Spatial Distribution of Total Number of Medical Devices in Turkey: A Classification Analysis

Introduction: Unbalanced distribution of medical technologies and devices between rural and urban parts of the country is a major problem for developing countries like Turkey. In Turkey, after the establishment of Public Hospital Unions (PHUs), legislative changes were made to ensure the autonomy of public hospitals. Aims: This study aims to analyze the spatial distribution of medical devices in Turkey using PHUs as a decision-making unit. Methods: Data came from the 2014 PHUs statistics year book. The total number of PHUs is 89. A hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to classify PHUs according to the total number of different kinds of medical devices. A Euclidean distance measure and Wards method were used in the analysis. Results: Study results show that, in Turkey, PHUs consist of 2 different clusters. The first represents PHUs in rural Turkey, and the second represents PHUs in urban Turkey. PHUs which represent big cities of Turkey and have high population density are in the first cluster, and all other PHUs are in the second. Conclusions: It is advisable for health policy makers and health technology assessment authorities in Turkey to focus on the differences between rural and urban parts of the country during the re-evaluation of medical technology resource allocation decisions. Further studies could explore the accessibility, safety, and usability of medical technologies. We anticipate that these efforts will form a basis to improve the surveillance and efficiency of the medical devices market in developing countries.