National and international comparison of Turkish health system outcome indicators and policy recommendations

Objectives: The study aims to analyze and make recommendations based on comparison of the results of the Turkish Health System both national and internationally. Materials and Methods: In the study, comments were made within the scope of trend analysis and comparison methods and discussed with the literature. The study data belonged to 2022 and were obtained from the Health Statistics Yearbook of the Ministry of Health, TURKSTAT, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Health Data and EUROSTAT database. Average life expectancy, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, satisfaction ratio with health-care services, and health expenditure impact data were taken into consideration. Results: There was poor performance internationally in terms of infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate. There are extreme differences in these indicators between regions of Turkey. The level of patient satisfaction is well-positioned internationally. However, looking at its trend, it has entered a period of stagnation and decline. The increase in health expenditures in Turkey has also resulted in an increase in average life expectancy and patient satisfaction. Conclusion: It has been observed that Turkish’s health system is in the process of transition from middle-upper income group countries to upper-income group countries in terms of its results and performance, but the imbalances in access to service and health service quality between regions and the stagnating system produce negative results and cannot renew itself.