Primary Healthcare Services in Türkiye Are Sounding the Alarm
Although the family medicine system in Türkiye is seen as the cornerstone of healthcare services, it has been under significant strain in recent years. Increasing patient numbers, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient emphasis on preventive health services are threatening the well-being of both citizens and healthcare professionals.
Why Is the Burden on Family Physicians Increasing?
A single family physician serves an average of 3,500–4,000 individuals. This situation prevents physicians from dedicating enough time to each patient, leading even minor health issues to be referred to hospitals. As a result, the time allocated per patient decreases, emergency departments become unnecessarily overcrowded, and tracking chronic diseases or achieving early diagnosis becomes more difficult. This scenario necessitates a thorough review of healthcare service planning by health administrators.
Preventive Health Services Left Behind
The weakening of preventive services leads to higher long-term healthcare expenditures and increases the overall disease burden in society. However, early detection of chronic diseases, the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits, and regular screening programs are among the most effective tools in health management.
Why Is This Important for Health Management Students?
This situation serves as a direct professional example for students studying Health Management. Understanding the structural problems of the healthcare system, developing policy designs, conducting data-driven analyses, and producing sustainable models are among the primary responsibilities of future professionals in this field.
From a managerial perspective, the family medicine system offers practical analysis opportunities in areas such as workforce planning, resource allocation, service delivery efficiency, and effective implementation of health policies.
Research, thesis work, and field projects conducted at universities can directly contribute to the improvement of this system.
What Are the Proposed Solutions?
The referral chain should be activated. Patients should first visit their family physician instead of going directly to the hospital.
The population per family physician should be reduced. Planning must be made for a more manageable workload.
More resources and time should be allocated to preventive services.
Reducing the burden on family physicians and revitalizing preventive health services is not just a medical issue but also a managerial responsibility. Health managers are responsible for designing and implementing models that strengthen the preventive structure of the system. In this process, Health Management students will be among the key actors shaping the resilient healthcare systems of the future.
