Patients in Türkiye can now give informed consent for operations and other medical procedures electronically instead of signing a paper form. A Health Ministry regulation to allow this was published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, 27 October, and took effect immediately.
The Regulation on Obtaining Informed Consent Electronically covers public and private health facilities at all levels, from family health centres to hospitals, according to reports by NTV and Hürriyet’s business site Bigpara. Informed consent is the form patients sign after a doctor explains a procedure, its risks and the alternatives. NTV said it is used for major surgery, interventional procedures, and anaesthesia and sedation.
How it works
Patients can read the consent form in their e-Nabız account, the ministry’s personal health record app, or through the hospital’s own electronic channels. If they agree, they confirm with a one-time code sent by SMS to their phone. Consent counts as given once that step is complete.
Before this, both the patient and the health worker handling the consent must have their identity checked. Patients need a mobile number verified in e-Nabız or in the hospital’s records. Those who find digital systems difficult, or need help because of illness or disability, can pass the code to authorised staff, who enter it into the hospital system.
Signed forms are sent to the ministry’s central health data system, where patients can view them in e-Nabız. Records are time-stamped and encrypted so they can be used in court cases or official inspections. For children and people under guardianship, consent is given by their legal representatives.
The reports describe the electronic route as an addition to the paper form with a wet signature. They do not say paper forms are being dropped.
What it means for foreign residents
Foreign residents who want to use the new system will need a mobile number verified in e-Nabız or in the hospital’s records. Patients who are not comfortable reading medical terms in Turkish can still ask for the form to be explained before entering the code.
For more on access to care, see our explainers on health insurance for foreign residents and Türkiye’s health tourism rules. Newcomers can find practical steps in our moving to Türkiye checklist.
Sources
- Sağlık hizmetlerinde dijitalleşme. Hastalar elektronik ortamda rıza verebilecek (NTV)
- Hastanelerde yeni dönem: Artık telefonundan yapılabilecek (Bigpara/Hürriyet)
- Bilgilendirilmiş rızanın elektronik ortamda alınmasına ilişkin yönetmelik Resmi Gazete’de (Cumhuriyet)
Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
