Health Law

Private hospitals, medical centers, polyclinics, physical therapy and rehabilitation facilities, medical practices, laboratories, dialysis centers, oral and dental health establishments, home health units and other health facilities are subject to different legislation and planning principles. Incorporating a commercial company does not, on its own, grant authority to provide health services; the license, activity permit certificate, specialty, staffing, physical premises and medical device conditions appropriate to the type of institution must also be met separately.

Our work in this area includes:

• Legal assessment of the institution type and operating model
• Review of the compliance between the company structure and health legislation
• License, activity permit certificate, conformity and unit opening applications
• Changes of address, name, ownership, responsible director, beds, staffing and specialty
• Permits for medical devices, laboratories and specialized units
• Permits linked to the building, zoning, fire safety, accessibility and the health facility project
• Transfer, merger, relocation and changes in the operating model of a health care institution
• Deficiency letters, refusal decisions and administrative disputes in permit processes
• Defenses to claims of operating without a license or outside the scope of authorization

Preparing a regulatory matrix and document list before applying, and structuring investment, lease, construction and staff contracts in line with permit conditions, can reduce investment losses that may arise later.

Private hospitals and outpatient diagnosis and treatment institutions are subject to the regulations renewed in 2025, which apply separately. The practice of health professionals as self-employed practitioners is also assessed under conditions specific to the profession and the type of institution; authority to operate is not derived from a commercial title or a municipal document alone.

In a share transfer, business transfer, merger, investment or partnership involving a health care institution, reviewing company records alone is not sufficient. The license holder, activity permits, staffing, specialized units, use of real estate, public debts, SGK deductions, patient complaints, ongoing investigations and the health data infrastructure must be included in the legal review.

Scope of review:

• Company and partnership structure
• License, activity permit certificate and authorization certificates
• Staffing, personnel and responsible director records
• Real estate, lease, zoning, fire and building use certificates
• Medical device, laboratory and service unit permits
• SGK, tax, labor law and social security risks
• Patient disputes, administrative sanctions and investigations
• Personal data protection (KVKK), information security and software contracts
• Competition law and commercial contracts
• Applicability of the transfer under health legislation

A share transfer or business transfer does not mean that the license or the health tourism authorization is automatically transferred. Permits, notifications, competition law conditions and closing conditions are set out in the contract in a manner suited to the type of transaction.

Planning conditions for a new institution, beds, specialty, staffing, a specialized center, unit or equipment investment are reviewed according to the type of institution. A license obtained under planning is not the same document as an operating license or activity permit. Obtaining a license does not by itself complete the other opening and operating conditions.

• Review of the Ministry’s planning notice, license scope, eligibility to apply and tender document.
• Review of the license fee, security, payments and commitments together with the investment budget.
• Consistency of the increase in staffing, specialties, beds or devices with existing licenses and activity permits.
• Separate monitoring of the timetable for planning, preliminary permit, license and transition to operation.
• Application and litigation conditions where an application is rejected, a license is cancelled or a capacity request is not granted.

Under the framework of the Health Services Licensing Regulation dated November 11, 2025, the relevant institution regulation and the current notice are assessed together; the same licensing procedure is not assumed for every health care institution.

The operational continuity of a health care institution is linked not only to patient safety but also to building, fire, occupational health, technical maintenance and environmental obligations. Legal review does not replace the checks and certifications that must be carried out by competent technical persons.

• Separation, temporary storage and handover of medical and other waste, and review of the related service contracts.
• Assessment, from the standpoint of liability, of sterilization, infection control, device maintenance and calibration records.
• Determination of the applicable authority, protection and service contract conditions in units involving radiation.
• Handling of fire, building use, accessibility and emergency obligations together with the permit file.
• Evidence preservation, notification and liability plan for occupational accidents, data outages, device failures or service interruptions.

Health facilities may be subject to routine, extraordinary, complaint-based or follow-up inspections. In reviewing an administrative sanction, the following are assessed separately: the act described in the inspection report and its counterpart in legislation, the document supporting the finding, the competent inspection unit, whether the deficiency was remedied, and whether the right to defense was afforded.

In inspection and sanction processes:

• Institutional compliance check before an inspection
• Legal review of the inspection report and its annexes
• Conduct of the defense and submission of documents
• Preparation of records showing that the deficiency was remedied
• Objection to administrative fines, suspension of activity, closure of units and license decisions
• Assessment of the conditions for a stay of execution and an action for annulment
• Joint review of the administrative and other sanctions applied for the same act
• Setting up corrective and preventive internal procedures after an inspection

The date of notification of the administrative act, the manner of its implementation and its effect on the facility’s operations should be assessed without delay.

Filing an application does not by itself stop the sanction. The effect of an action for annulment, a stay of execution or an objection specific to the sanction is determined by the applicable procedure. Corrective action needed for patient safety and a legal objection to the decision can be planned together.

Physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals may face an internal review, a disciplinary investigation, a professional organization procedure, the Professional Liability Board (Mesleki Sorumluluk Kurulu) process, a criminal investigation, or compensation or recourse claims arising from the same event.

In these processes:

• Assessment of the review and investigation file
• Preparation of defense and objection petitions
• Investigation permit processes before the Professional Liability Board
• Recourse actions for compensation paid by the administration against the health care worker
• Special investigation procedures for public and university staff
• Professional organization and disciplinary board proceedings
• Claims concerning duty, authority, the limits of a specialty and team responsibility
• Temporary removal from the profession or from activity
• A defense plan coordinated with the criminal investigation and the compensation lawsuit

It is important to preserve the medical records and scientific sources used in the defense; however, patient privacy and the confidentiality of the investigation should not be breached.

Distinction between permit and compensation: The investigation permit under Supplementary Article 18 of Law No. 3359 concerns examination, diagnosis and treatment and relates to criminal procedure; it is not a general precondition of a compensation lawsuit. The special procedure under Article 53 of Law No. 2547 is protected separately. Not every disciplinary or criminal allegation automatically falls within the scope of the Professional Liability Board.

In health care, criminal liability is not limited to injury or death claims arising from medical intervention. Unauthorized health services, forged documents or records, prescription and invoice transactions, unlawful disclosure of personal data, drug and device safety, acts causing public loss, and violence against health care workers may also be the subject of a criminal investigation.

In these processes:

• Joint assessment of the act under health legislation and criminal law
• Transactions concerning search, seizure and the taking of digital records
• Submission of documents to the file while protecting patient privacy
• Application of the Professional Liability Board permit process
• Objection to expert reports and medical assessments
• Representation of suspects, defendants, victims and intervening parties

Whether an investigation permit is required depends on the act and the staff status. The defense and evidence plan differs for a complainant, a victim or a suspect. You can review our criminal law services.

Patient rights consist of interrelated entitlements, including access to health services, the right to information, the freedom to choose the health care institution and staff, privacy, consent to medical intervention, safe care, the right to inspect records, and the use of remedies.

Informed consent is not merely a signed form. The patient must be told the diagnosis, the proposed intervention, reasonable risks, alternatives, the probable consequences of declining the intervention, and other necessary information, in a way the patient can understand. The patient’s age, capacity to decide, emergency situations, legal representation, need for translation and the nature of the intervention may affect the consent process.

In this scope:

• Assessment of claims of violation of patient rights
• Applications to the patient rights unit and the board
• Legal review of informed consent processes and forms
• Preparation of records of refusal and discontinuation of treatment
• Representation of minors and persons without capacity to decide
• Translation and understandable information for foreign patients
• Requests for the patient file, discharge summary, imaging and other records
• Correction of records, restriction of access and privacy disputes
• In-hospital patient rights and complaint management procedures

The patient, authorized representative or legal representative may exercise the right to inspect records and take copies under the Patient Rights Regulation. An e-Nabız record may not replace the institution’s complete medical file. Corrections to records should not be made in a way that hides their history; the integrity of the record must be preserved.

Health, genetic, biometric and sexual life data are special category personal data. Processing, storing, authorizing and transferring this data to third parties or abroad requires a higher level of legal and technical protection than general personal data processes.

In health care institutions, data flows may occur between physicians, nurses, laboratories, imaging centers, pharmacies, insurance companies, call centers, software providers, health tourism intermediaries and public systems. The purpose of each transfer, its legal basis, the data controller and data processor roles and the security method must also be determined separately.

Scope of our work:

• Review of the health data inventory and processing conditions
• Correct separation of the privacy notice, explicit consent and other legal grounds
• Data controller and data processor agreements
• Authorization matrix, access logs, storage and disposal procedures
• Patient portal, mobile applications, telehealth and video consultation systems
• Sharing of health records with insurance companies, employers, courts or third parties
• Transfer of data abroad and assessment of multinational service providers
• Data breach response plan and notification processes to the Board
• Data subject applications and processes before the Personal Data Protection Authority
• Health data of employees and occupational health records

Patient consent is not the sole legal basis for every data processing activity. Determining the applicable processing condition correctly requires that no more data than necessary be collected, that access be restricted, and that transfers be made securely.

The current special category data processing conditions in Article 6 of KVKK and the cross-border transfer regime in Article 9 are addressed separately. The privacy notice, the data processing condition and consent to medical intervention cannot be used in place of one another. Where a foreign patient or a server located abroad is involved, the party to the transfer, its purpose and its legal mechanism are determined separately.

Having a video consultation application does not, by itself, grant authority to provide telehealth services. For a health facility, the telehealth activity permit, the Ministry registration of the information system used, professional authority and informing the patient are checked together.

• Assessment of telehealth activity permits and the use of registered systems.
• Verification of patient identity, the limits of the service, and recording and privacy processes.
• Contracts for HBYS, the patient portal, SaaS, cloud, support and data processing.
• Cyber incident, access logging, backup, data portability and the transfer of records when the service ends.
• Purpose of decision-support or artificial intelligence software, supervision by the health professional and the sharing of responsibility.
• Assessment under medical device legislation, product safety and KVKK, according to the intended use of the software.

Not every health procedure is suitable for remote delivery. Required physical examination or intervention conditions are preserved; a software output does not remove the physician’s duty of assessment.

Websites, social media, search engines, videos, images, press releases, patient communication and health tourism promotion relating to health services must be carried out within the limits of the promotion and information rules in health legislation. Statements of a commercial advertising nature, promising outcomes, lacking a scientific basis, steering patients or disparaging other health care institutions may give rise to administrative and professional liability.

In this area:

• Legal review of website and social media content
• Review of physician titles, fields of specialty and service descriptions
• Patient images, treatment visuals and conditions for the use of personal data
• Sponsored content, search engine advertising and social media collaborations
• Foreign-language promotional activities aimed at health tourism
• Call center, messaging and commercial electronic message processes
• Inspection, content removal, defense and administrative sanction processes
• Preparation of agency, doctor, clinic and intermediary agreements

When preparing the communication strategy of a health care institution, health legislation, consumer law, KVKK and unfair competition rules should be assessed together.

Domestic information and health tourism promotion are not governed by the same regime. The Regulation of November 12, 2025 contains special provisions on international health tourism, under which authorization, a separate medium, language and the conditions for targeting abroad apply. Giving consent to the use of a patient’s image does not mean that the content automatically complies with the other promotion rules.

In the health sector, the parties to a contract are not limited to buyer and seller. Patient safety, public order, professional authority, license conditions and personal data obligations set the limits of freedom of contract.

Principal contracts prepared and reviewed:

• Private hospital–physician employment and service contracts
• Health facility–patient service contracts
• Health tourism facility–intermediary agency contracts
• Foreign patient service and payment contracts
• Laboratory, imaging and external service procurement contracts
• Drug, medical device, consumable and maintenance contracts
• Distributorship, dealership, supply and logistics contracts
• Hospital information management system, software and cloud service contracts
• Private insurance and health service provider agreements
• Clinical research center, sponsor and investigator contracts
• Confidentiality, data processing and cross-border data transfer contracts
• Hospital operation, lease, brand use and management contracts

Contracts should establish, within the same legal framework, provisions on scope of service, professional liability, payment, data security, ownership of records, audit, insurance, subcontracting, termination and dispute resolution.

Interruption of service, storage of patient records, change of sub-service provider and termination of the contract are regulated separately. The validity of provisions aimed at eliminating in advance patient rights or statutory liability is examined separately.

The working arrangements of health care workers include the employment contract, professional independence, on-call duty, overtime, performance pay, patient portfolio, confidentiality, non-compete restrictions and professional liability provisions.

Our work:

• Employment contracts for physicians, dentists and other health care workers
• Full-time, part-time, outsourced and company-based working models
• Disputes over wages, bonuses, performance pay, on-call duty and overtime
• Termination for just and valid cause, reinstatement and compensation processes
• Mobbing, discrimination, violence and occupational health and safety processes
• Professional secrecy, patient data and confidentiality obligations
• Legal limits of non-compete and non-solicitation provisions
• Claims of work accident and occupational disease
• Work permits and professional authorization conditions for foreign health care workers

Describing a contract as a “service procurement” or issuing an invoice does not, by itself, determine the actual working relationship. Dependence, the organization of work, professional authority and social security conditions are assessed together. The status of public personnel may not be subject to the same procedure as personnel employed under an employment contract.

International health tourism is a multi-party service structure in which a health facility, intermediary agency, foreign patient, insurer, hotel, transfer company and foreign business partners may be involved. The authorization certificate, the HealthTürkiye system, service standards, translation, patient records, complication management, pricing and collection processes must be planned together.

Our areas of work:

• Authorization certificate applications for health facilities and intermediary agencies
• HealthTürkiye system and compliance with legislation
• Cooperation agreements between health facilities and intermediary agencies
• Foreign agency, representative and referral contracts
• Foreign patient service, package, payment and cancellation contracts
• Multilingual information, consent and personal data texts
• Complication insurance processes where applicable
• Arrangements for post-treatment follow-up, complications and re-application
• International collection and foreign currency payment disputes
• Foreign patient complaints and the resolution of cross-border disputes
• Authorization certificate, inspection and administrative sanction processes

A patient contract drafted in a foreign language should not be regarded merely as a translation of the Turkish text. The governing law, jurisdiction, arbitration, data transfer, the role of the intermediary agency and post-treatment liability must be expressly regulated.

Compliance timetable as of October 4, 2026: For hospitals, medical centers, medical laboratories and dialysis centers within the scope of health tourism, TÜSKA accreditation applies; for other health facilities outside these, the Ministry certification obligation is assessed separately. The date in provisional Article 1/3 of the Regulation is December 31, 2026, and the current regulation is checked before any transaction. An authorization certificate does not replace these obligations.

Authorization certificates are issued by the Ministry for health facilities and by USHAŞ for intermediary agencies. Surgical and interventional procedures in the operating room environment are assessed separately, for the complication insurance obligation, from professional liability insurance. The occurrence of a complication does not by itself show that there was faulty medical practice.

In the pharmaceutical sector, research, licensing, manufacturing, import, pricing, reimbursement, distribution, promotion, pharmacovigilance and market surveillance are subject to different regulations. In addition to administrative processes, product liability, contract, competition and intellectual property disputes may also arise.

In this area:

• Marketing authorization and variation procedures for human medicinal products
• Manufacturing, import, distribution and supply contracts
• Drug promotion and relations with health professionals
• Pharmacovigilance, safety reporting and withdrawal processes
• Pricing and reimbursement disputes
• Procurement of medicines from abroad and patient-specific access processes
• Claims arising from defective or unsafe products
• Disputes over trademarks, patents, licensing data and trade secrets
• Administrative application and lawsuit routes against TİTCK decisions
• Competition law and distribution system reviews

The class of a medical device, its intended use, its manufacturer, importer, authorized representative and distributor, and its use within the health care institution affect the liability assessment. Conformity, registration, traceability, clinical evaluation, reporting of adverse events and withdrawal obligations are addressed together with the technical records.

Scope of work:

• Product classification and assessment of the scope of legislation
• Manufacturer, importer, authorized representative and distributor contracts
• ÜTS registrations, conformity and market placement processes
• Contracts linked to clinical evaluation and performance studies
• Adverse event, field safety and recall processes
• Public and private hospital procurement disputes
• Claims for compensation and recourse arising from defective or unsafe devices
• Administrative fines, suspension of market placement and withdrawal measures
• Administrative and judicial remedies against TİTCK actions

Registration in ÜTS or a CE mark does not, by itself, mean that the specific product satisfies all conditions of use and promotion. The intended use, class, conformity documents, the supply chain and the technical regulation in force on the date of the event are reviewed together.

Clinical research is subject, alongside scientific requirements, to the rights, safety and well-being of the volunteer, ethics committee review, permission from the competent institution, informed consent, insurance, safety reporting and personal data processes.

In this area:

• Legal classification of the research and the permit route
• Contracts with the sponsor, research centers, investigators and service providers
• Ethics committee and TİTCK application processes
• Volunteer information and consent documents
• Clinical research insurance and compensation arrangements
• Safety reporting, serious adverse events and suspension of the research
• Protection of biological samples, genetic data and research data
• Publication, intellectual property and access to research results provisions
• Applications concerning audit findings and administrative sanctions

The ethics committee assessment, the volunteer’s consent and the permission of the competent institution serve different functions. A contract or consent form does not substitute for a permit or notification required by the type of research. The volunteer’s withdrawal from the research, data processing and the retention of existing records are regulated separately.

The relations of health service providers with SGK proceed through the contract, the Health Practice Notification (Sağlık Uygulama Tebliği), MEDULA records, invoicing, pre-authorization, audit and claims of undue payment. Medical necessity and the coding and documentation conditions under payment legislation may not mean the same thing.

Areas of work:

• Review of SGK health service provider contracts
• SUT, coding, package procedure and surcharge disputes
• Invoice review, deductions and refund claims
• Undue payments, collection and offset transactions
• MEDULA records and audit findings
• Internal objection and litigation processes
• Reimbursement disputes concerning drugs and medical devices
• Fee disputes between health care institutions and patients

The SUT provisions, the contract version and the reimbursement lists are reviewed according to the date of the procedure. Deduction items are matched with the medical record, code, invoice and reason for refusal. Not every dispute is subject to the same time limit or the same competent court.

Coverage, waiting periods, exclusions, pre-existing conditions, pre-authorization, incomplete disclosure, renewal and the insurer’s recourse claims in private and supplementary health insurance may give rise to disputes.

In this scope:

• Review of policies and special conditions
• Refusal of pre-authorization and payment deductions
• Pre-existing condition and incomplete disclosure claims
• Health care institution–insurer service agreements
• Unfair payment, refund and recourse claims
• Insurance Arbitration Commission (Sigorta Tahkim Komisyonu) and litigation processes
• Application of foreign insurance policies to health services in Türkiye

For insurance arbitration, the insurer’s participation in the system, the scope of the dispute and the required prior application conditions are checked. The existence of a policy does not mean that every treatment or every loss will be covered.

Claims of loss arising from medical treatment require the distinction between complication and medical malpractice, the medical standard, informed consent, causation, damage, the organizational liability of the health care institution, and the competent judicial route to be examined together.

• Assessment of medical records and routes of application on behalf of patients or their relatives
• Review of claims and records on behalf of physicians and health care institutions
• Duty and route of application according to the distinction between public and private health care institutions
• Examination of informed consent, medical standard, complication and causation
• Claims for material and non-material damage and loss of support
• Professional liability insurance and recourse processes
• Assessment of expert witness reports, the Forensic Medicine Institution (Adli Tıp Kurumu) and university opinions
• Joint planning of criminal, compensation, administrative and disciplinary processes

Review the Medical Malpractice Cases service.

The route to be used in a health dispute is determined by the procedural capacity of the parties and the type of claim. In private law, consumer, commercial and employment disputes, mediation before litigation may apply where the conditions are met; in administrative disputes, an administrative application and an action for annulment or full remedy action; in insurance disputes, the Insurance Arbitration Commission; and in personal data disputes, an application to the data controller and the Board process may arise.

Our scope of work:

• Review of jurisdiction, competence, time limits and conditions precedent to litigation
• Internal complaints and objections within the institution
• Applications to the Ministry of Health, provincial health directorate, TİTCK, SGK and KVKK authorities
• Mandatory or voluntary mediation
• Consumer arbitration committee (tüketici hakem heyeti) and consumer court processes
• Actions for annulment and full remedy actions
• Compensation, receivable and contract lawsuits
• Requests for interim injunction, evidence preservation and stay of execution
• Appeal, cassation, individual application (bireysel başvuru) and enforcement of decisions

An individual application is not a new stage of the ordinary appeal; it requires an allegation of violation of a fundamental right, the exhaustion of available remedies and specific admissibility and time conditions. Enforcement of a decision is planned according to the file, as collection, performance of the administrative act or internal corrective action.