, where calls for Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu to resign were raised, participants chanted "Minister resign, rest in peace, family physicians" and distributed 'lokma'. 

According to a report in Birgün, Can Kirişçi, the Muğla Representative of the Union and Solidarity Syndicate, delivered a speech at the protest. 

Kirişçi stated that the regulation affects not only healthcare workers but all 85 million citizens, and made the following remarks: 

"The mandatory patient follow-up every 6 months imposed by the regulation is an unscientific practice that does not exist anywhere else in the world. Mandatory patient recalls to family health centers will disrupt the preventive healthcare services we should be providing to our infants, children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Forcing a healthy individual to visit a doctor every 6 months will lead to the inefficient use of resources.

The new regulation disregards the scientific and independent professional approach of physicians. Attempting to determine a patient's health status through formulas and calculations will prevent physicians from applying patient-specific treatments. Imposing such formulaic restrictions is an attack on our professional dignity. We are being prevented from prescribing the medication a patient needs, and we are being prevented from referring them to hospitals. By introducing target scores, family physicians and family health workers are being left facing the risk of contract termination, and our job security is being eliminated."