Doctor given right to dismiss patient in Turkey

An administrative Istanbul court has ruled to give doctors the right to choose their patients, and non-governmental health organizations find the ruling highly positive.

The case in which the ruling was made began when family doctor Alev Doğan claimed she was subjected to violence by patient Ahmet Yavaş and appealed to Istanbul’s Provincial Health Directorate, demanding the patient be removed from her patient list. The directorate, however, rejected Dr. Doğan’s request on the grounds that “an affronted doctor can appeal to a prosecutor’s office.” Following this, the Istanbul Medical Chamber filed a suit against the directorate in administrative court. The court found for the doctor, and ruled for the removal of Yavaş from Doğan’s patient list.

Federation of Family Doctors’ Associations (AHEF) Vice President Tolga Sucu said his organization’s members were thrilled by the court’s decision. 

“We had shared our opinion about this issue with the Health Ministry many times before. Patients make nonsensical demands of us. Finally the court’s verdict has paved our way to legal regulation,” he told Hürriyet Daily News yesterday.