The Right to Choose a Physician
07 Eylül 2026

The right to choose a physician can be defined as the ability of patients and their relatives to choose and change their healthcare provider—which is a fundamental patient right—and to play a participatory role in their diagnosis and treatment.

Our Ministry issued the "Directive on the Arrangement of Outpatient Clinic Services in Healthcare Delivery to Enable Patients to Choose and Change Their Physician" with the Official Approval No. 9379, dated October 17, 2007. Therefore, it is aimed to implement the provisions set forth in Article 5 of this directive.

Article 5- (1) In the provision of outpatient clinic services, it is essential to:

  • Allow patients to choose a physician in healthcare institutions in order to ensure the exercise of the right to choose and change the physician who will provide their healthcare services, which is a fundamental patient right;

  • Prevent overcrowding during certain hours and reduce patient waiting times by providing an outpatient clinic room for each physician, thereby increasing the number of examination rooms;

  • Ensure that patients can choose the physician with whom they can best cooperate and communicate during healthcare delivery;

  • Ensure that patients can be examined by the same physician every time they visit the healthcare institution, if they wish to do so;

  • Ensure that the patient remains under the care of the same physician from their initial admission to the healthcare institution, in accordance with the patient's request;

  • Provide the patient with the right to change their physician at any stage of their treatment in an inpatient treatment facility;

  • Standardize the practices of choosing a physician in healthcare institutions and ensure uniformity in implementation during healthcare delivery;

  • Provide the patient, upon request, with information about the identities, duties, and titles of the physicians who are providing or will provide healthcare services to them, within the scope of the right to choose and change a physician;

  • Prioritize patient benefit in all arrangements, inform patients by providing necessary counseling services, and implement practices that facilitate staff-patient communication.