'Regulation on the Independent Practice of Health Professionals' published in the Official Gazette

According to the information provided by the Ministry regarding the regulation, which was prepared to contribute to making health services more widespread, accessible, effective, and efficient, health professionals including speech and language therapists, dietitians, midwives, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, nurses and equivalent health officers, clinical psychologists, audiologists, and podiatrists will be able to practice their professions independently under the title of "health professional service unit" with a license to be obtained from the Ministry of Health, within the framework of their professional competencies.

Thus, midwives and health officers equivalent to nursing have been included alongside midwives, nurses, and health officers who are graduates of the public health department, who were already able to practice their professions independently under the "Circular on Health Cabins."

According to the regulation, a maximum of three health professionals with the same professional title can come together to open a joint health professional service unit, and the license for this unit will be issued separately for each health professional.

With the opening of new health professional service units, in addition to creating employment areas for these professions, employment opportunities will also arise in job areas such as support service health personnel, secretaries, and cleaning staff. In a health professional service unit, a physiotherapy technician will be able to work alongside a physiotherapist, a psychologist alongside a clinical psychologist, an audiometry technician alongside an audiologist, and an occupational therapy technician alongside an occupational therapist.

NO MEDICAL PROCEDURES CAN BE PERFORMED OUTSIDE OF AUTHORIZATION

With the regulation, services can only be provided within the scope of professional authorization in health professional service units, and services will be provided to patients diagnosed by a physician in accordance with a treatment plan or prescription. No medical procedures, drugs, medical supplies, cosmetic products, or food supplements can be sold outside of authorization.

With the opening of health professional service units, health services will not be limited to hospitals; they will be expanded to be community-based and individual-oriented, and the demands of people who want to receive health services privately, outside of public institutions, will be met. Furthermore, it is aimed that these newly opened units will contribute to reducing the density and patient waiting times in health institutions in the relevant branches.

According to the standards determined by the regulation, each health professional service unit will have the necessary equipment, the services provided will be recorded, and health professionals will be required to inform patients and obtain consent before each procedure.

Patient rights will be protected, and mechanisms for requests, complaints, and suggestions regarding the service will be clear and accessible. An integrated QR code application containing the phrase "Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health Communication Center (SABİM) ALO 184" will be mandatory in every health professional service unit.

The sign of the health professional service unit must contain the phrase "private health professional service unit." These units, licensed by the Ministry of Health, will be auditable and traceable. Privately provided health professional services will be audited by the Ministry of Health.

For the audit of medical indications and practices, audit commissions consisting of at least three people, including experts from health institutions and organizations affiliated with the ministry and universities, will be established. These commissions will evaluate the compliance of the practices with the legislation and regularly examine the activities of health professionals.