Impact of Integration of Medical Education in the Health System of Islamic Republic of Iran

Background: Following the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1979, two major reforms were implemented in the nationwide health system: Establishment of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the development of Primary Health Care Networks. The aim of this article is to review the impact of inte...

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Main Authors: Fereidoon Azizi, Abbass Entezari, Nader Momtazmanesh, Masoud Pezeshkian, Narges Tabrizchi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kerman University of Medical Sciences 2024-02-01
Series:Strides in Development of Medical Education
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Online Access:https://sdme.kmu.ac.ir/article_92416_916d9f67c0292d13a46ce667049326f5.pdf
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author Fereidoon Azizi
Abbass Entezari
Nader Momtazmanesh
Masoud Pezeshkian
Narges Tabrizchi
author_facet Fereidoon Azizi
Abbass Entezari
Nader Momtazmanesh
Masoud Pezeshkian
Narges Tabrizchi
author_sort Fereidoon Azizi
collection DOAJ
description Background: Following the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1979, two major reforms were implemented in the nationwide health system: Establishment of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the development of Primary Health Care Networks. The aim of this article is to review the impact of integration of medical education in the health system.Methods: We review here the birth and growth of the integration of the health care system and medical education, the successes, the aspirations and some of the obstacles and challenges found along this path, as well as the vision and strategies for the future. All articles on this issue published in international Journal and in Iranian medical Journals were reviewed.Results: Health care and medical education in the I.R. Iran have undergone profound reform in the last four decades after integration of the Ministry of Health and all related schools and institutions of medical education. The newly formed Ministry of Health and Medical Education is responsible for every aspect of policy making, planning, leadership, stewardship, supervision and evaluation of health services, in addition to the training and educating of human resources for health, within the “Comprehensive Health Care Delivery System” that makes up Iran’s health infrastructure. From 1979 to 2020, the number of medical, dentistry and pharmacy schools have increased from 7 to 47, 3 to 35 and 3 to 22, respectively, with a rise in student yearly admissions in all programs of medical sciences from 1387 to 48120. There were no PhD or clinical subspecialty programs in 1979, whereas in 2020, annual student admission rates for such programs were 1038 and 219, respectively; these have been accompanied by marked improvements in the quality of education, clinical care and major health indicators such as increase in life expectancy, access to PHC in rural area, access to clean water, total number of rural health houses and vaccination coverage, on the other hand decrease in maternal, neonatal and under 5years mortality rates, decline in the number of patients sent abroad for treatment and also the number of foreign general physicians practicing in Iran..As a result ofsignificant rise in research activitiesthe number of scientific medical publications have increased from less than 2000 to over 70,000 yearly and Iran has achieved rank of 16 among all countries of the world in this regard.Conclusion: Integration of medical education into the health care system has been an appropriate and economical strategy for achieving health promotion and the key point for the improvement of medical education for better social accountability in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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series Strides in Development of Medical Education
spelling doaj-art-200d413d024a4c2abde1257fd04966542025-08-20T03:17:01ZengKerman University of Medical SciencesStrides in Development of Medical Education2645-35252645-34522024-02-0121Supplement (Integration of Medical Education in the Health System)1910.22062/sdme.2024.9241692416Impact of Integration of Medical Education in the Health System of Islamic Republic of IranFereidoon Azizi0Abbass Entezari1Nader Momtazmanesh2Masoud Pezeshkian3Narges Tabrizchi4Professor of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranAssistant Professor of Community Medicine Educational Development Center, Ministry of Health & Medical Education, Tehran, IranAssociate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranProfessor, Cardiovascular Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IranAssistant Professor of Community Medicine, Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R of Iran, Tehran, IranBackground: Following the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1979, two major reforms were implemented in the nationwide health system: Establishment of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the development of Primary Health Care Networks. The aim of this article is to review the impact of integration of medical education in the health system.Methods: We review here the birth and growth of the integration of the health care system and medical education, the successes, the aspirations and some of the obstacles and challenges found along this path, as well as the vision and strategies for the future. All articles on this issue published in international Journal and in Iranian medical Journals were reviewed.Results: Health care and medical education in the I.R. Iran have undergone profound reform in the last four decades after integration of the Ministry of Health and all related schools and institutions of medical education. The newly formed Ministry of Health and Medical Education is responsible for every aspect of policy making, planning, leadership, stewardship, supervision and evaluation of health services, in addition to the training and educating of human resources for health, within the “Comprehensive Health Care Delivery System” that makes up Iran’s health infrastructure. From 1979 to 2020, the number of medical, dentistry and pharmacy schools have increased from 7 to 47, 3 to 35 and 3 to 22, respectively, with a rise in student yearly admissions in all programs of medical sciences from 1387 to 48120. There were no PhD or clinical subspecialty programs in 1979, whereas in 2020, annual student admission rates for such programs were 1038 and 219, respectively; these have been accompanied by marked improvements in the quality of education, clinical care and major health indicators such as increase in life expectancy, access to PHC in rural area, access to clean water, total number of rural health houses and vaccination coverage, on the other hand decrease in maternal, neonatal and under 5years mortality rates, decline in the number of patients sent abroad for treatment and also the number of foreign general physicians practicing in Iran..As a result ofsignificant rise in research activitiesthe number of scientific medical publications have increased from less than 2000 to over 70,000 yearly and Iran has achieved rank of 16 among all countries of the world in this regard.Conclusion: Integration of medical education into the health care system has been an appropriate and economical strategy for achieving health promotion and the key point for the improvement of medical education for better social accountability in the Islamic Republic of Iran.https://sdme.kmu.ac.ir/article_92416_916d9f67c0292d13a46ce667049326f5.pdfeducationhealthintegrationiranresearchsocial accountability
spellingShingle Fereidoon Azizi
Abbass Entezari
Nader Momtazmanesh
Masoud Pezeshkian
Narges Tabrizchi
Impact of Integration of Medical Education in the Health System of Islamic Republic of Iran
Strides in Development of Medical Education
education
health
integration
iran
research
social accountability
title Impact of Integration of Medical Education in the Health System of Islamic Republic of Iran
title_full Impact of Integration of Medical Education in the Health System of Islamic Republic of Iran
title_fullStr Impact of Integration of Medical Education in the Health System of Islamic Republic of Iran
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Integration of Medical Education in the Health System of Islamic Republic of Iran
title_short Impact of Integration of Medical Education in the Health System of Islamic Republic of Iran
title_sort impact of integration of medical education in the health system of islamic republic of iran
topic education
health
integration
iran
research
social accountability
url https://sdme.kmu.ac.ir/article_92416_916d9f67c0292d13a46ce667049326f5.pdf
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