Health in the news: Some facts on pharamaceutical usage in Iran

1-In 2005 (1384 Solar Calendar) pharmaceutical products average usage in Iran was 386 items per each Iranian (monetary value of the total usage: 169.4 Rials not taken into account the direct and indirect subsidies and the share of the pharmacist per prescription(Haghe Fanni in Persian)).
2-Total items of medicines sold in 2005 amounted to 16.5 billions (monetary equivalence: 11,526,602,000 Rials).
3-Average item prescribed per encounter was 3.5 in 2005 (3.6 in 1997).
4-Probable reasons for irrational drug utilization: Lack of systematized structure for pharmaceutical usage, absence of adequate control over drug utilization, unrealistic medical tariffs, inefficiency of medical insurers, adverse interests of pharmaceutical companies, and high financial benefits of drug distributors.
5-Mr. Davood Madadi, CEO of the Social Security Organization adds to the above list the tendency of people to visit doctors prescribing more than standard drug items.
6- Patients generally expect doctors to prescribe parenteral forms of medicines. They don't put believe in physicians who do not satisfy these expectations, a bitter fact of our health system.
7-Dr Mojdehi Azar stresses that low income of physicians in Iran encourage them to follow patients requests instead of concentrating on what the real needs of patients are.
8- Dr. Hassan Hovida, director of the General Physicians Association in Iran, says that patients are the main inducers of over-prescription of medicines in Iran.

[Extracted from a report by Ali Akhavan Behbahani]

Source: Jamejamonline, www.jamejamonline.ir, Feb 21, 2007
Code: 27N

Possible rise of out-of-pocket health expenditures in 2007-8

A number of health officials in Iran forecast a sharp rise in out-of-pocket health expenditures (OOP) in the coming year (2007-8). They all say that pre-decided 4300 Toman (approximately 5 dollars) per capita healthcare share of the government (Saraneye darman in Farsi) for the year 2007-8 may cause a sharp 15% increase of the OOP payments. Then people will have to pay up to 70% (even 80%) of medical care expenses out of their pocket. They all concern about the bankruptcy of the private hospitals as a direct consequence of high OOP payments. Their suggestion is to increase the per capita share of the government to 7000-8000 Toman (8.5 -9 dollars) so that people directly pay much less than what they currently pay for healthcare services . Currently, OOP payments constitute 55% to 60% of total health expenditures in Iran. Private sector is the main provider of the outpatient health care. Inpatient care is provided chiefly by the government in most parts of the country. However, in big cities like Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, and Mashad, private hospitals are providing an important portion of the population's needs to inpatient care.
Sources:
1-http://pezeshkan.ir/ .Feb 3, 2007 (original reference: Mehr News interview with Dr. Bijan Shahbazkhani, and Dr. Jahanbakhsh Aminia , members of the Health Commission of the Parliament)
2-http://pezeshkan.ir .Feb 4, 2007 (original reference: Mehr News interview with Dr. Ahmad Reza Jamshidi, the Vice Chairman of the I.R.Iran's Medical Council)
3-http://pezeshkan.ir . Feb 3, 2007 (original reference: Fars News interview with Dr. Mohammad Hossein Tarighat, the Vice Chaiman of the Welfare Ministry)
Code:5A

Health in the news: Last updates on the number of medical human resources in Iran

Dr. Shahab Al-din Sadr, director of Iranian Medical Council (IMC), gives an update on the number of medical human resources (all are a member of the IMC)in Iran as follows:

70,000 General Practitioners(completed 7-year medical school)
25,000 Medical Specialists and Subspecialists
20,000 Dentists (General and specialist)
13,000 pharmacists
3500 Laboratory Medicine Specialists (either 7-8 year and 10-11 year educational programs)
40,000 Midwifes (all has a formal 4-year university education).
Total: 170,000
My comment: This total does not include nurses and theyare I guess all members of the IMC and should be counted in.

Source: http://aftabnews.ir/vdciw3at1wa35.html , http://www.aftabnews.ir/ August 13, 2006
Code:26N

Health in the news: establishing provincial hemophilia clinics

For about 6,000 hemophilia cases in Iran need to get required health services provided by especial medical centers in the province in which hemophiliacs live Dr. Alavian, the Deputy of Health of the Ministry of Health(MOH), says. To prevent the patients from going to Tehran to receive their needed medical services we are going to establish in each province a center providing especial care for these patients he added. Five billion Toman (900 Toman is equal to one dollar) subsidy has been allocated for hemophilia care by the MOH.
Source: www.aftab-yazd.com , No: 2002, Feb, 6 2007
Code: 25N

Health in the news: 75,000 new annual cancer cases in Iran

Dr Mohagheghi, the chief of Tehran University Institute of Cancer, said that 200,000 patients with cancer live in the currently and each year 75,000 new cases are diagnosed as having a type of cancer. 30,000 cancer patients die in Iran each year he added.
Source: www.aftabeyazd.com , No: 2005, Feb, 10 2007
Code: 24N

Health in the news: If approved, people won't pay for expensive medicines

The medical care deputy of the Social Security Organization (SSO), Mr. Ali Fattahi, said that if the Supreme Insurance Concil (Shoraye Ali Bimeh) approves a suggested official plan to financially protect the cost of treatment for patients undergoing hemodialysis, hemophiliacs, and thalassemia patients (so called privileged medical conditions or Bimari-haye Khas in Farsi), these patients will not have to pay for expensive medicines. The SSO now pays the total cost of medicines for 8,153 of such payments he added. The plan says that patients should pay a co-payment for cheaper drugs while the insurers pay 100% of costs of expensive medicines. The SSO covers 85% of costs of medicines for patients with cancers although cancers have not been listed as so called privileged medical conditions , Mr. Fattahi said. 3,562 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are being financially protected by the SSO he said but he did not specify the percentage of medical cost coverage by the SSO for these patients.
Source: www.jamejamonline.ir , Feb, 7 2007
Code: 23N