Every new dentist who graduates from the faculty of dentistry may aim to open a dental clinic at some point in their life when they have enough knowledge and experience. If you believe you have sufficient experience and the necessary capital, fulfilling the requirements to open a dental clinic will not be very difficult.
You have decided to open a dental clinic, so where should you start?
First of all, you should register with the Chamber of Dentists in your region. Then, you should apply to the Provincial Health Directorate with the necessary documents. You must have your Professional Income Book certified by a notary. After starting operations, you must obtain a tax plate from the Revenue Administration page within a month and notify the Social Security Institution for registration. Of course, the work is not finished by just gathering the necessary documents and obtaining the relevant permits.
You also need to meet the necessary physical conditions to open a clinic. We have explained step by step what is needed to open a dental clinic.
Let's take a look together at what you need to do.
The updated regulation for opening a dental clinic has been published. The regulation about Private Health Institutions Providing Oral and Dental Health Services, which is still being worked on at the Ministry of Health, came into effect when it was published in the Official Gazette dated October 6, 2022, and numbered 31975. Our legal department has examined this issue in detail for you. Here are some of the changes and innovations that await dental clinics within the scope of the new regulation, as highlighted by the TDB's (Turkish Dental Association) preliminary review:
- While it was necessary for at least two dentists to partner in opening a polyclinic, the new regulation states that a polyclinic can be opened by a company established by a single dentist, provided that at least two dentists work there.
- The existence of non-dentist partners up to a maximum of 49% in the centers has been continued in this Regulation, but it has been ensured that 51% must be a dentist.
- One of the fundamental changes in the regulation is the transformation of the opening of health institutions into a three-tiered system of pre-permission, license, and activity permit. Accordingly, pre-permission and licenses will be given by the provincial health directorate for clinics and polyclinics, and by the Ministry of Health for centers and hospitals. They will start providing health services with an activity permit issued by the Directorate.
- Pre-permission and license examinations will be conducted by a commission established by the Directorate, which includes at least two dentists.
- It has been stated that if dentists want to work part-time outside the health institutions they work in, they can work in one more health institution within the same province. Thus, part-time work of dentists is limited to working in a total of two health institutions in the same province.
- Dentists working in clinics and polyclinics will be able to perform treatments of their patients under general anesthesia not only in centers and hospitals with a general anesthesia unit but also in general medical centers and hospitals.
- It has been made mandatory to transfer all health data of patients to the Ministry of Health's central health data system; a deadline until March 1, 2023, has been given for this.
- It has been stated that electronic prescriptions need to be issued in health institutions, but physical prescriptions can be issued when necessary.
- It has been made mandatory to obtain a consent form for all interventions from patients.
- All kinds of publications aimed at creating demand under the name of advertisement, announcement, or information, or aimed at directing patients directly or indirectly to health institutions have been banned.
- It has been stated that the signs of health institutions must comply with the standards set by the Turkish Dental Association.
- It will not be required to obtain building usage permit documents for non-new buildings where clinics will operate; it has been stated that it is sufficient for the measures required against fire from all health institutions to be taken not for the whole building but for the relevant parts where the health institution will open.
- It has been emphasized that the physical conditions of existing health institutions can be maintained as they are, but medical equipment and personnel standards must be brought into compliance with this Regulation by December 31, 2023.
- The regulation, in its current form, contains provisions that are simpler than the previous one and will cause fewer problems in practice. It is appropriate in terms of efficient use of resources to introduce the practice of pre-permission before starting investment in the opening of health institutions.
- The list of applications compatible with the Ministry of Health's central health data system is available at: https://kayittescil.saglik.gov.tr/TR-54934/aktif-dhbs-listesi.html
- Note: Medicasimple is a dental information system certified by the Ministry of Health. It allows you to directly send the information you want to the Ministry of Health system without entering duplicate records in place of the protocol book removed from the regulation.
