Dr. Omer KARAHAN
He is the first medical doctor in Turkey who left his career as a doctor and became a healthcare administrator. He started his career in hospital management in 1989, working in various senior positions at International Hospital, which was Turkey’s first state-of-the-art private hospital at the time, from its opening period to full occupancy. Later, he worked as a manager for 3 years during the restructuring of the American Hospital. He worked for 1 year at Houston Methodist Hospital Systems in America with the Health Management Scholarship he won and returned to Turkey as both the Turkey Consultant of The Methodist Hospital and the first Turkish Chief Physician of the American Hospital.
He left after the hospital changed hands and founded MedNet, the first TPA company in Turkey’s health insurance industry, with foreign partners, and as its general manager, made it the largest company in the health insurance industry in a short time. He left when MedNet was acquired by the German reinsurance company Munich Re and provided numerous consultancy services to Turkey’s private hospitals and healthcare sector with the consultancy company ProCare.
He supported the establishment of a TPA company with foreign partners called NextCare in Beirut for a year. At the same time, he gave lectures as a lecturer in the Health Management department of Marmara University. Later, he worked as the general manager of NextCare, which was established in the United Arab Emirates, until the company was sold to Allianz, one of the largest reinsurance companies in the world.
He returned to Turkey to join Acıbadem Health Group, where he worked as a consultant for years, and served as the general manager of Acıbadem Health and Life Insurance Company, as well as a member of the Executive Board of Acıbadem Health Group, responsible for Business Development, until 2010. During this period, Acıbadem Health Group has grown from 3 hospitals to 16 hospitals. Before joining the Group as a full-time manager, he was the business development advisor to the Group Chairman within his consultancy duties between 1994 and 2003.
He played a leading role in the negotiations and completion of the transaction with the Private Equity Company Abraaj, where Acıbadem Healthcare Group was sold for a value of over one billion dollars.
Currently, he is the Managing Partner and Board Member of Genkord Biyoteknoloji A.Ş.; He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of his family’s solar energy company SolarBiz and orchard farm MutluBiz, and a board member of many other family businesses.
Scholarships and Memberships
The Methodist Hospital Systems: Executive Healthcare Management Scholarship 1993-1994
Eisenhower Fellow on Healthcare and Finances Scholarship 1997
Healthcare in Transition – Turkey Report for the World Health Organization in 2000
He worked as a guest lecturer at Marmara University School of Health Management and Bahçeşehir University. He is a frequent speaker on healthcare in Turkey.
International Federation of Health Plans Council Member
He was a member of DEIK (Foreign Economic Relations Council) in the field of Medical Tourism.
As the Honorary President of the Brain Academy in Romania, he gave lectures on Health Management to healthcare managers.
Consultancy Tasks
He has consulted on more than two dozen hospitals and other health-related projects over the past two decades. Among its customers; Çukurova Holding, Nurol Holding, Acıbadem Hospitals, Eczacıbaşı Holding, Memorial Hospital, Istanbul Surgery Hospital, Alanya Can Hospital, The Corridor Group, Fitch and Associates, AdoPen Group, Yüksel Construction Company, Northern Cyprus Ministry of Health, General Aviation, Gisbir Hospital, Ata Health Hospital, Regina Maria Hospitals Romania