Health Minister Koca: MHRS Ready for the New Era

Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca stated that they are taking a new step with the re-update of the Central Physician Appointment System (MHRS), saying, “Every patient with an appointment for the next day will confirm their appointment or notify whether they can attend until 8 p.m. The approved appointment period application starts on Monday,” he said.

Koca: Aim for Domestic Vaccine Production

Stating that they will complete the construction of the Hıfzıssıhha Vaccine and Biotechnological Product Production Center and start pilot production within two years, Koca expressed that they aim for all vaccines to be domestically produced in Turkey. Koca said that with the technology transfers of rabies, Hepatitis A, and chickenpox vaccines, they will now be produced in Turkey, stating, “All other vaccines in the immunization program will also be produced at Hıfzıssıhha. By 2028, all vaccines will be 100% domestically produced,” he said.

The National Health Assessment and Coordination Meeting was held under the chairmanship of Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. Speaking to the press at the ministry building after the meeting, Koca stated that social media is not a reliable source of information, saying, “To prevent misinformation, just like today, I will regularly inform you about the decisions of our Health Coordination Board. The Health Coordination Board is our most important evaluation body in the new period,” he said.

Emphasizing that the desired outcome in health is fundamentally dependent on human resources, Minister Koca noted that by increasing the demand for medical specialization education, they have guaranteed that the number of specialist physicians will double in 4 years.

Koca: Approved Appointment System Starting

Pointing out that the MHRS, which can be used anywhere with phone and internet access, has gained a new function, Koca stated, “Every patient with an appointment for the next day will confirm their appointment or notify whether they can attend until 8 p.m. We call this new era initiated in the MHRS the Approved Appointment System. The application starts on Monday,” he announced.

“Through the Approved Appointment System, we will be able to respond to our patients within 24 hours,”

Highlighting that in the new period starting on Monday, patients over the age of 65 and cancer patients will be exempt from approval processes and will be included in a privileged group, Minister Koca said, “The Approved Appointment System will provide our hospitals and physicians with the opportunity to use time efficiently. The patient will cancel the appointment they cannot attend. Thus, we will be able to use our currently vacant capacity for patients in need of service due to appointment disloyalty. In each vacant appointment slot, we will reach out to patients who could not schedule an appointment from the system and prioritize those who left a request. Through the Approved Appointment System, we will be able to respond to our patients’ requests in many branches within 24 hours according to our forecast.”

Minister Koca answered journalists’ questions after the press conference.

“There is no new application apart from the existing 15-day appointment unavailability policy”

When asked if there would be a new sanction for patients who do not cancel or attend appointments, Minister Koca replied, “There is no new application apart from the existing policy. We previously discussed extensively within the coordination board. We discussed whether there should be a restriction for all specialties in case of not showing up for the second time, but we have not considered that for now. We expect and anticipate a significant decrease, especially with the approval system. We want to see if that decrease occurs. There is no new application apart from the existing policy.”

“Despite the statement made regarding the ’24/7 specialist physician services,’ the perception continues”

When asked about the allegations of ’24/7 specialist physician services’ circulating on social media, Minister Koca responded, “We are obliged to create branch polyclinics in the emergency department without giving appointments for the next day. We already do this within the scope of shifts. This is an application we already have, but despite the statement made for the past 2-3 days that ‘clinics will be established by making physicians work 24 hours on duty,’ the perception continues.”

“We took 17 cars from our 17 Togg cars within the framework of savings measures”

When asked if the Ministry of Health had taken any steps within the framework of savings measures in the public sector, Koca stated that they had started a savings study related to current expenses, saying, “Our President also made a statement. For example, in the public service, there is usually a routine leasing method for vehicles every 3 years. We saw that the new term figures had increased nearly threefold. Upon seeing that, we canceled it. We took 17 cars from our Togg cars, and from now on, our colleagues in the ministry will use Togg. This is one of the most important savings measures we have taken,” he said.