TURKEY: Medical Costs Have Reached $30 Billion, Say Doctors

ANKARA, Turkey (Today's Zaman), December 25, 2007: Ali Rıza Üçer, secretary-general of the Union of Turkish Doctors (TTB), said in an exclusive interview with Today's Zaman, the rise in Turkey's drug consumption was responsible for its increasing dependence on imported medications. Noting that Turkey's medical costs had reached $30 billion in 2006, Üçer said: "Turkey's expenditures on medication have quadrupled in the last 10 years." "Turkey has the world's highest ratio of medicine consumption to gross domestic product (GDP). Turkey is expected to appear among 10 biggest markets in terms of medication consumption in the near future." ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA Copyright© Feza Newspaper Publishing Co