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Home healthcare regulation to overburden Turkish family physicians, union warns
🇹🇷 Turkey /Health & Science

Home healthcare regulation to overburden Turkish family physicians, union warns

From Cumhuriyet · () Turkish

Translated from Turkish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A new regulation on home healthcare and palliative care services is expected to increase the workload of family physicians.
  • Dr. Ahmet Mehlepçi of the Birlik ve Dayanışma Sendikası raised concerns about how family doctors can manage both their clinic duties and home visits simultaneously.
  • The union questions who will serve patients at the family health centers while doctors are providing home care.

Family physicians in Turkey are bracing for a significant increase in their workload following a new regulation concerning home healthcare and palliative care services. Dr. Ahmet Mehlepçi, the General President of the Birlik ve Dayanışma Sendikası (Union of Unity and Solidarity), warned that the current system is already strained and the added responsibilities could prove unmanageable.

Mehlepçi highlighted the practical challenges family doctors will face. "Considering the current heavy workload of polyclinics, how can a family doctor be present at both the Family Health Center (ASM) and the patient's home at the same time?" he questioned. This raises concerns about the continuity of care for patients registered at the health centers.

Considering the current heavy workload of polyclinics, how can a family doctor be present at both the Family Health Center (ASM) and the patient's home at the same time?

— Dr. Ahmet MehlepçiThe head of the Birlik ve Dayanışma Sendikası voiced concerns about the practical implications of new home healthcare regulations for family physicians.

The union's concerns center on the potential for neglect of regular patients if family doctors are frequently required to make home visits. "When a family doctor is visiting a patient receiving home health services, who will serve their own registered patients?" Mehlepçi asked, emphasizing the dilemma doctors might face. The regulation, while aiming to improve home-based care, appears to have overlooked the existing capacity and operational realities of family physicians.

When a family doctor is visiting a patient receiving home health services, who will serve their own registered patients?

— Dr. Ahmet MehlepçiDr. Mehlepçi questioned the feasibility of family doctors managing both clinic duties and home visits under the new regulations.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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