The Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) has executive responsibility for health and medical education within the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian government. The MOHME comprises five departments headed by deputy ministers: # Research and Technology #

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

#Logistics #

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 in ...

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 inhalati ...

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

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 Primary health care, or PHC, refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This makes universal health care accessible to all individuals and families in a community. PHC in ...

(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 Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., residency, fellowship, ...

, 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

bed A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

s 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 (NDP), with local production of essential drugs and

vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

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 The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate symptoms. ...

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 The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

Ministers since 1979

See also

References

External links