The Effect of the Economic Crises After 2000 on Private Hospitals in Turkey

Abstract

A local or global economic crisis has serious economic consequences. The severity and duration of crises, which may occur due to more than one factor, may vary depending on these factors. The economic crisis has a negative impact on the health sector as well as all other sectors. The main purpose of the study is to determine the effect of the economic crises after 2000 on private hospitals in Turkey. For this purpose, a total of fourteen parameters such as the number of private hospitals, the number of beds, the total number of imaging, the number of applications to the physician, the number of inpatients, the total number of operations and the number of physicians were examined. Within the scope of the study, document analysis was carried out as a method. Health Statistics Annuals (2020) belonging to the Ministry of Health were taken as a basis in the said document review. When we look at the historical background of Turkey, it is seen that there was an economic crisis in 2001, 2008 and 2016. The 2001 crisis was excluded due to insufficient data. It has been observed that the number of private hospitals in Turkey has increased every year, regardless of the crisis. No effect of the 2008 crisis on the analyzed parameters was observed. When the parameters are evaluated, it was determined that the economic crisis experienced only in 2016 had a negative impact on private hospitals. This crisis had a negative impact on eight of the fourteen parameters examined.