The history of healthcare in Turkey has been affected by many events. Because the Turkish tribes had relationships with cultural areas and exposed to many invasions throughout its history, the Turkish people carry medical knowledge and practice from many civilizations. Which affected the number of deaths and patients. Mostly epidemics started after military campaigns, sieges, and famines. The epidemic became one of the greatest disasters humankind has seen throughout history.The worst epidemics of the middle ages were the plague, black death/ paste, and Kiran. The first great epidemic was seen in the Mediterranean countries during the sixth century, called the Justinian Plague. It lasted three years and killed a great number of the population. …show more content…
The healthcare in Turkey changed since the Ministry of Health was established in May 1920. Which focused mostly on healing the damages of the war and developing the legislation. All health care and related social welfare activities are coordinated by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health has the authority to provide medical preventive health care services, train health personnel, provide pre-service and in-service training, build and operate state hospitals, supervise private hospitals. Also, the ministry regulates the prices of medical drugs and monitors the production of medicines and pharmacies. Between 2002 and 2013, 2134 new medical establishments were established, including 611 hospitals and 1,523 medical centers. The number of ambulances in 2002 was 618 vehicles and reached 3346 vehicles in 2012. Also, the number of patients is increasing every year. Since 2010, there is a significant increase in the number of patients per year who utilized healthcare in Turkey. In 2011, the number was around 160.000 patients, which rapidly rose to around 265.000 patients in 2012, while there were around 22,773 physicians. The health status of mothers in Turkey was below the desired level, but the data show some improvement in the last years. Prenatal care is one of the most important means intending to protect the health of the mother and child and is provided by health posts, health units,