The Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) has executive responsibility for health and medical education within the
Iranian government. The MOHME comprises five departments headed by deputy ministers:
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Research and Technology
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Education
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Food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
and
Drugs
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...
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Health
Iran's health system is highly centralized, and almost all decisions regarding general goals, policies and allocation of resources are made at the central level by MOHME. The Ministry has the legal authority to oversee, license and regulate the activities of the private health sector.
[The role of contractual arrangements in improving health sector performance]
page 5
An elaborate system of health network provides
Primary Health Care (PHC) to the vast majority of the Iranian public. MOHME owns and runs Iran's largest health care delivery network of health establishments and medical schools. MOHME is in charge of provision of healthcare services through its network,
medical insurance,
medical education, supervision and regulation of the
healthcare system in the country, policymaking, production and distribution of pharmaceuticals, and research and development.
The Third Socio-economic Development Plan in 1999 authorized MOHME to adopt move towards public–private partnership in health care delivery.
[The role of contractual arrangements in improving health sector performance]
page 8 According to the 2003 Statistical Centre of Iran census, Iran has 730 medical establishments (hospitals, clinics,...) with 110,797
beds in all, of which 488 (77,300 beds) are run by the MOHME, 120 (11,301 beds) are privately owned, and the rest belong to other organisations, such as the
Social Security Organization of Iran (SSO).
According to the World Health Organization, private hospitals also do not prefer to contract with the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, because of low tariffs, extra paperwork and delays in payment.
Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has adopted a full generic-based
National Drug Policy
{{Use dmy dates, date=December 2019
An essential medicines policy is one that aims at ensuring that people get good quality Medication, drugs at the lowest possible price, and that doctors prescribe the minimum of required drugs in order to treat ...
(NDP), with local production of
essential drugs
Essential medicines, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), are the medicines that "satisfy the priority health care needs of the population". These are the medications to which people should have access at all times in sufficient ...
and
vaccines as one of the main goals. MOHME has a mission to provide access to sufficient quantities of safe, effective and high quality medicines that are affordable for the entire population.
MOHME is the main stakeholder of pharmaceutical affairs in the country. However, the Social Security Investment Co. (SSIC), Iran's largest holding company, which owns and controls 22 pharmaceutical manufacturing companies with a 40% share of total pharmaceutical production in Iran, is affiliated to the Ministry of Welfare.
In 2006, 55
pharmaceutical companies in Iran produce more than 96 percent (quantitatively) of medicines on the market, worth $1.2 billion annually in a total market worth $1.87 billion (2008) and $3.65bn by 2013 (projected).
Although over 85 percent of the population use an insurance system to reimburse their drug expenses, the government heavily subsidises pharmaceutical production/importation.
The MOHME Department of Medical Equipment supervises imports of medical equipment, its import and distribution is mostly handled by the
private sector.
Ministers since 1979
See also
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Health care in Iran
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Science and technology in Iran
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Agriculture in Iran
Roughly one-third of Iran's total surface area is suited for farmland, but because of poor soil and lack of adequate water distribution in many areas, most of it is not under cultivation.
Only 12% of the total land area is under cultivation (arabl ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Health
Iran
Medical and health organisations based in Iran
Higher education in Iran