Turkish authorities have detained six people and are searching for a seventh suspect over an alleged scheme to issue fake prescriptions at a renowned historic hospital in Istanbul, causing an estimated 112 million Turkish Liras ($2.6 million) in losses to the country’s health insurance system.
According to the chief public prosecutor’s office in Istanbul, the scheme ran between 2017 and 2021 under the direction of a doctor working in the Balıklı Greek Hospital’s Child Psychiatry Department.
Investigators say patient data was unlawfully obtained and used to issue prescriptions without any record of examination or entries into Türkiye's online system for processing and tracking all health services and payments, Medula.
Some of the prescriptions included red- and green-label controlled medications, local media reported.
Authorities say the suspects billed these prescriptions to the Social Security Institution (SGK) as if the patients had been legitimately treated, generating large unlawful reimbursements.
The review found prescriptions issued in the names of individuals who had never visited the hospital, those treated only in private clinics or whose follow-up dates had expired.
Prosecutors also say part of the illegally obtained medication was sold to unidentified foreign nationals for profit.
On Nov. 21, detention and search warrants were issued for a professor, a medical secretary, two pharmacists, a pharmacy worker and two pharmaceutical representatives as part of the probe.
Balıklı Greek Hospital is a private, non-profit institution in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu, founded and operated by the city’s Greek Orthodox community. Its origins trace back to charitable medical facilities active since the 16th and 17th centuries.
