Ministry of Health and Medical Education

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: Health, Research & Technology, Education‌, Logistics, Food & Drugs.

Ministry of Health and Medical Education
وزارت بهداشت، درمان و آموزش پزشکی
Vezârat-e Behdâšt, Darmân o Âmuzeš-e Pezeški

Ministry Building
Agency overview
Formed1904
JurisdictionGovernment of the Islamic Republic of Iran
HeadquartersShahrak-e Gharb, Tehran 35°45′14.56″N 51°21′24.10″E / 35.7540444°N 51.3566944°E / 35.7540444; 51.3566944
Employees427,385 (2019)[1]
Minister responsible
WebsiteOfficial website

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.[2]

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.[3] 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).[4] 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.[2]

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has adopted a full generic-based National Drug Policy (NDP), with local production of essential drugs and vaccines as one of the main goals.[5] 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.[6]

In 2006, 55 pharmaceutical companies in Iran produce more than 96 percent (quantitatively) of medicines on the market, worth $1.2 billion annually[7] in a total market worth $1.87 billion (2008) and $3.65bn by 2013 (projected).[8][9] 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 until 2024

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No. Portrait Name Took

office

Left

office

Party Government
1   Kazem Sami 13 February 1979 29 October 1979 JAMA Bazargan
2 Moussa Zargar 17 November 1979 28 May 1980 Council of the Islamic Revolution
3   Hadi Manafi 10 September 1980 14 August 1984 Islamic Republican Party Rajai

Bahonar

Mahdavi Kani (acting)

Mousavi I

4   Alireza Marandi 20 August 1984 29 August 1989 Islamic Republican Party Mousavi I

Mousavi II

5   Iradj Fazel 29 August 1989 13 January 1991 Rafsanjani I
6   Reza Malekzadeh 5 March 1991 16 August 1993 Executives of Construction Party Rafsanjani I
(4)   Alireza Marandi 16 August 1993 20 August 1997 PFIRF Rafsanjani II
7   Mohammad Farhadi 20 August 1997 22 August 2001 Islamic Association of Iranian Medical Society Khatami I
8   Masoud Pezeshkian 22 August 2001 24 August 2005 Khatami II
9   Kamran Bagheri Lankarani 24 August 2005 3 September 2009 Front of Islamic Revolution Stability Ahmadinejad I
10   Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi 3 September 2009 27 December 2012 Islamic Association of Physicians of Iran Ahmadinejad II
11   Mohammad-Hassan Tarighat Monfared 17 March 2013 15 August 2013 Ahmadinejad II
12   Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi 15 August 2013 3 January 2019 Independent Rouhani I

Rouhani II

13   Saeed Namaki 4 February 2019 25 August 2021 Rouhani II
14   Bahram Eynollahi 25 August 2021 21 August 2024 Raisi
15   Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi 21 August 2024 Incumbent Islamic Association of Iranian Medical Society Pezeshkian

Program

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ جزییات تعداد کارمندان دولت در سال ۹۷ Tasnim News
  2. ^ a b The role of contractual arrangements in improving health sector performance Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine page 5
  3. ^ The role of contractual arrangements in improving health sector performance Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine page 8
  4. ^ "IRAN: Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals Forecast", Economist Intelligence Unit, August 18, 2008
  5. ^ Iran-Daily: Biggest Pharmaceutical Plant to Open Soon Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Atieh Bahar - Resources - Pharmaceuticals". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  7. ^ Iran Daily - National - 07/01/07 Archived 2007-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 10/20/08". Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  9. ^ "Iran Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2". Payvand.com. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
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