Health tourism authorisation: the licence you can check
In Türkiye, treating international patients requires a facility-level authorisation. It is verifiable, and it is worth verifying.
Alongside voluntary accreditation there is a legal requirement, and unlike a logo it can be checked against a public register.
What it is
Facilities treating international patients in Türkiye must hold a health tourism authorisation issued by the health authority. It is granted to a named facility under a named legal entity, and it can be withdrawn.
The name on the authorisation and the name on your invoice and consent forms should match. Where they do not, ask why before signing anything.
What it does not replace
It is a licence to operate, not a quality ranking. It says the facility met the regulatory conditions for treating international patients; it does not say the rehabilitation is good.
Use it as a floor. A provider without one is a different kind of question entirely.
How to check
Ask for the authorisation number of the specific facility where treatment will happen — not of the group — and check it against the official register rather than against the provider’s own website.
A provider who supplies the number without hesitation is telling you something useful. So is one who does not.
Topic
More in Quality, safety and accreditation
- Medication safety when you are treated abroadBring the list, bring the packaging, and expect a reconciliation on admission — brand names differ between countries even when the drug does not.
- What happens if the patient becomes unwell during the programmeAsk before you travel: which hospital, at whose cost, and what happens to the unused days.
