Mehtap Baştuğral, MD

Mehtap Baştuğral, MD is a Clinical Laboratory specialist at Acibadem Altunizade Hospital in İstanbul. Her work centers on clinical laboratory services and medical biochemistry, with a particular focus on the evaluation of laboratory findings as part of patient care. She has more than 38 years in medicine and works in Turkish and English.

Dr. Baştuğral studied at İstanbul University İstanbul Faculty of Medicine between 1988 and 1994. She then completed her specialist training in Medical Biochemistry at İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine in 1998. Her professional career began at Acıbadem Healthcare Services, where she worked from 1998 to 2000. From 2000 to 2010 she was based at Atatürk Devlet Hospital in Zonguldak, after which she returned to Acıbadem Healthcare Services, where she remained from 2010 to 2024. She is a member of the İstanbul Medical Chamber and the Clinical Biochemistry Specialists Association.

Clinical focus

Dr. Baştuğral’s field is the clinical laboratory, and her areas of expertise are clinical laboratory services, medical biochemistry and laboratory-based patient evaluation. Medical biochemistry concerns the measurement and interpretation of chemical and biological markers in blood and other body samples. These results are one of the sources of information that treating physicians draw on when assessing a patient’s condition, following the course of a disease or monitoring the effects of treatment.

Laboratory-based patient evaluation involves considering test results in the context of the individual patient rather than in isolation. Values are read against reference ranges, against the patient’s own earlier results where these are available, and alongside the clinical picture described by the referring physician. In this way the laboratory contributes to the broader diagnostic process, while decisions about diagnosis and treatment remain with the clinical team caring for the patient.

How Dr. Baştuğral works with international patients

Dr. Baştuğral consults in Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for patients who speak other languages. The hospital’s international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, for example MRI, CT, X-ray or ultrasound reports, laboratory and pathology results, operative notes and discharge summaries, and arranges appointments and the hospital visit. A first consultation typically covers the patient’s history and symptoms, a review of existing imaging, laboratory results and previous treatments, a clinical examination and a discussion of the available options. Video consultation is available for international patients, which can be helpful for an initial review of existing laboratory results or for follow-up discussions once earlier findings have been shared.