Health reform in Turkey achieves universal coverage, improves health

Recent health system reform efforts in Turkey have led to universal health coverage and notable improvements in health outcomes and equity, according to Rifat Atun, professor of global health systems at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He describes the history of health reform over the past 70 years in Turkey, and how the latest strategy was carried out, in a Perspective piece published October 1, 2015 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In 2003, Turkey’s Ministry of Health introduced a 10-year health system reform called the Health Transformation Program, which aimed to improve public health and provide health insurance for all citizens. A single-payer system was introduced, along with health system improvements including the introduction of family medicine-centered primary care and expansion of hospital capacity. These efforts have increased health insurance coverage for the poorest individuals, and helped lower child mortality rates, according to Atun. Patient satisfaction with health care services also has improved over the past decade.

“Turkey’s experience shows that with committed leadership, middle-income countries can achieve universal health coverage and simultaneously improve population health, financial risk protection, and user satisfaction—health system goals to which all countries should aspire,” Atun wrote.

Read paper: Transforming Turkey’s health system — lessons for universal coverage