This health tourism glossary defines 96 terms used to buy and sell medical travel services — commission, referral fee, no-show, treatment plan, JCI and ISO accreditation, the Turkish authorization certificate, GDPR and KVKK, deposits and escrow — in English, Arabic, German, Spanish, French, Dutch and Turkish. Each term has one to three plain sentences, a stable link (#commission is the same anchor in every language) and its name in the six other languages; where a law or standard is named, its official title and its date or number are given. It covers vocabulary and logistics only and is not medical or legal advice.
Glossary
This glossary defines the words people use when they buy and sell medical travel services: what a facilitator does, how a commission differs from a net rate, what each quality mark certifies, which data-protection role a clinic or an agency holds, and how deposits and guarantees work. Every entry is one to three plain sentences, has the same address in all seven languages and shows its name in the other six.
Type in the search box at the top in any of the seven languages, or pick one of the 8 topics; the filter reads names, synonyms, definitions and the names in the other languages. Each term has its own address, such as #commission: copy it from the card and paste it into a brief, a contract draft or a chat, and the reader lands on the same entry in their own language.
The 96 terms are grouped by the question they answer. A term sits in one topic, and entries link to each other where topics meet: a complication clause points to complication insurance, a guarantee letter to direct billing.
Four words decide most disagreements between agencies and providers. A commission and a referral fee are paid by the provider out of its price; a net rate plus a mark-up is how an agency prices to the patient. The contract should say which model applies, what the base is and whether the provider may also quote the patient directly.
After the money moves, a net settlement (hakediş in Türkiye) reconciles what was paid, what each party is owed and what is deducted. The case economics calculator shows how these lines add up for one patient case.
Agencies: Health onMESSE is free for agencies. Join as an agency to find accredited providers by treatment and country, post a Reverse Pitch and meet providers in scheduled B2B meetings, or read what agencies get.
Provider profiles mix three words that mean different things. A licence is the legal permission to operate. Accreditation and certification are voluntary assessments unless a regulation requires them, and each is verified with its own issuer.
A mark tells you who assessed the provider and against what; it does not tell you the result of any single treatment. JCI accreditation and KTQ certificates run on three-year cycles. Each mark is verified on the issuer’s own list or register.
For a Turkish partner, the authorization certificate guide shows how to match a certificate number against the Ministry’s lists, and the clinic contract checklist shows where licence and accreditation numbers belong in the contract.
Providers: Exhibit at Health onMESSE to put your licence, accreditation and packages in front of health tourism agencies, or compare the participation options first.
A patient’s medical records are special category data under GDPR Article 9 and KVKK Article 6, so every party that handles them needs a role and a legal basis. Roles depend on the facts of each case; the table shows the usual pattern.
Türkiye’s KVKK uses the terms veri sorumlusu (controller) and veri işleyen (processor); Law No. 7499 (Official Gazette, 12 March 2024) changed its rules on special category data and on transfers abroad, so the current text should be checked. In the United States, HIPAA applies to US covered entities and their business associates, not automatically to every overseas clinic.
Patients and agencies often assume that public insurance follows the patient. The routes below exist, and each has a boundary.
None of these routes follows a patient to every destination: the S2 form and Directive 2011/24/EU do not cover treatment in Türkiye, India, Mexico or the United Arab Emirates. There, cover depends on the individual policy, a sponsor’s approval or the patient paying. An agency should not promise reimbursement it does not control.
English-language agencies work with several payment arrangements. A patient’s home insurance does not automatically follow them abroad, and HIPAA governs US covered entities and their business associates rather than every overseas clinic. A sponsored patient, for example under a Gulf government treatment-abroad programme, usually arrives with a guarantee letter, so the provider checks scope, amount and validity before admission. A travel policy that excludes planned treatment may not cover complications. In every case, quote the companion, the length of stay and the inclusions and exclusions in writing.
Definitions of laws and standards follow the official texts below; accreditation bodies are described from their own materials. Check each status with its issuer before relying on it.
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