Year of Establishment: 2010
Founder Chairperson: İbrahim Ruşen Yıldırım
Chairperson: Dr. Mehmet Altuğ
Company: Lokman Hekim Engürüsağ A.Ş.
About DEİK/Health Business Council
Launched in 2010 under the umbrella of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), Health Business Council (SAIK) has been carrying out events and projects in an effort to promote the Turkish private healthcare industry abroad, and build international health collaborations in order to enable internationally marketing of Turkish pharmaceutical and biotechnological products and medical services of Turkish private healthcare sector. The Council is renowned as a leading platform for the joint promotion of the Turkish private healthcare industry, and establishment of the international healthcare network. The Council gathers private and public stakeholders, and enables that the industry is of a united voice and well-organized abroad. The Council generates qualified data about healthcare systems, medication legislations, market penetration rules, healthcare financing models and healthcare payers of target and potential markets, and exerts efforts to promote the Turkish healthcare services, medication and medicine industries for potential markets and facilitates their penetration into those markets, and build platforms to form collaborations between healthcare providers and international buyers.
The Council also pays incoming and outgoing health delegation visits from/to target countries in order to establish health cooperations, and study visits along with physicians and healthcare professional to other countries. Before those study visits and outgoing delegations, the healthcare systems and decision-making organizations of the hosting country are analyzed in advance, and we organize meetings with public authorities, associations of local doctors and medical tourism agencies, and make doctor seminars at hospitals as a part of a certain delegation visit program. In each country, a tailor-made health delegation visit agenda is drawn up based on the healthcare decision-making and market penetration dynamics of the country and all negotiations are followed up in the aftermath of each visit. In addition to business networking and development of collaborations, meetings are held with respective public authorities on such visits, in particular with ministries of health to have a discussion over training and technical cooperation projects.
The Council's main operations are focused on business development of Turkish healthcare sector through health diplomacy and science diplomacy. As of beginning of 2020, the Council has 52 member companies. The members comprise Türkiye-based private healthcare groups, private hospitals, elderly and patient care centers, medical tourism companies, as well as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with production in Türkiye. On one hand private hospitals and institutions try to boost their service exports by offering medical services, on the other hand they engage in international health markets by outbound investments, training programs and technical assistance partnerships with international hospitals, Ministries of Health or medical schools to give that boost, and know-how transfer. Market penetration modes and regulations are explored in target and potential countries for pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturers, outgoing delegation visits are paid to improve export and joint investment opportunities.
