Comparing the Health Care System of Iran with Various Countries

Abstract

Background: Gaining health is an inalienable right of every human being; therefore, governments are required to provide a minimum of health care services for all people who live in the society. Objectives: This study was conducted to compare the health care system of Iran and some selected countries around the world. Methods: This was a descriptive-comparative study, which was conducted to compare the health care system of Iran and a number of selected countries with a focus on the service provider and payment method. In this research, nine countries including Norway, Australia, United States of America, Germany, Italy, Canada, England, Denmark and Japan were selected and studied based on the availability of data. These data were compared to that of Iran. The required information from selected countries was collected in 2014 using the "health system review: health system in transition", and "international profiles of health care systems", as well as well-known websites such as the world health organization, the world bank and the health department. Results: The findings of this study showed that in most selected countries, primary care services were provided by the private sector and the public sector has been mostly functioning as a supervisor in this area, but in Iran, primary care services were provided by the government. The findings of this study also showed that hospital services in Iran and selected countries (second and third level services) were provided by both public and private sectors, yet the public sector had a bigger share. Moreover, payment in primary health care (PHC) in the majority of the selected countries was mostly capitation and FFS payments, or a combination of the two. Payment in hospital care (secondary and tertiary levels) in most of the studied countries and even Iran was mostly through governmental budgets. Conclusions: According to the findings of this comparative study indicating the successful experiences of health systems around the world, it seems that the implementation of the process of decentralization of the government in some sections and different levels of health care is the best option for the health care system of Iran.