Glossary

Glossary of clinic and health-tourism terms

Each term in a sentence or two, the way the trade uses it.

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Aftercare: Aftercare means keeping in planned contact with patients in the days and months after treatment: asking how they are, reminding them of check-ups and answering their questions.
Attribution: Attribution means working out which channel, such as an advert, a search engine, a referral or a partner, brought an enquiry and the treatment that followed, so you know where marketing effort pays off.

Case: A case is one person's journey for one treatment need, from the first enquiry to aftercare. Tasks, notes, quotes, appointments and payments are all attached to it.
Commission plan: A commission plan is the set of rules a clinic or agency uses to decide which sales earn its sales staff or partners a commission, calculated on what, at what rate and when it becomes due.
Conversion rate: Conversion rate is the share of enquiries in a given period that turn into treatment or a sale. It can also be measured for each stage of the pipeline, such as from quote to acceptance.

Data controller: A data controller is the person or organisation that decides the purposes and means of processing personal data and is responsible for setting up and running the filing system that holds it.
Data processing agreement: A data processing agreement (DPA) is the contract between a data controller and a provider processing personal data on its behalf, setting out the subject of processing, instructions, security and each side's responsibilities.
Data processor: A data processor is a person or organisation that processes personal data on behalf of a data controller, under its authority, such as the cloud software, hosting or accounting provider a clinic uses.
Deposit: A deposit is the advance payment a patient makes after accepting a quote, to secure the treatment date. The balance is usually paid on the day of treatment or by an agreed date.

Explicit consent: Under KVKK, explicit consent (açık rıza) is consent that relates to a specific matter, is based on information and is freely given. The person can withdraw it at any time.

First response time: First response time is how long it takes the team to reach someone for the first time after their enquiry arrives. It is one of the clearest measures of how well enquiries are handled.

Health tourism: Health tourism is travelling to another country for medical, dental or cosmetic treatment. In Türkiye it is regulated by the Ministry of Health, and clinics and agencies serving patients from abroad need an authorisation certificate.
Health-tourism authorisation certificate: The international health-tourism authorisation certificate (yetki belgesi) is the permit that health facilities in Türkiye get from the Ministry of Health, and intermediaries from USHAŞ, before serving patients from abroad.
Health-tourism intermediary: A health-tourism intermediary (aracı kuruluş) is a company authorised by USHAŞ to advise patients coming to Türkiye from abroad and to organise their treatment facility, accommodation, transport and transfers.

KVKK (Turkish data protection law): KVKK is short for Türkiye's Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (Kişisel Verilerin Korunması Kanunu). In everyday use it also refers to the Personal Data Protection Authority that enforces it.

Lead: A lead is someone who has shown interest in a treatment, through a form, a message or a call, but has not yet been treated. Leads sit at the first stage of the pipeline.

Medical intake: Medical intake is the step before treatment in which the patient shares their complaint, medical history, photos and documents, and a doctor assesses whether they are suitable and what the plan might be.

No-show: A no-show is a patient who misses an appointment without cancelling or letting the clinic know. The empty slot is lost income and time that could have gone to another patient.

Online booking page: An online booking page is a web page where patients see a clinic's free times and book an appointment themselves, or leave a booking request, without having to phone.

Patient coordinator: A patient coordinator is the clinic or agency team member who handles contact with the patient from enquiry to aftercare, answers their questions and keeps the quote, appointment, payment and travel steps moving.
Patient CRM: A patient CRM is software in which a clinic or health-tourism agency manages enquiries, patients, quotes, appointments and follow-ups in one place. It handles the relationship, not the medical record.
Patient portal: A patient portal is a secure web page of the patient's own where they fill in the clinic's forms, view and accept quotes, and find their appointment, payment and travel details.
Payment schedule: A payment schedule sets out how and when the total of an accepted quote is to be paid, item by item. It usually consists of a deposit and a balance, each with its own due date.
Pipeline: A pipeline is the ordered set of stages a case moves through, from the first enquiry to treatment. It shows how many patients are at each stage and where things get stuck.
Privacy notice: A privacy notice (aydınlatma metni) tells people, when their personal data is collected, who the data controller is, why and on what legal basis the data is processed, who it may be shared with and what their rights are.

Round-robin assignment: Round-robin assignment hands new enquiries to team members in turn. It keeps the workload even and makes sure that no enquiry is left without an owner.

Special category personal data: Special category personal data are the types of data listed in Article 6 of KVKK and protected by stricter rules. Health data, biometric data and genetic data all fall into this group.

Transfer: In health tourism, a transfer is the patient's transport between the airport, the hotel and the clinic, planned in advance with the pickup time, vehicle, driver and passengers, and confirmed by the transfer company.
Treatment quote: A treatment quote is the written offer in which a clinic sets out the proposed treatment, its items and price, what is and is not included, the deposit and payment terms, and how long the offer stands.
Two-step sign-in: Two-step sign-in means entering a one-time code from an authenticator app on your phone as well as your password. Even if the password is stolen, the account is much harder to get into.

USHAŞ: USHAŞ (Uluslararası Sağlık Hizmetleri A.Ş., International Health Services Inc.) is a state-owned company linked to Türkiye's Ministry of Health. It promotes Turkish health care abroad and authorises health-tourism intermediaries.
UTM parameters: UTM parameters are tags such as utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign added to the end of a link. They show which advert, campaign or post brought a visitor to your website.

VERBİS: VERBİS is the Data Controllers' Registry Information System that Türkiye's Personal Data Protection Authority keeps open to the public under Article 16 of KVKK. Controllers that must register record their processing there.

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