How the Healthcare System Works in Iran?

The 29th article of the constitution of Iran indicates that every citizen in the country has the right to have the highest attainable level of health care [1]. The Ministry of Health and Medical Education is the main responsible entity in the country to fulfil this goal. The implementing bodies for the ministerial health policies are medical universities across the country. There are now 51 medical universities and 16 medical faculties running under the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. There is at least one public medical university in every province. There are also 96 medical schools working in private sector. The chancellor of a medical university is the highest official authority in each province working under the Health Minister. S/he is in charge of public health, care provision in public facilities, and medical education for the population in the province. Health care and public health services are provided through a nationwide network (Fig. 15.1). The network consists of a referral system beginning from primary care centres going through the secondary-level hospitals located mainly in the provincial capital, and hospitals in the tertiary level in major cities. The network gathers all health-related data from catchment areas making a nationwide information system.