The Regulation on International Health Tourism and Tourist Health, published in the Official Gazette dated 26 April 2025 and numbered 32882, created the current framework of health tourism activities. For healthcare organizations, it is not just about completing an application file. Authorization. It requires considering service scope, international patient unit, clinical information flow, pricing, intermediary relations, data security, promotion and quality management together.

Organizations should not rely on generic checklists circulating online. Organization type, current operating-license and activity structure, authorization-certificate status, and the proposed service model may create different obligations. The current Regulation, its annexes, and Ministry announcements should be checked directly at the time of application.

First, clarify the institution and its scope of activity

The starting point is “what documents are required?” Before the question "Which legal entity and health service structure will carry out which activity?" is the question. The roles of the healthcare facility and the intermediary organization are not the same. It should be clear who is responsible for patient communication, clinical evaluation, travel and accommodation coordination, payment, registration and post-treatment follow-up steps.

The organization should assess its planned international patient service against its current operating license, staffing, capacity, and clinical competence. If marketing objectives are disconnected from clinical capacity, delivering a safe and consistent service after authorization becomes difficult.

Do Not Confuse the 2026 Accreditation and Certification Pathways

The Ministry of Health’s 13 May 2026 announcement states that hospitals, laboratories, medical centers, and dialysis centers holding an International Health Tourism Authorization Certificate must be accredited by TÜSKA by 31 December 2026. Certification issued by Provincial Health Directorates is defined as a separate pathway for other healthcare facilities.

Planning for a physician practice or outpatient clinic using the TÜSKA Hospital Standards is just as inappropriate as preparing an in-scope hospital using only the general certification checklist. The organization type and current applicable pathway must be confirmed in writing, and the management timetable built accordingly.

Manage Authorization-Certificate Readiness Across Five Workstreams

1. Governance and accountability

The management sponsor, operations officer, and clinical escalation line for the international patient activity should be identified. Duties, data, fees, complaints and follow-up responsibilities should not be left unclear in contracts made with intermediary institutions.

2. Patient journey and clinical safety

The patient journey must be mapped, from initial contact to post-treatment follow-up. Preliminary information collection, physician evaluation, consent, translation, identity verification, emergency and post-discharge communication steps should be tested in real workflow.

3. Information and data management

In the international patient process, health data may move between different countries, channels and service providers. Which data is collected and why, where it is kept, with whom it is shared and the conditions for international transfer should be evaluated with legal and information security teams.

4. Pricing and financial clarity

The scope of the offer, excluded services, change conditions, payment and return processes should be clear. No guarantee of outcome or total cost should be made until the clinical decision is finalized. The financial process should not be managed disconnected from patient communication and clinical records.

5. Promotion and corporate communication

A multilingual website or social media presence alone is not an indicator of compliance. In health services, promotion and information limits, clinical accuracy, consent, personal data and intermediary institution relations should be examined together.

From application file to running system

The work is not over when the documents are completed. After authorization, processes must work consistently in real cases, records must be kept up to date, employees must know their roles and changing regulations must be monitored. Management must ensure that authorization conditions and operation are maintained together through periodic internal evaluation.

To understand which readiness pathway applies to your organization, Is Your Organization Ready? the assessment and, for organizations within the accreditation scope, TÜSKA Accreditation Readiness you may review the page. For the complete service model, Health Tourism service area is the starting point.

Official sources

This content is not a legal opinion. Institution-specific eligibility and application requirements should be verified with competent authorities and legal experts at the time of publication and application.