regulatory complexities. The Turkish legislative framework, fundamentally reshaped by the Regulation on International Health Tourism and Tourist Health (2017), has sought to professionalize this sector by formalizing the roles and specific liabilities of three primary actors: hospitals, individual practitioners (doctors), and health tourism intermediary agencies.34 When a patient travels to Türkiye for medical intervention, they enter into a Treatment Contract (Hekimlik Sözleşmesi). While Turkish legal doctrine predominantly categorizes this under the law of “Work/Service Contracts” (Eser Sözleşmesi or Vekalet Sözleşmesi), medical tourism requires an elevated interpretation of the “highest professional duty of care” due to the transnational and experiential risks involved. Malpractice and Organizational Liability: Healthcare providers are liable for diagnostic errors, surgical mistakes, and failure to meet the standard of professional knowledge required for their specialty. Crucially, in the context of private hospital chains in Türkiye, these entities are frequently held strictly liable for “organizational failures” (hizmet kusuru)—such as malfunctioning medical equipment, non-sterile operating environments, or inadequately trained auxiliary staff—regardless of whether the individual surgeon was personally at fault. This organizational liability creates a robust safety net for the patient, ensuring that the hospital entity cannot hide behind the individual doctor’s actions to evade systemic accountability. 5.4. Obligations of the Guest The architecture of travel and accommodation contracts dictates that the guest is not merely a passive beneficiary of services, but a central legal actor burdened with reciprocal duties. A failure to discharge these statutory and contractual obligations directly mitigates or entirely absorbs the service provider’s liability, shifting the legal risk back onto the consumer. The most fundamental obligation of the guest is the timely payment of the agreed remuneration. Applying the general provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK) regarding lease, sales, and service contracts to the mixed nature of the accommodation agreement, the guest is legally bound to settle the room tariff, supplementary service fees, and any required deposits within the stipulated timeframe. The guest is also legally compelled to adhere strictly to the internal regulations of the facility, acting in accordance with the overarching principle of objective 34 Zeynelabidin Yüksel, «Sağlık Turizminde Aracı Kurumların Rolü ve Hukuki Sorumluluğu», Marmara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Yüksek Lisans Tezi (21 :)2024 18 ENES ALTAN
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