Network Analysis of Physician Mobility in Istanbul’s Private Hospitals, Türkiye

Objective: To examine whether physician workplace transitions among private hospitals in Istanbul display a systematic network structure and whether this structure varies by district-level socioeconomic development. Design: Cross-sectional social network analysis of documented inter-hospital physician transitions using a directed, weighted network framework. Setting: Private hospitals in Istanbul, Türkiye. Main outcome measures: Hospital-level physician mobility patterns were assessed using a three-layer framework comprising role typology based on inflow structure, flow-based community structure derived from inter-hospital transitions, and district-level socioeconomic development profiles. Network role concentration, inter-community mobility, and socioeconomic differentiation across communities were evaluated. Results: The mobility network included 169 private hospitals and 3,834 documented inter-hospital transitions. Physician mobility was not randomly distributed but clustered around identifiable attraction centers and modular communities. Inter-community transitions accounted for 44% of total transition weight, indicating a segmented yet permeable mobility structure. Hospitals classified as centers of attraction were overrepresented in the core mobility community. Community structure also varied significantly by district socioeconomic development, with the core community concentrated in relatively more developed districts. District-level aggregation further suggested that a substantial share of transitions converged on these more advantaged locations. Conclusions: Physician mobility in Istanbul’s private hospital sector appears to follow a structured inter-organizational pattern associated with both network position and urban socioeconomic context. These findings suggest that physician mobility can be interpreted not only as individual career movement but also as a measurable workforce governance signal. Network-based monitoring of documented mobility flows may help managers and policymakers identify attraction pressures, retention asymmetries, and potential service continuity risks across metropolitan private hospital markets.