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Objectives: Turkiye follows low price policy for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The aim of this study is to analyze the change in the Social Security Institution (SGK) and General Health Insurance(GHI) budgets in Turkiye between 2019-2020-2021 and the factors affecting this change. Method(s): The data of the study was obtained from the data published for the year 2021 on the official websites of the SGK and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. The analysis was conducted via Microsoft Excel. Within the scope of the study, the number of applications made to state, university and private hospitals, the number of invoices, the number of prescriptions, the total SGK budget and the actual health expenditures were determined for the years 2019-2020-2021 and the changes between them were analyzed. Result(s): According to the analysis, number of applications decreased by 35% in 2020 compared to 2019, while amount of application invoices remained almost constant. Number of applications increased by 20% in 2021 compared to 2020, while amount of application invoices increased by 38%. While number of prescriptions decreased by 15% from 2019 to 2020, amount of prescription invoices increased by 19%. In 2021, number of prescriptions increased by 19% and amount of prescription invoices increased by 26% compared to 2020. When health expenditures and collected premiums by SGK are examined, it is seen that there were 11 billion TL, 27 billion TL and 13 billion TL budget surplus in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Conclusion(s): The analysis showed that SGK`s premium incomes and health expenditures gives a budget surplus in recent years. The highest budget surplus was belonged to 2020 as the COVID pandemic year. It is seen that the low-price policy in pharmaceuticals and medical devices is serving a saving a budget surplus for SGK. Copyright © 2022
RESUMEN
Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyze written question motions submitted by parliamentarians to the ministers and the vice president of Turkiye. Method(s): Keywords in the field of health were determined in order to examine written question motions published on the official website of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The keywords that have been determined are pharmacy, hospital, medicine, health, medical device, and medical equipment. Motions published between 01.01.2018 and 31.01.2022 were included in the research. Written question motions containing the determined keywords were documented through the Microsoft Office Excel program and analyzed. Result(s): There were 3,727 motions containing the determined keywords, of which 50% were in the field of health, 37% in hospitals, 10% in pharmaceuticals, 2% in medical devices & medical supplies and 1% in the field of pharmacy. It was found that 29% of the motions presented in the field of health were related to the health status of the convicts and 14% were related to COVID-19. It was also found that 16% of the motions presented on the subject of hospitals were related to city hospitals and 22% were related to regarding the need, resignation and retirement of employment and problems of health personnel in hospitals. Furthermore, 13% of the motions presented in the field of medicine are related to the problems experienced in accessing and supplying medicines for rare diseases. In addition, motion topics related to COVID-19 are presented in every field. Conclusion(s): Considering that convicts face many problems while accessing health services and medicines and supplying medicines in the written question motions submitted in Turkiye, it can be said that policy arrangements are needed in this area. Copyright © 2022
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Objectives: Nutritional supplements are products prepared in various forms to supplement daily nutrition, with a daily intake dose. COVID-19 pandemic increased the use of supplements which may reflect the increase of price. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the changes in the prices of nutritional supplements containing antioxidant, fish oil, glucosamine, collagen, probiotic, probiotic and vitamin-mineral in the last 1 year during COVID-19 pandemic for Turkiye. Method(s): In this study, the price changes of the top 24 most sold products belonging to 7 subgroups of the nutritional supplements group were examined in Turkiye. The data of the study were obtained from the websites (www.akakce.com;www.cimri.com) where the prices of nutritional supplements are presented. The price changes of 7 subgroups determined during the evaluation between 08.04.2021 and 08.04.2022 were analyzed. For these price changes, calculations were conducted for each group and general price change rates were calculated. The analyzes of the study were conducted through the Microsoft Office Excel program. Result(s): As a result of the analysis, the highest price change rate was observed for glucosamines with 49.80%, while the lowest average price change rate was observed for collagen with 4.47% in Turkiye. The average price change of the groups, except for the collagen, fish oil and propolis groups, increased by more than 30%. The average price change rate of 7 different groups taken as a basis is 29.41%. Conclusion(s): As a result of the analysis, it is seen that a price increase is present in all nutritional supplement groups examined in Turkiye. For the price increase between the determined dates, it is thought that people prefer food supplements to protect and strengthen their immune system due to the COVID-19 pandemic which influences the whole world. Copyright © 2022
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Objectives: The first case and first death of COVID-19 in Turkey were officially announced on March 10 and March 15, 2020, respectively. Ministry of Health (MoH) of Turkey prepared a clinical guideline and published the guideline in March 2020 for guiding the clinicians for COVID-19 patients management across the country. Social Security Institution (SGK) increased the reimbursement coverage and prices for COVID-19 patients management. This study aimed to calculate the cost of management of patients infected with COVID-19 in Turkey. Methods: An expert opinion form was prepared depending on the MoH of Turkey‘s COVID-19 Treatment Guideline. The form has been answered by 5 physicians from Istanbul, Ankara, and Kocaeli cities, where the majority of COVID-19 patients were diagnosed. The cost of management of COVID-19 patients has been calculated depending on MoH‘s guideline and analysis of expert opinion forms. The updated SGK reimbursement list prices were used to calculate the cost. Results: It was calculated that 17.40% of COVID-19 patients required hospitalization, 7.4% of hospitalized patients required intensive care unit stay in Turkey depending on the expert opinion form. The cost of outpatient, inpatient, and intensive care unit stay depending on expert opinion per patient were calculated as 367,04, 16,534.09, and 66,278.23, respectively. The same costs depending on the MoH's guideline per patient were calculated as 198,64, 19.133,98, and 47.872,08 respectively. Conclusions: The analysis calculated per patient treatment cost of COVID-19 patients in Turkey depending on the Ministry of Health of Turkey‘s COVID-19 treatment guideline and expert opinions. It is seen that real cost which was represented by experts may be higher than MoH‘s guideline offers, except inpatient. These findings should be re-evaluated including real-life data with further analysis.
RESUMEN
Objectives: The first case and first death of COVID-19 in Turkey were officially announced on March 10 and on March 15, 2020, respectively. Ministry of Health (MoH) of Turkey prepared a clinical guideline and published in March 2020 for guiding the clinicians for COVID-19 patients management across the country. This study aimed to estimate the number of possible patients infected with COVID-19 but undiagnosed. Methods: The possible number of patients infected with COVID-19 was estimated by using clinical guideline, published reports and models. A decision tree model has been conducted with TreeAge Pro 2020 Healthcare program. The missing data for testing and patient flow was retrieved from expert opinions. Results: The number of official cases was calculated as 13,53% of the possible COVID-19 patients who are not diagnosed. On 30th June 2020, the official number of cases was 199,906, while the estimated number of probable patients was 1,476,845 depending on the model. The population of Turkey for 2020 was reported as 83.154,997. The ratio of the number of possible patients to the population of Turkey was calculated as 1.78% for 30th June 2020. Conclusions: Ministry of Health of Turkey announced there is an ongoing prevalence study of COVID-19, depending on a surveillance study including more than 132.000 volunteers from different regions of Turkey. The results were not published yet. These findings should be evaluated with real-life data.