Covid-19 Treatment Defined as Emergency: Hospitals Can No Longer Charge Fees

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Notice of Amendment to the Notice of Health Practices (SUT) was published on the Official Gazette and entered into force today (April 9).

With an amendment to the Article 1.7/3 of the notice, the "emergency situation" has been redefined in a way to include epidemic diseases.

Accordingly, the diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has been recognized as an emergency. Thus, private hospitals can no longer request patient shares or any extra fees from these patients.

With the same amendment, patients treated for pandemic will be able to obtain their medication from the hospitals where they are treated.

'Emergency situation' redefined

The new 'emergency situation' definition has been made as follows:

"An emergency covers the situations when a medical intervention is necessary in 24 hours following a sudden disease, accident, injury and the like; the situations when an urgent medical intervention is not made or a risk to life or/and integrity of health might arise in the event of reference to another medical institution; and diagnosis and treatment of pandemic cases during the course of the pandemic. For that reason, the medical services provided within this context are accepted as emergency health services."

No fees to be charged by private hospitals

The notice has also amended the Article 1.9.3 of the SUT on "the medical services for which no additional fees will be charged."

The expression of "the diagnosis and treatment of pandemic cases during the course of the pandemic" has been added to the above article.

Plasma treatment and defined medicine

While the method of "plasma treatment" for coronavirus patients has also been added to the Notice of Health Practices (SUT), "the medicine indicated by the Health Ministry to be provided by the hospitals during the pandemic" have been added to the "defined medicine" in the notice.

That being the case, the medicine used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients have been added to the list of medicine paid by the Social Security Institution (SGK). (TP/SD)