The Medical Device Market: Turkey

Espicom's in-depth medical device market reports are ideal for executives wanting to understand the key drivers in medical markets and have access to a wealth of statistical data. Each report opens with an outlook section that provides analysis of the market, 5-year market forecasts, national data projections, market outlook and key developments such as regulation, health facilities and government policy. The report also provides extensive background information, population trends, health status, health expenditure, organisation & administration, hospital services, medical personnel, healthcare development, market access information, trade data and essential industry contacts. Included with the report are 3 free quarterly updated outlook reports, enabling you to keep up to date with market developments for a year.

Turkey straddles the border of southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia and its neighbours are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. It is neither considered truly European nor Middle Eastern but is somewhere in between, although formal EU accession talks are now underway.

As part of Turkey's bid to join the EU, national legislation regarding medical device regulation has been aligned with that of the EU, although that process is not yet complete and the two systems are not yet identical. As a result of this alignment, the regulatory environment in Turkey is far more complex and the processes much more comprehensive in Turkey than elsewhere in the Middle East.

The government has placed an emphasis on developing its healthcare system, with the goal of establishing a Universal Healthcare System by 2013 as part of its ongoing reforms for the healthcare sector. In 2006, the government formed the Social Security Institution (SSI), which effectively merged the various social security (health insurance) organisations namely SSK, BagKur and Emekli Sandigi.

The prospects for the medical device market in Turkey remain good; buoyed by strong import growth trends, for which the country relies heavily on, and the expansion of healthcare facilities coupled with rising health expenditure should see the market grow at an attractive rate of 6.5% in the 2009-2014 period. The market is currently the largest in the region, and is among the top 30 in the world.