Turkish prescriptions and medication reports translation

The documents that record your medication

Nearly every prescription in Türkiye is electronic. The doctor issues an e-Reçete through the social security institution's Medula system, and the printout shows the prescription number, the doctor's diploma number, the diagnosis code, and each drug by its Turkish brand name with strength, form and dosing in the Turkish shorthand, such as 2x1 for one twice a day. Controlled drugs are prescribed on coloured forms that persist in electronic form: a red prescription (kırmızı reçete) for narcotics and a green one (yeşil reçete) for psychotropic medicines, with purple and orange for blood products and certain other categories. The medication report (ilaç kullanım raporu, usually just ilaç raporu) is a separate document issued by a specialist or a medical board, valid for one or two years, that lists a chronic diagnosis and the medicines the patient may be reimbursed for; it is what a Turkish pharmacist checks before dispensing long-term treatment. Both can be downloaded from e-Nabız through e-Devlet, and a dispensed prescription carries the pharmacy's stamp.

We translate every field, add the international non-proprietary name in brackets after each brand name, expand the dosing shorthand into plain instructions, keep strengths and forms as printed, translate the report's validity dates and diagnosis codes, and note the colour category of a controlled-drug prescription, because a UK reader cannot see it on a black-and-white copy.

Why UK readers need it

• GPs. A UK pharmacy cannot dispense a Turkish prescription, so the route to continuing treatment is your GP, who needs to know what you take, at what dose and for what diagnosis. The translated report is the fastest way to say so. Our page on translations for the NHS and GP registration explains what a practice needs.
• Hospital admissions, where the admitting team reconciles your medicines on arrival.
• Travelling with medicines. Gov.uk advises anyone carrying a controlled drug into the UK to carry proof that it was prescribed, and a supply for more than three months needs a licence; the translated prescription or report is the proof. Read translations for insurers for the claims side of travel.
• Insurers, employers and DVLA, when a medical condition or its treatment has to be declared.
• Schools and nurseries, for a child's medication plan.

What the translation must contain

The gov.uk certification wording quoted below is the standard applied by the Home Office and by insurers, and our certificate meets it with the date, a signature and our company details. Two rules govern the drug lines. We never substitute a UK brand, because the equivalence is a pharmacist's decision; the international name in brackets lets the UK prescriber make it. And dosing is written out (one tablet twice a day, morning and evening) rather than copied as 2x1, with the Turkish shorthand kept in brackets once.

Points that cause confusion

Some Turkish brands are combinations that have no direct UK counterpart, and the translation lists each active ingredient. Units such as ünite are rendered as international units where that is what the drug uses. A prescription's date shows when it was issued, not how long it remains valid, and a medication report's validity period is the date a UK reader needs. Prescriptions and reports are not apostilled. Files are handled under our data-protection policy, and we return the certified PDF only to the address that sent the original.

Price and turnaround

A prescription is one page, £10.00; a medication report 1 or 2 pages, £10.00 to £20.00. The certificate is included and UK VAT is not charged. We deliver the certified PDF the next working day, and the same day with the fast option for a file received before 11:00 UK time, which suits a departure the following morning. A hard copy from Ankara by courier is £30; there is no UK office and no collection.