Vadim Berezhnoi about Turkish Medicine & Clinics

Yes, it is. The interest in medical tourism in Turkey has grown significantly in recent years, and the country does offer a high level of medicine. But this is known mainly by people who are interested in international medicine and treatment abroad. Many people still perceive Turkey only as a tourist destination. But the medicine of this country is no worse than that of Germany or Israel while being much more affordable.

According to USHAŞ (International Health Services Inc.), more than 1,398,504 foreigners have applied to Turkish clinics in 2023. MediGlobus internal statistics confirm this information: in 2024, 57% of our patients chose this country for treatment. Medical tourists are most often interested in clinics in Antalya, Istanbul and Bursa.

Patients from different countries come to Turkey with various problems, and everyone here can get effective medical care. Individual approach and availability of powerful multidisciplinary clinics erase any boundaries, whether geographical or medical. This is also facilitated by the infrastructure of the country itself: a huge number of comfortable hotels, an excellent transport system and, finally, discounts from Turkish Airlines for medical tourists.

The good news for patients is that prices for treatment in Turkey are significantly lower than in many other countries with a comparable level of medicine – for example, Israel or Germany. When comparing specific procedures, patients can expect to save up to 15-30% of expenses. Depending on which country they come from for treatment, the difference in price will be different: for some people medical tourism in Turkey will be cheaper than treatment at home, for others – at the same level or even more expensive. However, even in the latter case, the level of medical care should always be taken into account: many of our patients come to Turkey for procedures that are not available at home or are carried out at a much weaker level.

In addition, even among Turkish clinics there is a variation in prices. This allows MediGlobus to approach each case individually. We realistically assess the budgets of our patients and help them find the best value for money.

The basic parameters of selection are standard: the presence of outstanding specialists, modern equipment, the use of the latest developments in diagnosis and treatment, adherence to international protocols, a high level of service, competitive prices and so on. In addition to this, the clinic should have certificates and accreditation by international organisations. When it comes to Turkey, these are, first of all, JCI and TÜV.

However, MediGlobus does not stop there. Our team regularly makes working visits to medical centres. Only by talking to the doctors in person, seeing them at work, checking the condition of the equipment and visiting the wards can we make recommendations to patients.

Most of the information cannot be found online, and even in the clinic itself, only a certain doctor can have specific data. Specialists tell us personally what unique cases they have had, how many operations they have performed, and what methods they have used. Having collected all this information, we piece by piece put together the overall picture. Using the unique selection parameters that only we possess after talking to many doctors and visiting clinics in person, we can make personalized recommendations to the patient.

We started our year with just such a trip. In January, I visited 5 clinics in Istanbul: Liv Ulus University Hospital, Medipol, Medistate, Memorial and Dunyagöz. These are some of the strongest medical centres in the country. Our trip reassured us once again. World-renowned doctors are working there, with whom we had the honour to personally communicate. The equipment in these clinics deserves special attention: CyberKnife, Truebeam, GammaKnife, Da Vinci Robot, PET-CT, 3 Tesla MRI and much more.

The trip was also fruitful in the matter of getting unique price offers. As an official partner of the clinic, we have many advantages, one of which is access to promotional prices and unique package deals. From the last trip, we brought back several such offers which are related to breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, hair transplantation, surgical treatment of migraine, etc.

Every year, about 2,4 million patients (75,000 of them foreigners) visit the Memorial network clinics. The hospitals are the industry leaders in transplantology, general surgery and cardiac surgery. Memorial has achieved high results in the treatment of oncological diseases (this is facilitated, in particular, by the unique TrueBeam STx and ELEKTA Versa HD radiotherapy units). It is also a TOP choice for couples who need IVF treatment. Approximately 65% of women succeed in getting pregnant after in vitro fertilisation at Memorial. Each year, Memorial doctors perform:

The Medistate Clinic is also the leader in Turkey in terms of staff qualifications and equipment. The TrueBeam STx radiotherapy and radiosurgery machine, Trilogy linear accelerator, and modern 3 Tesla MRI and PET-CT machines are all available here.

Patients with neurosurgical, cardiovascular and oncological (oncohematological) diseases should pay attention to Medistate. For their effective treatment, the clinic employs doctors with expertise unique in the world:

The Liv Hospital chain is also one of the most popular among medical tourists in Turkey. It has branches in major cities of the country including Istanbul, Ankara and Samsun. One of the main advantages of this network is the high level of robotic surgery. Among Turkish clinics, Liv boasts not only first-class equipment, but also the best surgeons in the country, such as Volkan Tuğcu and Orhan Tanrıverdi. The da Vinci robot is particularly useful in the fields of oncology, gynaecology and urology.

Another attractive medical option in Turkey for foreigners is the Hisar Clinic. For many years now, it has established itself as a bastion of quality and innovative medicine. It is especially often chosen by patients interested in cancer treatment in Turkey. Modern chemotherapy protocols, experienced surgeons, the availability of bone marrow transplantation and targeted therapy allow doctors to achieve record survival rates. For example, ‘smart radiotherapy’ is available here using the MR-Linac unit, a machine that scans the patient’s body and delivers targeted radiation only to disease foci, bypassing healthy tissue.

It is impossible to talk about medical tourism in Turkey without mentioning Koç University Hospital. This clinic is a leader in many important areas, including bone marrow transplantation, neurosurgery, and endocrine surgery. The clinic’s doctors work closely with the best experts in Europe and the USA to provide patients with only the highest quality and most effective treatment.

A strong clinic is a whole set of components that could be discussed at great length. That is why we put all the information that we receive during more than one working trip on the clinic pages on our website. There you can get comprehensive answers to all your questions regarding treatment in medical centres in Turkey.