Turkey requires every hospital, medical centre, medical laboratory and dialysis centre that holds a health tourism licence to be accredited by TÜSKA, the national accreditation institute, by 31 December 2026. In an April 2026 notice, TÜSKA said facilities that miss the deadline will not be able to keep accepting international patients under the health tourism framework. On 15 October 2026, official lists showed at most 34 accredited facilities against about 690 that need accreditation.
Key facts
- What TÜSKA is: the Health Services Quality and Accreditation Institute of Türkiye, part of TÜSEB, founded in 2015.
- Who must be accredited, by when: health-tourism-licensed hospitals, medical centres, labs and dialysis centres by 31 December 2026. Separately, all private hospitals by 30 January 2028 and all medical centres by 19 April 2028.
- If a facility misses it: it can't keep accepting international patients under the health tourism framework (TÜSKA notice, 29 April 2026).
- How many are ready: at most 34 of about 690, under 5%.
- Validity: every accreditation on TÜSKA's list runs for 3 years.
The deadlines
| Who | Requirement and deadline | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Health-tourism-licensed hospitals, medical centres, medical labs and dialysis centres | TÜSKA accreditation, 31 December 2026 | International Health Tourism and Tourist Health Regulation (Official Gazette, 26 April 2025) |
| Other licensed facilities (outpatient clinics, dental centres) | Ministry of Health certificate, 31 December 2026 | Same regulation |
| All private hospitals | TÜSKA accreditation, 30 January 2028 | Private Hospitals Regulation (30 January 2025) |
| All medical centres | TÜSKA accreditation, 19 April 2028 | Outpatient Private Health Institutions Regulation (19 April 2025) |
Source: TÜSKA's notice on which facilities must be accredited. A private hospital that treats foreign patients works to the 2026 date, not 2028.
How many facilities are ready (15 October 2026)
| Count | |
|---|---|
| Health-tourism-licensed hospitals | 546 |
| Health-tourism-licensed medical centres | 135 |
| Licensed dialysis centres and medical labs | about 10 |
| Must be accredited by 31 December 2026 | about 690 |
| Active TÜSKA accreditations (all facilities) | 34 |
That is at most 5%. The real share is lower, because not all 34 are health tourism facilities: 10 are state hospitals, and six of those are separately accredited buildings of Ankara Bilkent City Hospital.
- Breakdown of the 34: 20 private hospitals, 10 state hospitals, 2 university hospitals, 1 medical centre, 1 dialysis centre, no labs.
- Levels: 19 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 13 Accredited.
- Pace: 21 accreditations were granted in 2026, 18 of them after TÜSKA's 29 April warning.
- Biggest gap: 1 accredited medical centre against 135 licensed ones.
What it means for patients and facilitators
- Check two things, not one: the facility's health tourism licence (the Ministry of Health publishes lists of licensed hospitals, medical centres and other facilities) and its TÜSKA accreditation (TÜSKA publishes its list of accredited facilities). Licensed agencies are listed on HealthTürkiye.
- Treatment booked for 2027? If the facility isn't on TÜSKA's list yet, ask how it is preparing for the deadline before you pay a deposit.
- International accreditation is a separate thing. The regulation names TÜSKA accreditation specifically; other accreditations such as JCI are not named as an alternative.
What it means for clinics marketing abroad
The deadline lands just before the busiest month. Dental and cosmetic searches peak every January; UK searches for "dental implants turkey" reached 8,100 in January 2026 against a monthly average of 5,400. A facility that isn't accredited in time risks losing that peak. Plan January campaigns with two scenarios, and keep accreditation claims on your website identical to the certificate.
Track demand month by month in the Turkey medical tourism demand tracker, and see official patient numbers and click costs in the Türkiye medical tourism report 2026. For how I build compliant foreign-patient campaigns, see marketing for clinics and health tourism.
Methodology
- Accredited facilities: TÜSKA's list of accredited organisations, accessed 15 October 2026 (35 entries; 1 with an expired end date excluded).
- Facilities that must be accredited: Ministry of Health Department of Health Tourism lists of licensed hospitals, medical centres and other facilities (updated 5 October 2026), accessed 15 October 2026. Dialysis and lab counts come from the "other facilities" list and are approximate.
- The share is an upper bound: even if all 34 accredited facilities held a health tourism licence, the share would not exceed 5%.
- Rules: TÜSKA notice of 29 April 2026 and its notice on which facilities must be accredited; TÜSKA Health Facilities Accreditation Programme Guide (March 2026).
You may cite or reproduce these tables with a link to this page. The Turkish version is TÜSKA akreditasyonu 2026.
This isn't legal advice. Check current regulations and TÜSKA and Ministry of Health notices before acting.